Photo: Photo:Sandvika Teater Photo: Knut Bry Photo:Henne Photo:Asker og Bærum Budstikke Photo:2001 Magasinet Photo:

Age: 31, born 11 January 1972 Lives: Oslo, Norway Occupation: Actor at the National Theatre Other talents: Singing, tapdancing, playing several instruments such as piano, speaks English fluently and knows a great deal of French. In addition to this, he has read quite a few  books to tape/CD and done Norwegian voices for several movies - latest "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" where he gives voice to the Stallion. THE MAN ”I’ve always been interested in the written word,” he says, and expresses his great admiration for those who did this before him, like Sammy Davis Jr and Frank Sinatra. He never tried to sound like or be Frank Sinatra, but his voice somehow carries a resemblance - and when he sings those old classics, you can hear it in his voice that he has a special connection with them, that they all have a special meaning to him. ”Frank has always been a great inspiration to me, not only in music but also in my acting. This because he tells a story through his songs, and does it like a Shakespeare text.” THE ACTOR Conradi already knew what he wanted to become when he was very young. ”I wrote something in a friend’s diary,” he recalls, ”You were supposed to answer some questions and when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I wrote ”actor”. I was ten back then.” He started acting at an early age, got small parts in local plays and was on TV for the first time when he was 16, where he tapdanced and sang. After he took his theatre education in Norway, he was offered a job at the National Theatre, where he had his stage debut in 1996. After being here for  two years, he travelled to Troendelag Theatre where he did many great things, such as Tony in ”West Side Story” and the the role of Hamlet. While he was doing this, he decided to go back to school, and ended up at ”The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art”. When he had completed his studies, he went back to the National Theatre where he stayed for another year. In 2001 he and three other actors/actresses decided to try and spice up the Torshov Theatre (a part of the National Theatre), and had success with plays such as ”Circus” and ”I Hired A Contract Killer” where Conradi also sang ”Love Is In The Air” - in Norwegian. In the summer of 2001, he spent a couple of months in London, England, and tried out for Bing Crosby’s part in a West End production of ”High Society”. After several weeks of auditions, the choice was between him and an English actor. They used Winona Ryder’s language couch to change his perfect English accent into American. They ended up chosing the other actor, as he already spoke American fluently. This is something he’ll always look back on with great pride. It was not until the beginning of November 2001 that things seriously started happening. He and his colleague, Oeystein Roeger, decided to do ”Stones In His Pockets”, which has been done in both Ireland and London before. The two actors did almost ten parts each, and the show was sold out with several extra dates, in both January and May to June of 2002. When they later did ”The Shadow” (originally HC Andersen) and ”The Pianist”, sold out venues were to be expected. In the beginning of 2002, Conradi was asked to be the groom’s Best Man at the Royal Wedding, taking place in May the same year. Because of this he was highly profiled, and from being someone only those who were interested in theatre knew, he became one of the most profiled actors in the country. He also did a show prior to the Royal Wedding, then with several European Royalties among the audience. At this show he read poems, sang, performed and was a host. THE SINGER As earlier mentioned, Conradi always admired the likes of Sinatra and Davis Jr, something that can be heard in the second part of his career. Through the years he has done several smaller performances, recorded two songs for a Christmas album (”Let It Snow” and ”Sleigh Ride”) that was released for Christmas 2001. For the release of Robbie Williams’s album, ”Swing When You’re Winning”, he did a release-concert, where he proved to all those present that he sings these kind of songs brilliantly. As a follow-up, he did a jazz/big-band concert in early 2002, where he performed undying classics such as ”The Best of Everything”, ”Summer Wind”, ”My Kind of Town”, ”Let’s Face The Music and Dance”, ”My Way” and the unforgettable ”New York, New York”. He sings the songs with such feel that you feel like you are in a jazz club back in the 60’s with one of the greats in front of you, performing the songs you like the most - the way you like it best. In the summer of 2002 he and three other artists did a show called ”Back to Broadway”, which featured songs from the well known musicals such as ”Phantom of the Opera”, ”Mama Mia”, ”Les Miserables”, ”Jesus Christ Superstar”, ”Miss Saigon”, "West Side Story" and ”Chess." In the weeks the show was running, they never played to an empty seat. Lately he has been working on a concept album featuring old Norwegian songs, translated into English. These have all been songs that has a special meaning to him, some of which his father - who was in a famous Norwegian band called the ”Monn-Keys” - did in his time. At the present time, only one song from his forthcoming album has been heard: ”Oh I Know Of A Girl”. For those who have heard the original melody, it’s a strong resemblance, only it’s been toned down and jazzed up a bit. This will also be the case with the upcoming songs. So this will not be just another cover-album, it will be old Norwegian songs translated into a language more people understand, therefore more people can enjoy it. The songs all have his personal touch to them, therefore they can be regarded as his own, only with the basic of the original song as a source of inspiration. The latest event were the ”Amanda” awards, which is the Norwegian ”Oscars” where he let the country hear another one of his productions as a teaser. A teaser for his full concert, which will be held on the 28th of August, featuring 16 song. Two full concerts have been sold out already, this being the proof of his undying popularity among those who have appreciated his talent before - both as an actor and as a singer. Since this gig, he has played the Rat in "The Wind In The Willows", participated in several other live concerts and will from 31. Jauary 2003 until Easter play Higgins in the musical "My Fair Lady". © Terri, 2002/03