Mikael Åke Persbrandt is a Swedish actor. In Swedish films, he is perhaps best known for playing Gunvald Larsson in the Beck series of movies. He is internationally known for his starring role in the Academy Award-winning feature, In a Better World, directed by Susanne Bier. His performance earned him a 2011 European Film Award nomination for Best Actor. Other parts include the role of Carl Hamilton from the novels by Jan Guillou, Beorn in The Hobbit, as well as Jakob Nyman in the English TV series Sex Education.

Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective and the main character in a series of ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, collectively titled The Story of a Crime. Frequently referred to as the Martin Beck stories, all have been adapted into films between 1967 and 1994. Six were adapted for the series featuring Gösta Ekman as Martin Beck.