Lars Erickssong
Played by: Will Ferrell
Voiced by: Germán Fabregat (Latin American Spanish dub); Luis Posada (European Spanish dub); Junichi Endo (Japanese dub); Maurice Decoster, Emmanuel Curtil [singing] (French dub); Michael Blomqvist (Swedish dub); Pino Insegno (Italian dub); Uwe Büschken (German dub)
Voiced by: Germán Fabregat (Latin American Spanish dub); Luis Posada (European Spanish dub); Junichi Endo (Japanese dub); Maurice Decoster, Emmanuel Curtil [singing] (French dub); Michael Blomqvist (Swedish dub); Pino Insegno (Italian dub); Uwe Büschken (German dub)
- Basement-Dweller: Lars still lives with his father (much to the chagrin of the latter), and has transformed the basement into a practice room for Fire Saga.
- Butt-Monkey: Is insulted frequently by other characters and suffers more embarrassing injuries than any other person in the film.
- Childhood Friend Romance: With Sigrit. They are best friends since childhood and Sigrit was secretly in love with him. They start dating eventually.
- Control Freak: Often makes decisions about Fire Saga's stage act and costuming without consulting Sigrit.
- Dumb Blonde: He comes across as this.
- Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job: Prior to being selected to compete in Eurovision, he works as a parking enforcement officer.
- Future Loser: His father sees him as this when he announces his dream to compete in Eurovision.
- Gag Penis: Prior to Fire Saga's performance in front of the Icelandic judges, Lars stuffs a sock into his jumpsuit to make it appear as though he's more well-endowed than he is.
- Glory Seeker: Lars' main motivation for wanting to win Eurovision. The lyrics Sigrit writes for "Húsavík" allude to this:You want the worldAll the neon lights and billboardsTo be seen and to be heard
- High Hopes, Zero Talent: His father certainly considers him to be this.
- Idiot Hero: Leaves Edinburgh in a rage after the ruined semi-final perfomance without even waiting to hear how Fire Saga had placed, causing unnecessary distress for Sigrit and severely inconveniencing himself when he learns he has to go back. Even more so because a Eurovision contestant can get a do-over if a serious malfunction occurs during their performance (see Artistic License).
- I'm Not Here to Make Friends: His attitude towards Eurovision in general. It leads to tensions between him and Sigrit.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: After realizing that his relationship with Sigrit is more important to him than winning Eurovision, he encourages her to sing her own song "Húsavík" at the finals despite knowing that changing their song will disqualify them.
- Kavorka Man: He's completely oblivious to affection and not exactly gorgeous, but both Sigrit and Mita are interested in him.
- Loser Protagonist: Lars is regarded as a deadbeat weirdo by pretty much everyone in Húsavík except Sigrit.Húsavík police officer: I've always thought you were weird, Lars. My older brother went to school with you and he told me that you are weird.
- Manchild: Frequently behaves in an immature manner (for instance, his tantrum after Fire Saga's failed semi-final performance). After all, he's played by the guy who brought you Brennan Huff and Buddy the Elf.
- Momma's Boy: Is strongly implied to have been this, and was hit particularly hard by his mother's death.
- No Listening Skills: Generally appears to be unaware of the concerns of others, including his closest friend.
- Oblivious to Love: Initially, Lars rejects Sigrit's romantic overtures because he cares too much about Fire Saga to let love get in the way.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Lars has a very strong dislike of Americans and will hurl insults at them at every opportunity.
- The Unapologetic: Played for Laughs. He pushes over an outdoor toilet while it's still occupied. And then shouts "I'm not sorry!" when the occupant calls him out.
- Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Often acts like a rude and selfish Manchild. It's Played for Laughs, especially his Irrational Hatred of Americans.
- Wimp Fight: Lars is terrible at hand to hand combat; his attempt at a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on Lemtov is likened by the latter to a pleasant massage.
- Workaholic: Is more devoted to his job (to the extent that Fire Saga can be called a job) than he is to his personal relationships.
Sigrit Ericksdóttir
Played by: Rachel McAdams
Voiced by: Leyla Rangel, Viviann Baeza [singing] (Latin American Spanish dub); Isabel Valls (European Spanish dub); Mayumi Sako (Japanese dub); Noémie Orphelin, Cerise Calixte [singing] (French dub); Mikaela Tidermark Nelson (Swedish dub); Valentina Mari (Italian dub); Ranja Bonalana (German dub)
Voiced by: Leyla Rangel, Viviann Baeza [singing] (Latin American Spanish dub); Isabel Valls (European Spanish dub); Mayumi Sako (Japanese dub); Noémie Orphelin, Cerise Calixte [singing] (French dub); Mikaela Tidermark Nelson (Swedish dub); Valentina Mari (Italian dub); Ranja Bonalana (German dub)
- Childhood Friend Romance: With Lars. They are best friends since childhood and Sigrit was secretly in love with Lars. They start dating eventually.
- Cloudcuckoolander: With her belief in elves, dorky fashion choices and complete faith in The Power of Love, Sigrit certainly is this. In many scenes her oddness even makes Lars—a character played by Will Ferrell—seem like a Straight Man.
