Roman Ægir wins best actor award at Barcelona film festival

Icelandic actor Roman Ægir Fjölnisson has won the award for best leading actor at the Hope and Love international film festival in Barcelona, mbl.is reports. He received the award for playing Arnór in Ótti, a 2025 film directed by his father, Fjölnir Baldursson.

“It was a complete shock to win. I wasn’t expecting it,” Roman Ægir said. He recalled going on stage in an adrenaline rush and barely remembering what he said after hearing his name.

Ótti was nominated in four categories: best film, best director, best cinematography and best leading actor. It won the acting award. The film screened at the larger of two cinemas used by the festival, where screenings were well attended. About 260 filmmakers took part in the event.

Roman Ægir said the festival was a chance to see other films and meet filmmakers. He and his father had previously taken Ótti to a festival in Italy.

He said he drew on aspects of his younger self when preparing to play Arnór, whom he described as an innocent boy who wants to fit in and makes mistakes in pursuit of that goal. “I think it’s important to find a tone I can relate to in the character, even if Arnór is very different from me,” he said.

Roman Ægir moved from Ísafjörður to Reykjavík to pursue filmmaking and is nearing the end of his acting studies at the Film School. He has been acting for nearly eight years. For his graduation film, his father will direct a short film in which Roman Ægir will play the lead. He hopes to make a feature film afterwards.