# Magnús Scheving
**Magnús Scheving** (Magnús Örn Eyjólfsson Scheving; born 1964) is an Icelandic writer, entrepreneur, producer, actor, and former competitive aerobics athlete, best known as the creator, director, and star of the children's television series *LazyTown* (*Latibær*), in which he portrayed the athletic superhero [Sportacus](https://www.edgepedia.org/sportacus) (Íþróttaálfurinn, "the Athletic Elf").[1](https://entertainment.ie/person/magnus-scheving-978261/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1964, Reykjavík, Iceland; birth name Magnús Örn Scheving[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1551787/bio/) |
| Occupations | Writer, television producer, entrepreneur, actor, athlete, and public speaker; trained as a carpenter[1](https://entertainment.ie/person/magnus-scheving-978261/) • [3](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2006/06/30/a-bold-fiery-spirit-who-will-stop-at-nothing/) |
| Athletic honors | Two-time European aerobics champion (1994 and 1995), world championship silver medalist (1994), five-time Nordic champion, eight-time Icelandic champion, and Icelandic "Athlete of the Year"[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1551787/bio/) |
| LazyTown origins | Book *Áfram Latibær* (1995), then a stage play, then the television series that premiered on Nickelodeon in 2004[3](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2006/06/30/a-bold-fiery-spirit-who-will-stop-at-nothing/) • [4](https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/lazytowns-legacy-the-cult-kids-show-with-a-loyal-online-following) |
| TV run | *LazyTown* ran for four seasons, with its final season airing in 2014; it aired in more than 100 countries[4](https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/lazytowns-legacy-the-cult-kids-show-with-a-loyal-online-following) • [5](https://aib.org.uk/Resources/Magnus_Scheving_LazyTown_2007.pdf) |
| Business | Co-founder of LazyTown Entertainment; sold the company to Turner (Time Warner) after about 25 years and reacquired the brand and intellectual property rights in 2024[6](https://www.cbnet.com/people/magnus-scheving) • [7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8fJsMk7OCA) |
| Recognition | Lifetime Achievement Award at the Icelandic Edda Awards (2006); Nordic Public Health Award for his contribution to public health in the Nordic countries[8](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/magnus-scheving) • [3](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2006/06/30/a-bold-fiery-spirit-who-will-stop-at-nothing/) |
## Early life and the aerobics bet
Scheving grew up in Borgarnes, a small Icelandic town, until the age of sixteen, and also lived in Hvammstangi. His father, Eyjólfur Magnússon Scheving, was a physical education teacher and a pioneer of sports activities for children; his mother was Þórveig Hjartardóttir.[9](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2009/12/18/sportacus-at-the-end-of-the-road/) • [3](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2006/06/30/a-bold-fiery-spirit-who-will-stop-at-nothing/) His first job came at age five, when, as the fastest runner in Borgarnes, a town of about 1,500 people, he became the telephone exchange's messenger boy, sometimes walking a 6 km round trip to announce a call. The exchange manager, who was also a drama teacher, later cast him in acting roles that included reciting Molière monologues.[10](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2009/01/09/fit-for-purpose-icelands-superhero/) He studied carpentry at the Polytechnic in Breiðholt, worked in construction, ran a gym, and gave school lectures on exercise and healthy living.[3](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2006/06/30/a-bold-fiery-spirit-who-will-stop-at-nothing/)
His entry into competitive sport came from a wager with a friend, in which each had to master a sport of the other's choosing. Scheving won the bet: he became a multiple Icelandic aerobics champion, undefeated in Icelandic aerobics competitions, as well as a Nordic champion and a two-time European champion.[11](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2003/09/10/never-good-at-anything-but-decent-in-most/) • [3](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2006/06/30/a-bold-fiery-spirit-who-will-stop-at-nothing/) His record lists two European aerobics titles, in 1994 and 1995, a silver medal at the 1994 World Championships of aerobics, five Nordic titles, and eight Icelandic titles, and he was voted Athlete of the Year in Iceland in 1994.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1551787/bio/) • [9](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2009/12/18/sportacus-at-the-end-of-the-road/) Ten years after that award he received the Nordic Public Health Award for his contribution to improving public health in the [Nordic countries](https://www.edgepedia.org/nordic-countries).[3](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2006/06/30/a-bold-fiery-spirit-who-will-stop-at-nothing/)
## Creating LazyTown
In the mid-1990s Scheving began using his athletic fame to urge Icelandic children to exercise more and make healthier choices, judging that popular culture offered no healthy role models for kids.[12](https://wiki.lazytown.eu/index.php/Magn%C3%BAs_Scheving) His first book, *Áfram Latibær*, was published in 1995 and introduced Icelandic readers to the characters Solla Stirða, Siggi Sæti, and Glanni Glæpur, who became [Stephanie](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephanie), Ziggy, and [Robbie Rotten](https://www.edgepedia.org/robbie-rotten) in the English versions.[3](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2006/06/30/a-bold-fiery-spirit-who-will-stop-at-nothing/) The book later became a play, and the concept grew into videotapes, cards, CDs, and books before television.[3](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2006/06/30/a-bold-fiery-spirit-who-will-stop-at-nothing/) Scheving has said he deliberately tested the concept in Iceland for ten years, as a book, a musical, and a radio show, before taking it abroad as a television program.[5](https://aib.org.uk/Resources/Magnus_Scheving_LazyTown_2007.pdf)
