Johan Renck | |
|---|---|
 Renck in 2024 | |
| Born | (1966-12-05)5 December 1966 (age 58) Uppsala, Sweden |
| Other names | Stakka Bo |
| Occupation(s) | Film director,music video director, former singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouse | |
| Website | www.johanrenck.com[1] |
Bo Johan Renck (born 5 December 1966) is aSwedish director of music videos, TV and film. He was originally a singer-songwriter from 1991 to 2001, using themonikerStakka Bo, and had an international hit with his single "Here We Go" in 1993. Renck later became a music-video and television director, winning anEmmy Award in 2019 for his work on the mini-seriesChernobyl.
Renck was born on 5 December 1966 in Uppsala, Sweden, the son of medical doctor and professor Hans Renck and nurse Marina Kylberg. Hans taught at several universities around the world, so the Renck family moved around and lived inMiami,Uppsala,Malmö,Tromsø andKuwait.[2] He graduated fromStockholm School of Economics with a degree in business.[3]
While at university, he dated singer and ex-modelCamilla Henemark ofArmy of Lovers, who introduced him to the Swedish music business.[2] He started out as one half ofEurodance duoE-Type + Stakka B, but went solo after two singles,[2][4] continuing to release music as Stakka Bo.
Stakka Bo had ahit single in 1993 with the song "Here We Go", which peaked at No. 13 in theUK Singles Chart.[5] Heavily influenced by theStereo MCs, who were popular at the time, "Here We Go" appeared in an episode of the animated television seriesBeavis and Butt-Head and sitcomDerry Girls, in the filmsPrêt-à-porter,Never Been Kissed andAlien Autopsy[6] and in the video gameUEFA Euro 2004.[7]
Due to a very tight budget, he ended up directing the first video for his solo project, and continued making his own videos, eventually directing videos of other Swedish artists such asTitiyo andThe Cardigans.[4]
He has directed music videos for a number of artists includingMadonna's "Nothing Really Matters" and "Hung Up",Kylie Minogue's "Love at First Sight",All Saints' "Black Coffee",Robyn's "Handle Me",Robbie Williams's "Tripping" and "She's Madonna",The Libertines' "What Became of the Likely Lads",Suede's "She's in Fashion",New Order's "Crystal" and "Krafty",Beyoncé's "Me, Myself and I",Chris Cornell's "Can't Change Me",The Knife's "Pass This On",Fever Ray's "Seven" andBat for Lashes' "Daniel".[8] In 2012 he directed the music video "Blue Velvet" forLana Del Rey which was also used for the commercial campaign byH&M, as well as the music video for "Wild" byBeach House. In 2015 he directed the ten-minute video forDavid Bowie's "Blackstar",[9] and "Lazarus" that appeared in January 2016.[10] In 2005, he and his brother Martin directed two videos from Swedish bandThe Cardigans: "I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need to Be Nicer" and "Don't Blame Your Daughter (Diamonds)". He has been associated with Swedish artists likeKarin Dreijer andKent.
Renck's first film,Downloading Nancy, 2008 premiered at theSundance Film Festival on 21 January 2008 inPark City, Utah.[11] While the movie didn't receive very strong reviews, it generated a call fromBreaking Bad creatorVince Gilligan. He directed three episodes of AMC television dramaBreaking Bad, and moved on to work on one episode ofThe Walking Dead,[12]Halt and Catch Fire, andBates Motel.
