Svend Kornbeck

Biography

A barrel-chested presence who could fill a doorway, Svend Kornbeck stepped in front of the camera for Nordisk Film in 1913 and never looked elsewhere. Directors quickly learned that his solid frame carried instant gravitas, so he spent the next decade and a half shouldering roles that demanded muscle and command. By the time he walked away, thirty-some productions bore his imprint. A single, final flicker onscreen came in 1927—one last bow for A/S Fotorama—before he slipped quietly out of the spotlight he had shared with wife and fellow Nordisk stalwart, Ellen Kornbeck.