The *LazyTown* television series premiered on [Nickelodeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/nickelodeon) in 2004, blending puppetry and live action, with Scheving as Sportacus, a blue-clad athletic superhero, and [Stefán Karl Stefánsson](https://www.edgepedia.org/stefan-karl-stefansson) as the purple-suited villain Robbie Rotten.[4](https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/lazytowns-legacy-the-cult-kids-show-with-a-loyal-online-following) Production was the most extensive in Icelandic television history to that point, based in a 4,000-square-meter studio in [Garðabær](https://www.edgepedia.org/gar-ab-r).[3](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2006/06/30/a-bold-fiery-spirit-who-will-stop-at-nothing/) Scheving built what he described as one of the most advanced high-definition digital studios in the world there, capable of keying out green screen live.[5](https://aib.org.uk/Resources/Magnus_Scheving_LazyTown_2007.pdf)
**Scale and cost.** The Telegraph reported in 2009 that *LazyTown* was the most expensive children's television series ever made, at about $1 million per episode and $8 to $10 million a year to run, with Scheving owning a 44 percent stake in the business.[10](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2009/01/09/fit-for-purpose-icelands-superhero/) He described the show's purpose as a tool for parents raising healthy children, designed so that young viewers would not realize they were being led through exercise.[5](https://aib.org.uk/Resources/Magnus_Scheving_LazyTown_2007.pdf) In Iceland, a LazyTown campaign run with the government was followed by a 22 percent rise in fruit and vegetable sales in a single month.[10](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2009/01/09/fit-for-purpose-icelands-superhero/) Iceland's Health Minister said that if he had to name one reason the country's childhood obesity curve had stopped climbing after ten years of LazyTown, he would name the show.[13](https://aib.org.uk/The-Channel/Archive/03-2007/The%20Channel%203-2007.pdf)
By the mid-2000s the show was available in seven languages, with more than 100 people on the payroll and products made with the toy brand Fisher Price launched in the United States.[3](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2006/06/30/a-bold-fiery-spirit-who-will-stop-at-nothing/) Scheving later said the brand reached 172 countries and 500 million homes, and that after about 25 years he sold his company to Turner, part of Time Warner.[6](https://www.cbnet.com/people/magnus-scheving) In May 2024 he announced that he had acquired the series again, along with the brand and intellectual property rights.[7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8fJsMk7OCA)
## As Sportacus
Scheving performed the Sportacus role himself on screen. Outside *LazyTown*, he was finishing his role as the villain in the [Jackie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-chan) film *[The Spy Next Door](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-spy-next-door)* in 2009.[14](https://www.visir.is/paper/fbl/090326.pdf) In Iceland he was also a well-known comedian and entertainer who produced and hosted his own talk show as well as popular health-related children's television programs.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1551787/bio/)
## Legacy and later activity
*LazyTown* ran for four seasons, was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award, and won the International category at the BAFTA Children's Awards; its final season aired in 2014.[4](https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/lazytowns-legacy-the-cult-kids-show-with-a-loyal-online-following) Its afterlife online has been substantial: the song "[We Are Number One](https://www.edgepedia.org/we-are-number-one)" and its remixes went viral in support of Stefán Karl Stefánsson, who died of cancer in 2018.[4](https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/lazytowns-legacy-the-cult-kids-show-with-a-loyal-online-following) A sold-out 30th-anniversary celebration concert was held in [Reykjavík](https://www.edgepedia.org/reykjavik) on 17 January 2026, with Scheving onstage.[4](https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/lazytowns-legacy-the-cult-kids-show-with-a-loyal-online-following) In 2024 he also said he intended to found a charitable fund in LazyTown's name to support physical activity for children who lack the opportunity.[15](https://mannlif.is/greinar/magnus-scheving-opnar-sig-um-framtid-latabaejar/)
## References
1. [Magnús Scheving – About, Entertainment.ie](https://entertainment.ie/person/magnus-scheving-978261/)
2. [Magnús Scheving – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1551787/bio/)
3. [A bold, fiery spirit, who will stop at nothing – Dagblaðið Vísir via LazyTown Articles (2006)](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2006/06/30/a-bold-fiery-spirit-who-will-stop-at-nothing/)
4. [LazyTown's legacy: The cult kids show with a loyal online following – The Citizen](https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/lazytowns-legacy-the-cult-kids-show-with-a-loyal-online-following)
5. [Interview with Magnús Scheving – The Channel, AIB (2007)](https://aib.org.uk/Resources/Magnus_Scheving_LazyTown_2007.pdf)
6. [Magnus Scheving – Creative Business Network](https://www.cbnet.com/people/magnus-scheving)
7. [Magnús Scheving has the rights of LazyTown back again – YouTube (2024)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8fJsMk7OCA)
8. [Magnús Scheving – VALÉORINE](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/magnus-scheving)
9. [Sportacus at the end of the road – Dagblaðið Vísir via LazyTown Articles (2009)](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2009/12/18/sportacus-at-the-end-of-the-road/)
10. [Fit for purpose – Iceland's superhero – The Telegraph via LazyTown Articles (2009)](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2009/01/09/fit-for-purpose-icelands-superhero/)
11. [Never good at anything but decent in most – LazyTown Articles (2003)](https://articles.lazytown.eu/2003/09/10/never-good-at-anything-but-decent-in-most/)
12. [Magnús Scheving – LazyTown Wiki](https://wiki.lazytown.eu/index.php/Magn%C3%BAs_Scheving)
13. [Channel DTP – The Channel, AIB (2007)](https://aib.org.uk/The-Channel/Archive/03-2007/The%20Channel%203-2007.pdf)
14. [Fréttablaðið (2009) on The Spy Next Door – Vísir archive](https://www.visir.is/paper/fbl/090326.pdf)
15. [Magnús Scheving opnar sig um framtíð Latabæjar – Mannlíf](https://mannlif.is/greinar/magnus-scheving-opnar-sig-um-framtid-latabaejar/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Nordic actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license