Karlsson on the roof is a film adaptation of all of them Astrid Lindgren’s children’s books and came in 1974. As is well known, both the book and the film are about Little brotherwhich was played by Lars Söderdahl, who feels alone. But suddenly one day he meets Karlsson on the roof, Mats Wikström.
The story is about Little Brother, who of course has his mother, father and siblings – but they always seem to be busy with something more important. One day Little Brother meets Karlsson on the roof who is a round man in his prime – and he lives on the roof AND can fly. They quickly become best friends, but Little Brother’s parents do not believe that Karlsson exists.
Lars Söderdahl and Mats Wikström in “Karlsson på taket” 1974. Image source: STELLA Pictures/ddpThis is how Mats Wikström lives today: “Have followed along”
Mats Wikström, 59, is the person who played “Karlsson” in Karlsson on the roof, which is one of Astrid Lindgren’s most popular characters. He was born on 10 July 1964 in Nacka. He was a child actor and played one of the main roles in The World’s Best Karlsson in 1974 and Karlsson on the Roof in 1976, which are based on Astrid Lindgren’s children’s books.
Wikström was only nine years old when he did the role in the film and felt that there was too much attention for his taste. In the film, Mat’s own voice is not used to give the character a more adult feel, he was dubbed by the voice actor Jan Nygren. Something that makes the character a little… creepy.
– Being part of it was a fantastic experience. But there was a little too much attention, even then. There was one person who said it, really, that “this meant a lot to me because I understood that you could be different”, to look at Karlsson that is. It has stayed with her all her life and I thought it was very funny, says Mats in an interview on the YouTube channel “Alla we children from the films” in 2015.
Mats Wikström played “Karlsson on the roof” when he was nine years old. Image source: Youtube: “All of us children from the movies” 2015Mats Wikström about Karlsson on the roof: “Have had to live with it”
Today, Mats lives in a condominium in Östhammar, Uppsala County. According to public records, he lives alone at the address, but he has a son. For a while he was a national celebrity and one of the country’s most popular actors. But that was enough and he didn’t feel that acting was for him.
Many years ago, Mats made it clear in an interview with The Express that he had left his time as a child actor behind and had no desire to discuss it further. Something that most of the child actors in the popular films seem to have in common is that they want to leave the time as “Astrid Lindgren children” behind them.
– Regardless of whether you want it, you are a public figure for the rest of your life because when children see this, it is so deep and it follows. All of us children have had to live with this, says Mats Wikström in the interview on YouTube.