Iben Hjejle and David Dencik have been named winners of the Lauritzen Prize 2026, each receiving 250,000 tax-free kroner for their contribution to Danish performing arts.
The awards were handed out at Skuespillerhuset in Copenhagen on Sunday evening. DR reports that the prize comes from the commercial foundation Lauritzen Fonden, which announced the winners in a press release.
Each recipient gets 250,000 tax-free kroner, plus 50,000 kroner for a cause of their own choosing. The Lauritzen Prize goes each year to one male and one female actor. The committee looks for unique performances on a Danish stage, on television or in film.
The prize committee describes David Dencik as having a particular ability to be hard to read. The 51-year-old Danish-Swedish actor is highlighted for the dramas “En soap” and “Begyndelser”. His role in the James Bond film “No Time to Die” is also named.
According to the committee, Dencik can radiate neurotic, derailed intelligence like few others. It adds that his range is far wider than suspicious and dangerous acquaintances. As a restless master of transformation, he is called present and completely convincing.
The committee states that Iben Hjejle‘s range is equally large. The 55-year-old actor was most recently praised for the drama series “Løgnen” and “Den gode stemning”. She also returns in the comedy series “Klovn”.
Per the committee, Hjejle is a modern voice who brings language forward in the image on film and television. It describes her as an artist in physical and mental top form. The committee adds that she seduces audiences intellectually, sensuously, sexually and even politically.
Other awards handed out
Lauritzen Fonden’s Children and Youth Prize 2026 went to Teater My and Mette Rosleff. The theater has created performing arts for the youngest audiences for 25 years. The award carries 100,000 kroner.
The foundation’s Backstage Prize 2026 went to producer Helle Faber, also with 100,000 kroner. Earlier this year she received an Oscar for the documentary “Mr. Nobody Against Putin”. The citation points to work that rarely takes place in the spotlight, but is decisive for documentaries.
Actors Soheil Bavi, Clara Dessau and Thorbjørn Hedegaard and director Emilie Thalund receive this year’s Believe in You Prize. That award honors four young talents in film, theater and television with 50,000 kroner. Their names were announced before Sunday’s ceremony.
All recipients are selected by a committee chaired by Lauritzen Fonden’s chairman, Jens Ditlev Lauritzen. Members include the Royal Danish Theatre’s head of drama, Morten Kirkskov, director May el-Toukhy and Politiken film critic Kim Skotte. The prize was first awarded in 1965 under the name the Henkel Prize, and took its current name in 1993.
