Espen Sandberg

Espen Sandberg (born 2 June 1971) is a Norwegian film director and advertising producer who has built an international reputation through both commercial work and acclaimed feature films. Raised in Sandefjord, Vestfold, he spent his teenage years experimenting with a 30‑pound home video camera alongside his childhood friend Joachim Rønning, creating short films that foreshadowed a lifelong partnership. After studying at Stockholm Film School (1992‑1994) and fulfilling mandatory service for the Royal Norwegian Army by making propaganda films, the duo founded the production company Roenberg in 1995 and quickly entered the commercial arena, directing award‑winning spots for brands such as Airbus, Nintendo, Coca‑Cola, GE and Nokia. Their breakthrough in the United States came with the Super Bowl‑era Budweiser commercial “Rex,” which won the USA Today Viewers’ Poll in 2001, and they later co‑founded Motion Blur with Harald Zwart, a leading Scandinavian production house. Transitioning to the big screen, Sandberg and Rønning co‑directed Bandidas (2006), followed by the Norwegian box‑office hit Max Manus: Man of War (2008), cementing their status as versatile storytellers. Their 2012 epic Kon‑Tiki, a dramatization of Thor Heyerdahl’s historic Pacific raft expedition, earned critical praise (83 % Rotten Tomatoes) and garnered nominations for Best Foreign Language Film at both the 85th Academy Awards and the 70th Golden Globe Awards. The pair’s Hollywood credentials were further solidified when they helmed Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), the fifth installment of the blockbuster franchise. Beyond directing, Sandberg has taken on executive producer roles on projects such as Amundsen (2019) and Troll (2022). A devoted family man, he is the father of three children—sons Peder and Axel and daughter Ea—while continuing to influence both commercial and narrative cinema through innovative storytelling and visual craftsmanship.