- The Conscience: Is probably the kindest, most morally upright character in the film.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: Turns out elves do exist.
- Cute Mute: When she was a little girl, she couldn't speak. As an adult, she says that she was never able to until Lars invited her to sing.
- The Cutie: Her naive innocence and sweetness make her adorable.
- Damsel out of Distress: Is prepared to perform Fire Saga's song for the final, even when Lars appears to be absent.
- Elective Mute: Sigrit seems to have been this as a child.
- Endearingly Dorky: Naive, quirky, genuinely sweet, and Obliviously Beautiful, she attracts Alexander and eventually Lars. Most people find her more likable than Lars, despite her many quirks.
- Friend to All Living Things: She is offended by the suggestion that elves are anything less than real, and frequently talks to and leaves food for them.
- Girlish Pigtails: More specifically, space buns.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: Spends much of the film wanting Lars to notice her romantically.Sigrit (to the elves): One more thing: I thought it might be cool, too, if we had a baby.
- The Ingenue: A decidedly quirky example, but she still contrasts sharply to Femme Fatale Mita Xenakis.
- Long Hair Is Feminine: Has very long hair which appears in a variety of styles.
- Love Martyr: Is fully committed to Lars, though he doesn't make it particularly easy for her.
- Nice Girl: While she has No Social Skills like Lars, she's much nicer than him.
- Noble Profession: Works as a teacher in the local school. In fact, one of the reasons she wants to stay at the Eurovision auditorium and take what she assumes is going to be a low score, rather than simply leaving as Lars wants, is because she wants to set a good example for her students.
- Performance Anxiety: Has this before the Icelandic national final.
- Sexy Scandinavian: Even if she wears very conservative clothes in her job as a teacher, she's played by heart-capturing Rachel McAdams and she's an endearing quirky figure.
- Silk Hiding Steel: Sigrit is gentle and kind to almost everyone, but will not hesitate to call somebody out if she feels they are behaving inappropriately. This can be seen after she gets into an argument with Lars over his boorish behavior and desire to change the arrangement of "Double Trouble" shortly before the semi-final:Lars: You have to focus up. The semifinals are tomorrow, and you're blowing it big time!Sigrit: No! You are blowing it big time. You are small, Lars Erickssong—so small.
- Sunny Sunflower Disposition: Well, most of the time anyway.
- There's No Place Like Home: Even though she has the potential (as recognized by Lemtov) to be a major star as a singer/songwriter, she chooses to return back home with Lars.
- Unlocking the Talent: Blossoms as a songwriter with "Húsavík."
- What Does She See in Him?: Her mother and the townspeople wonder why she spends so much time with Lars and think she deserves better. She doesn't listen to them.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Generally likes to think the best of people and wants to write authentic music rather than being laser-focused on winning Eurovision like Lars.
- Women Are Wiser: Despite her childlike outlook and general strangeness, she is shown to be intelligent and significantly more mature than Lars.
Alexander Lemtov
Played by: Dan Stevens
Voiced by: Alejandro Orozco (Latin American Spanish dub); Daniel García (European Spanish dub); Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese dub); Cédric Dumond (French dub); Lucas Krüger (Swedish dub); Gianfranco Miranda (Italian dub); Sascha Rotermund (German dub)
Voiced by: Alejandro Orozco (Latin American Spanish dub); Daniel García (European Spanish dub); Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese dub); Cédric Dumond (French dub); Lucas Krüger (Swedish dub); Gianfranco Miranda (Italian dub); Sascha Rotermund (German dub)
- Above the Influence: He does not take advantage of Sigrit when she gets drunk partying with him.
- Badass Teacher: Acts as a mentor figure for Sigrit in particular.
- The Beard: He's publicly flirty with Sigrit and Mita, which hides his homosexuality (he's Russian).
- The Dandy: Based on his lavish house and over-the-top fashion choices, he's certainly this.
- Establishing Character Moment: He's introduced while performing his Large Ham song, "Lion of Love."
- Gay Best Friend: For Mita.
- Hero of Another Story: Lemtov was well-received by viewers, many of whom wanted to find out more about his life and backstory.
- Implausible Deniability:
- He insists that the, um, well-endowed, statues with his face are from Ancient Greece.
- Of course he's not gay. He's Russian. There are no gay people in Russia.
- Incoming Ham: The long, drawn out "Looooooooooooooove
" at the start of his song. - Renaissance Man: Claims to be interested in a large number of topics, including Icelandic folklore (much to Sigrit's delight).
- Romantic False Lead: For Sigrit.
- Seen It All: It's implied that this isn't his first time as a Eurovision contestant.
- Sensual Slavs: A gender-flipped variant.
