Swedish Police Identify Per Oscarsson’s Remains

BERLIN -- Swedish police have positively identified the remains of actor Per Oscarsson and his wife Kia Ostling, confirming that the actor, who appeared in the Swedish film adaptations of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium crime series died in a house fire on New Year’s Eve day

Oscarsson and Ostling were identified early Wednesday using dental records, police spokesman Ulf Edberg told The Hollywood Reporter. But Edberg admitted Swedish police are no closer to finding out the cause of the blaze that killed them.

“The cabin they were in was so burnt out, we might never find out exactly what happened,” Edberg said. “But there is no evidence of foul play being involved.”

Police have completed the search of the house -- which was reduced to a single chimney after the fire -- but are still carrying out forensic tests on the remains and on evidence found at the site.

The news confirms the worst fears of Swedish film fans, who had been hoping against hope after Oscarsson and his wife went missing last week.

The 83-year-old actor is a national treasure in Sweden and a regular in both film and television. He has appeared in more than 100 feature films, including Henning Carlsen’s Hunger, where his portrayal of the starving writer Pontus earned him the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Oscarsson’s role in two of the Swedish Millennium films brought his talents to a wider international audience.

In The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked Hornet's Nest, he played Holger Palmgren, the legal guardian of the heroine, Lisbeth Salander.