In addition, Renck directed a fashion art film calledDecadent Control for Imagine Fashion that premiered in March 2011. It starredRoberto Cavalli,Eva Herzigová,Kirsty Hume and Brad Kroenig and used fashion fromAgent Provocateur andH&M.[11]
He told Swedish magazineCafe in 2017 that for a while he preferred to direct pilots (Vikings, Bloodline), but now rather works on mini-series, where one can direct all episodes, such as withThe Last Panthers. He says he turned downBetter Call Saul,Game of Thrones andHomeland. He told the magazine: "And as the director of a TV-episode, you only have around 25 percent of input. There are two kinds of TV projects that I still agree to do, one is television series where each episode is a separate "entity", likeBlack Mirror, and the other is miniseries where you can do all the episodes, as I did withThe Last Panthers. But of course I am very happy thatBreaking Bad happened, it was very educational and exciting and fresh. Plus, it is hugely prestigious – people still call me because of it."[2]
In 2019, Renck directed the mini-seriesChernobyl, a dramatization of the 1986Chernobyl disaster, for SKY and HBO, featuring among othersStellan Skarsgård,Jared Harris andEmily Watson. Renck won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special in 2019 for his work onChernobyl.[13] In January 2020, Renck won theDirectors Guild of America Award for Movies for Television and Limited Series.[14]
In the fall of 2019, it was announced that he was attached to the feature filmSpaceman ofBohemia an adaptation to the book by U.S. based,Czech born writer Jaroslav Kalfař, with a screenplay written byColby Day. The film is set up underChanning Tatum's company, Free Association.[15]
In May 2020,Variety reported he was in negotiations to direct and executive produce the limited seriesGirl A for producer Elizabeth Gabler (former president ofFox 2000) andSony Pictures Entertainment. The series is adapted from the novel by debut authorAbigail Dean.[16]
In June 2020, Renck was revealed as executive producer and director of the pilot episode ofHBO'stelevision adaptation ofThe Last of Us withChernobyl collaboratorCraig Mazin;[17] in January 2021, he was forced to drop out of the project due to scheduling conflicts, replaced as the pilot's director byKantemir Balagov.[18]
In September 2022 he and his producing partner Michael Parets founder their own production company, Sinestra, and signed a 2 year first look deal with Freemantle. Under this deal he will direct an adaptation of the novelMouth to Mouth.[19]
Renck was set to direct the pilot episode toDune: Prophecy. But on 28 February 2023, it was announced that he left the project due to a creative overhaul.[20]
In March 2023, he signed to direct a film adaptation ofThe Prisoner in His Palace, a novel based on the 12 soldiers who guardedSaddam Hussein in the months previous to his execution. He also signed to direct a TV adaptation of the novelThe Day of the Triffids forAmazon Studios.[21][22]
He is married to Elin Renck and has four children.[23][24]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [25] | FIN [26] | SWI [27] | UK [28] | |||||||||||
| Supermarket | 9 | 35 | 29 | — | ||||||||||
| The Great Blondino |
| 19 | — | — | 192 | |||||||||
| Jr. |
| 23 | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [25] | AUT [29] | DEN [30] | EUR [31] | FIN [26] | GER [32] | NED [33] | NOR [34] | SWI [27] | UK [28] | |||||
| 1991 | "We Got the Atmosphere"(withE-Type) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| 1992 | "Numania 1"(with E-Type) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1993 | "Here We Go" | 4 | 6 | 10 | 17 | — | 15 | 23 | 10 | 7 | 13 | Supermarket | ||
| "Down the Drain"[35] | 24 | 27 | — | 83 | 10 | — | — | — | 22 | 64 | ||||
| "Living It Up" | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1994 | "On Your Knees" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "We" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 1995 | "Great Blondino"[36] | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Great Blondino | ||
| 1996 | "Softroom" | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "We Vie"(withTitiyo,Fleshquartet &Nåid) | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jr. | |||
| 2001 | "Mute" | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Killer" | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Love of a Woman" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Downloading Nancy | Yes | No |
| 2024 | Spaceman | Yes | Yes |
TV series
| Year | Title | Episode(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2009–2011 | Breaking Bad | "Breakage" |
| "Más" | ||
| "Hermanos" | ||
| 2010 | The Walking Dead | "Vatos" |
| 2013 | Vikings | "Rites of Passage" |
| "Wrath of the Northmen" | ||
| "Dispossessed" | ||
| Bates Motel | "Trust Me" | |
| 2014 | Halt and Catch Fire | "Close to the Metal" |
| 2015 | Bloodline | "Part 1" |
| "Part 2" | ||
| 2016 | Shut Eye | "Death" |
Miniseries
| Year | Title | Director | Executive Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Ettor & nollor | Yes | No |
| 2015 | The Last Panthers | Yes | Yes |
| 2019 | Chernobyl | Yes | Yes |
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Special Effects in a Video | Nothing Really Matters | Nominated |
| 2008 | Stockholm International Film Festival | Bronze Horse Award | Downloading Nancy | Nominated |
| 2008 | Sundance Film Festival | Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Direction in a Drama Series | The Walking Dead | Nominated |
| 2016 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Drama Series | The Last Panthers | Nominated |
| 2016 | Camerimage | Best Music Video | Blackstar | Nominated |
| 2016 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Direction | Lazarus | Nominated |
| 2019 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series | Chernobyl | Won |
| 2020 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Best Director: Fiction | Won | |
| 2020 | CinEuphoria Awards | Merit - Honorary Award | Won | |
| 2020 | Producers Guild of America Award | Best Limited Series Television | Won | |
| 2020 | Directors Guild of America Award | Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film | Won |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |