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Red One made a theatrical debut on November 15, 2024, joining the roster of holiday movies arriving just before Christmas 2024. The action-comedy and sometimes thriller feature film revolves around the buff gym rate Santa Claus getting kidnapped from his home in North Pole.
Besides a new retelling of the classic Santa Claus story, the film also introduces an interesting villain—Krampus. He appears in the movie as a mythical figure with a goat-like head complete with thorns and looks like a beast.
He's Santa's estranged brother who traditionally works with him, but instead of giving gifts, he's the one tasked with doling out punishments for those on the naughty list.
Red One stars Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, and Lucy Liu, and Game of Thrones' Kristofer Hivju is playing Krampus.
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Krampus is Santa's adoptive brother in Red One
In Red One, Krampus is Santa Claus' estranged adoptive brother and former partner. German folklore is the inspiration behind the character who punishes the kids on the naughty list. While St. Nicholas gives gifts to those on the nice list, Krampus punishes or snatches and puts the kids in the basket he carries before dragging them to hell.
Other times, mischievous kids are kidnapped, ripped apart, and used as ingredients in a stew. In short, it's Krampus' duty to dole out the punishment.
The movie introduces that Krampus and Santa had a falling out, and the goat-headed, demon-looking character was the originator of the naughty list. He's introduced halfway through the film when Evans' Jack and Johnson's Callum happens into his lair looking for the missing Santa Claus.
There, they find Krampus surrounded by mythical creatures playing a game called Krampusschlap where the goal is slapping the opponent.
Krampus' ex-girlfriend, winter witch Gryla (Kiernan Shipka), plans to kidnap Santa, but Krampus denies his involvement in the plot. Talking about his Krampus character, Kristofer Hivju told Variety on November 15:
"If Santa is God, then Krampus is the devil. We just made him a bit more masculine than in the folklore."
Kristofer Hivju plays Krampus in Red One
Norwegian actor Kristofer Hivju, who played the warrior Tormund Giantsbane in Game of Thrones, plays Red One's version of Krampus. As Santa's estranged brother in the holiday movie, Hivju is covered in a fair share of prosthetics, including his long horns and half-goat, half-demon feet.
The Norwegian actor reportedly had to fly back and forth from Oslo, Norway, to Los Angeles for several months for fittings of his Krampus suit. He told Variety on November 15 about making the suit, saying:
"First we made a sculpture of my whole body, and then they made suits around it. When I flex my muscles, it has reactions in the suit."
It reportedly takes an 85-pound, full-body suit with six horns, hands, gloves, teeth, and lenses to transform Hivju into Krampus in Red One.
Besides GOT, Kristofer Hivju can be seen in Netflix's The Witcher, where he played Nivellen, aka Danger or Degen, a former human who turned into a beast after being cursed.
He's also in Twilight of Gods, Force Majeure, Fate of the Furious, and C*caine Bear.
Catch Krampus in Red One in movie theaters. The streaming release date for the movie is still unconfirmed.