Mita Xenakis
Played by: Melissanthi Mahut
Voiced by: Edurne Keel (Latin American Spanish dub); Marta Martín Jorcano (European Spanish dub); Akina Abe (Japanese dub); Sandrine Moaligou (French dub); Josefine Götestam (Swedish dub); Valentina Favazza (Italian dub); Wicki Kalaitzi (German dub)
Voiced by: Edurne Keel (Latin American Spanish dub); Marta Martín Jorcano (European Spanish dub); Akina Abe (Japanese dub); Sandrine Moaligou (French dub); Josefine Götestam (Swedish dub); Valentina Favazza (Italian dub); Wicki Kalaitzi (German dub)
- Femme Fatale: She's attracted to Lars, and much less shy about sharing it it than Sigrit.
- Gorgeous Greek: And she knows it. Her Eurovision number plays up her sexiness.
- Ms. Fanservice: Her performance has her strip out of an astronaut suit wearing a skin-tight grey outfit underneath.
- Romantic False Lead: For Lars.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Implied about her and Alexander when she snarks about his tan at the end.
Erick Erickssong
Played by: Pierce Brosnan
Voiced by: Carlos Segundo (Latin American Spanish dub); Abel Folk (European Spanish dub); Hideyuki Tanaka (Japanese dub); Emmanuel Jacomy (French dub); Luca Ward (Italian dub); Frank Glaubrecht (German dub)
Voiced by: Carlos Segundo (Latin American Spanish dub); Abel Folk (European Spanish dub); Hideyuki Tanaka (Japanese dub); Emmanuel Jacomy (French dub); Luca Ward (Italian dub); Frank Glaubrecht (German dub)
- The Casanova: Has apparently managed to bed many of the women in the village. Not Sigrit's mother, though.
- Disappointed in You: His reaction to most of Lars' antics during the first half of the film.
- Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Considers Lars' desire to win Eurovision frivolous and silly, and wishes he'd just move out, settle down and start a family.
- Grumpy Old Man: Spends most of the movie incredibly sour over his wife's death and Lars' subsequent life choices.
- Silver Fox: Lars refers to him as "my very handsome father."
- So Proud of You: Is eventually impressed by Lars' grit, particularly when he and Sigrit finish "Double Trouble" at the semi-finals despite being injured.
Victor Karlosson
Played by: Mikael Persbrandt
Voiced by: Juan Carlos Gustems (European Spanish dub); Patrick Laplace (French dub); Gianluca Tusco (Italian dub); Bernd Vollbrecht (German dub)
Voiced by: Juan Carlos Gustems (European Spanish dub); Patrick Laplace (French dub); Gianluca Tusco (Italian dub); Bernd Vollbrecht (German dub)
- Affably Evil: He's generally perfectly pleasant to be around, as long as you don't go about trying to win Eurovision...
- Improvised Weapon: he keeps a garotte in his watch, and tries strangling Lars with it.
- In the Back: He dies from a tiny elf knife being thrown into his back, while he's strangling Lars.
- Ironic Name: "Victor" is another word for "winner." That couldn't be less true of Victor, because he sets his mind on making Iceland lose the song contest, and ends up losing everything in his Karmic Death.
- Large Ham: His Motive Rant to Lars while he's trying to garotte him to death is not subtle. Then again, considering he's enraged at Fire Saga's unwanted success, you can forgive him for that.
- The Reveal: He was the one who blew up the boat, killing all the other contestants.
- Schemer: He certainly is this.
Katiana Lindsdóttir
Played by: Demi Lovato
Voiced by: Valentina Souza (Latin American Spanish dub); Lara Ullod (European Spanish dub)
Voiced by: Valentina Souza (Latin American Spanish dub); Lara Ullod (European Spanish dub)
- The Ace: Presented as a massively talented singer, she's the obvious favorite to win the Icelandic Song Contest as soon as the selection commitee sees her entry, and seen as a serious contender to give Iceland its first-ever Eurovision win until she's killed in an explosion engineered by Victor just after the national final.
- Advertised Extra: Gets top billing despite being killed off very early into the movie, and making only two more short appearances in ghost form afterwards.
- Dead Person Conversation: Her ghost appears twice to Lars to warn him about Victor's murderous intent.
- Jacob Marley Apparel: As a ghost, she is charred and burning from the explosion that killed her, and also missing the arm that landed in front of Sigrit.
Graham Norton
Played by: Graham Norton
Voiced by: Sebastián Rosas (Latin American Spanish dub); Pep Sais (European Spanish dub); Jean-Claude Donda (French dub); Niclas Ekholm (Swedish dub); Paolo Marchese (Italian dub); Gerald Schaale (German dub)
Voiced by: Sebastián Rosas (Latin American Spanish dub); Pep Sais (European Spanish dub); Jean-Claude Donda (French dub); Niclas Ekholm (Swedish dub); Paolo Marchese (Italian dub); Gerald Schaale (German dub)
- Adam Westing: His movie version plays up the cattiness he's known for when broadcasting Eurovision for BBC.
- Advertised Extra: Credited with the main cast despite appearing only for a cameo in the final act.
- Deadpan Snarker: Most of his screentime is devoted to him snarking on the performances and/or performers."Now the moment we've been waiting for: Iceland. [...] They're called Fire Saga and why they're here is anyone's guess."
