Sara Rut Arnardóttir, also known as SaraRuta, completed her acting studies at the Icelandic Film School in 2015 and received her diploma. She soon began working as a radio host at KissFM Iceland and enrolled in voice-over and dubbing training courses at Stúdíó Sýrland.
SaraRuta has previously worked with the independent theater company Stúdentaleikhúsið for young people as well as the community theater group in the town of Hafnarfjörður, where she appeared in the play "Ekkert að óttast," which won the "The Best Independent Theater in Iceland" award in 2016. Additionally, Sara contributed to a "Street Theater" initiative for the city of Reykjavik in 2018.
She began teaching acting to kids from 6 to 16 at Setbergsskóli in Hafnarfjörður, where she also created and produced a number of theatrical productions. She has acted in over 25 short films, such as "Kalt blóð," which placed second for "Best Film" at the Frostbiter festival.
Following these experiences, she relocated to Berlin and enrolled in Catalyst Film School, where she earned a BA in screen acting. In 2021, she received an honors diploma. SaraRuta and her students created the feature film "Memberstate" during this time, which is presently submitting to film festivals all around the world. One of her final endeavors was a one-woman performance, which she presented in the Reykjavik Fringe and for which she was recognized as the festival's "Most Impactful Show of the Festival."
Actor and Casting Director with more than ten years of experience in the film industry. Previously, Sara worked as a PA, runner, set dresser, producer, radio host at Kissfm and actor. Now, she has concentrated on casting for the past 2.5 years and has discovered her passion and drive in working with directors and actors.
Sara is a dedicated team player who has the experience and expertise needed to meet any operational demand.
I grew up in the little community of Sauðárkrókur, which has 2700 residents and is situated in the North of Iceland. The older boys at my school mercilessly tormented me for years; they mostly made fun of my appearance and the fact that I acted like a child, which is ironic considering I was one. Unfortunately, I developed pretty slowly. After being bullied, I felt powerless and attempted a number of methods to get them to stop, but nothing worked. The drawback of living in such a small place was that there was only one school, so I couldn't simply transfer. I finally had enough. I began to respond with humorous comebacks because I was sick of being the victim, and that's when things changed. Instead of laughing at me, they began to do so with me.
I was bullied for more than 8 years before performing a stand-up comedy routine in front of the entire school at my 15-year-old graduation. The show featured first-person accounts of my bullying and clumsiness. I was acting like the bullies and teachers, going all out since I had nothing to lose. I didn't care if I looked ridiculous on stage. Bullies had already attempted to tear me apart, but I was able to put myself back together using humor and comedy. I attracted everyone's attention and was chosen as my school's "Funniest Person 2010." I was changed by this experience, which also gave me the guts to pursue an acting profession. I had a fire inside of me that I wasn't aware of, but I enjoyed it when I was on stage and received laughter from the audience. I want to carry out this action.
I believe that my instinctive sense of humor is a consequence of the trauma I experienced as a child; I will spare you the details here, but humor has always served as one of my coping mechanisms. I somehow neglected humor because I felt it was "too easy" when I truly started concentrating on acting. I jumped into drama theater head first because I wanted to be treated seriously. Years later, I came to the realization that comedy was the fuel for my acting career, contrary to my initial fears that it would be my downfall in the performing world. I adore being used as comic relief and will continue to do so. This made me consider the possibility that one day I might host an open mic night and even have success as a stand-up comic. I love the thought, but I was afraid of being evaluated; now, though, I welcome it.