Rolf Åke Mikael Nyqvist ( ; 8 November 1960 – 27 June 2017 ) , better known as Michael Nyqvist , was a Swedish actor . Educated at the School of Drama in Malmö , he became well known for playing police officer Banck in the 1997 – 1998 Martin Beck TV series and for his leading role in the 2001 film '' Grabben i graven bredvid '' . He was internationally recognized for his role as Mikael Blomkvist in the acclaimed '' Millennium '' series and as the lead villains in '' Mission : Impossible – Ghost Protocol '' ( as Kurt Hendricks ) and '' John Wick '' ( as Viggo Tarasov ) . In 2004 , he played the leading role in '' As It Is in Heaven '' which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 77th Academy Awards
77th Academy Awards
77th Academy Awards
Michael Nyqvist