Main Characters
The Marklund brothers in general
- Hero-Worshipper: Of their father, Stor-Erik, in large part thanks to Sven-E keeping his legend alive.
Sven-Erik "Sven-E" Ivar Marklund
Played by: Lennart Jähkel
The eldest brother; disciplined, dutiful and generally tough but fair.
- Amazon Chaser: The one time in the series that he expressed any interest in female companionship, he was attracted to a tough-as-nails, hard-charging school teacher who reminded him of a possible Precocious Crush, his former teacher Doris.
- Broken Ace: The most competent and dedicated piste watchmen of the brothers, but he is driven by the responsibility his father thrust upon him leaving the family.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He is usually curt, uptight and can go to some pretty bad lengths to keep his brothers from leaving, but is genuinely heroic and caring of those close to him.
- Parental Abandonment: He took Stor-Erik's disappearance the hardest, primarily because he was Promoted to Parent, and his mood became darker afterwards.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Along with Jan-E, the Manly Man to Olle's Sensitive Guy.
Jan-Erik "Jan-E" Ivar Marklund
Played by: Jacob Nordenson
The middle brother; easy-going, sometimes to a fault, and less devoted to his duties than Sven-E and Olle.
- Small Town Boredom: He dreams of the big city and tries several times to either leave Svartlien or bring some of the big city to the area.
- Glory Days: Downplayed; While he does takes pride in following in his father's footsteps as a piste watchman, he can never forget (or let anyone else forget) that he was a promising ski racer in his youth, and still considers beating ski legend Ingemar Stenmark in a kiddie cup in 1972 his life's crowning achievement.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: Walks into the Bodega speaking German while dressed as (Italian) alpine skier and coach Ermanno Nogler.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Along with Sven-E, the Manly Man to Olle's Sensitive Guy.
Olof "Olle" Ivar Marklund
Played by: Tomas Norström
The youngest brother; friendly, but a bit dim-witted and naive.
Gudrun Marklund
Played by: Barbro Oborg
Sven-E, Jan-E and Olle's mother, and Stor-Erik's long-since estranged wife.
- Open-Minded Parent: In stark contrast to Sven-E, she is much more open to Olle and Jan-E seeking outside connections and maybe even moving away from Svartlien some day.
- Team Mom: Also the brothers' literal mom.
- The Smurfette Principle: Was the only female main character in the series, until Eva-Lena joined the cast in season 2.
Bengt-Hans, a.k.a. "Beng-Ha"
Played by: Pierre Lindstedt
The owner of a local bodega and a close family friend of the Marklunds.
- Honorary Uncle: Has been a close friend of the Marklund family since the brothers were young and continues to fill this role for them.
Recurring and Minor Characters
Stor-Erik Marklund
Played by: Sten Ljunggren
The Marklund brothers' father. A legendary piste watchman who hasn't been seen in Svartlien for 20 years.
- Alcoholic Dad: He's a father and, while he was living in a bear cave near the end of his life, he resorted to making his own alcohol by fermenting berries.
- Feet of Clay: In the end of the second season, he is shown to have fallen even further from grace than the previous episodes indicated; he is now flat broke, too cowardly to actually face his family after abandoning them and lives in a cave with a hibernating bear.
- The Patriarch: Was this for the Marklund family before he left Svartlien.
- Shrouded in Myth: Many of the stories about him, such as him being a close personal friend of the king of Sweden or digging out dozens of people buried by an avalanche with his bare hands, are apparently either exaggerated beyond measure or completely fabricated by Sven-E to keep his legend alive and inspire Jan-E and Olle.
Yngve Bäck
Played by: Carl Magnus Dellow
An initially uptight local police inspector, who quickly befriends the Marklund brothers.
- The Alcoholic: Played for Laughs. While most characters in the series enjoy plenty of homemade liquor throughout the series, Yngve seems to enjoy it more than most.
- Defrosting Ice King: Is an upstanding and dedicated officer of the law at first, but becomes more relaxed and friendlier with the Marklunds after Sven-E saves him from drowning.
- Villainy-Free Villain: In his first appearance, he is filling in for the police officer who usually works with the Marklund brothers and who is pretty friendly with them. Unlike the regular officer, he takes his job seriously and quickly finds evidence of a whole bunch of legal violations that he plans to report. While the Marklunds are portrayed sympathetically despite this, Yngve is just doing his job and serving the law. Afterwards, he has a change of heart.
Eva-Lena
Played by: Margareta Stone
Beng-Ha's niece, who comes to help him with his duties when his back fails.
- Brutal Honesty: A non-verbal version: When Jan-E approaches her in an incredibly gaudy outfit, she has a laughing fit that lasts until he leaves the room again.
- Put on a Bus: In the end of season 2, she leaves Svartlien to attend university.
The Soda and Food Bus Driver
Played by: N/A
Possibly the sole supplier of food stuffs and other essential supplies to Svartlien; the driver is sometimes spoken to by Beng-Ha on the phone, but is never seen or heard.
- The Ghost: The bus is essential for keeping Svartlien going, but the driver is never seen or heard. The bus only makes a physical appearance in the movie, where it has been trashed by a polar bear and the driver has run away.
- Super Gullible: Somehow, Beng-Ha is able to keep ordering tons and tons of sugar and yeast and write it off as supplies for a big bake while never ordering any flour (or ordering very small amounts if questioned about it).
