Clark Netflix: The True Story Of Clark Olofsson And The Netflix Series Compared

Clark is a Swedish Netflix miniseries that chronicles the incredible criminal, love, and judicial life of Clark Olofsson. Composed of six episodes lasting 50/55 minutes each and sees Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård play one of the most legendary criminals in Swedish history. In addition to the impudence and the spectacularity of his deeds, it was a robbery organized by him that made history, giving rise to the so-called “Stockholm syndrome”. A psychological phenomenon still much debated and studied for the first time during a legendary robbery with hostages carried out in Norrmalmstorg in 1973. 

Looking at the photo taken during one of Olofsson’s countless arrests at a young age and the reproduction of the shot starring Bill Skarsgård (who became famous in the United States for playing Pennywise in the two IT films) it is evident how physically actor and historical person are very similar. How faithful is the Clark series to series to the real events in Olofsson’s life? What happened to the real Carl? Let’s find out together.

What’s Clark’s, True Story? Series And Reality Compared

The Netflix miniseries dedicated to the figure of the thief and robber Clark Olofsson is inspired by the autobiography written by Clark himself about his life and by the documentary, journalistic and judicial material accumulated over the years about it. In 2020, for example, a documentary entitled Clark was made in Sweden, which reconstructed his life. The film was subject to much criticism due to the positive light in which it portrayed a kind of idol, partly downplaying the criminal actions and pain caused by Olofsson.

The problem of controversial figures – and very inclined to talk about themselves – like that of Clark Olofsson is precisely this: how much can one trust in their reconstruction? In the case of the Netflix series, it can be said to be very faithful to the story as we know it. Not only that: the series also reflects on the role played by the media in building the popularity of Clark Olofsson, portraying his criminal prowess in an almost romantic light.

Clark’s childhood

The series begins with the story of the protagonist’s birth (a quote from David Copperfield?) And his disadvantaged childhood. The reality is even more dramatic than what is told in the series: Clark Olofsson’s mother, an alcoholic, ended up in a psychiatric institution after her husband left her and left home. Clark and his sisters thus ended up in the circuit of adoptive families, from which Clark tried to escape while still a child.

This part of young Clark’s life was perhaps omitted because his mother was able to regain balance and, after an interlude in the nautical school and a trip around the world as a sailor cadet, he returned to live with the woman, who opened a small shop.

The Escapes

Clark’s life has been a constant coming and going from reformers, juvenile institutions, and juvenile prisons. In the Netflix series, Clark manages to regain his freedom by escaping from prison 17 times. In reality, Clark has tried to escape from prison so many times that we do not have a precise number of successful attempts of him.
The Raid On The Home Of The Swedish Prime Minister

The incredible episode of Clark and his friends infiltrating the greenhouse of the summer estate of the Swedish Prime Minister Tage Erlander is documented. In reality, the boys stole the vegetables and fruit from the greenhouse to eat them. However, they were chased not by the prime minister armed with a rifle, but by a gardener who had seen them enter. The episode of the policeman being killed after a shot in a sporting goods store is also true: the reality of the trial decreed that it was Clark’s friend, Gunnar Norgren, who fired. However, as an accomplice, he was sentenced to 8 years.

Stockholm Syndrome
The series devotes a large chapter to the events that led to the birth of the so-called Stockholm Syndrome, detailing the robbery that Jan-Erik Olsson attempted on 23 August 1973 at the Sveriges Kreditbanken in Stockholm. Clark Olofsson took part in the robbery and kidnapping after his friend asked the police for his release from prison as a condition for the release of the hostages. The events related to the robbery are told quite faithfully in the series.

Sex and Marriage

The series opens with a strong statement: Clark likes all women and has always been in love, every day of his life. We know for sure that he was a sexually active young man, but in reality, we have no precise news of this alleged intense sexual activity and promiscuity. Episodes like the one told in the first episode (in which Clark ends up in bed in a single night first with his daughter and then with the mother of the host family) are the result of reconstructions that are only partially confirmed or invented by the show, albeit with a certain degree of likelihood.

It is true, however, that in 1976 Clark married Marijke, a Belgian girl. Their marriage lasted until the 1990s and they had three children. In the series, it is not specified that Clark had many illegitimate children: three have been established, but there may be more. In short, the promiscuity told in the series may not be so exaggerated.

Has Clark Olofsson Ever killed Anyone?
One of the more complicated questions to answer is whether Clark ever killed anyone. In addition to the episode of the dead police officer (of which Clark is not a material performer or in the series), there is the episode that occurred during the Midsommar. In the series, a very drunk Clark ends up stabbing a man with whom he has argued: the assault will cost him 2 and half years in prison.

In reality, this episode also happened and even in real life the man – a sailor named Leif Sundin visiting Möja during the Swedish midsummer party – fortunately, survived. The local newspapers of the time also spoke of the incident.

Clark Olofsson Today

Where did Clark Olofsson go and what does he do today? Clark Olofsson is still alive and 75 years old. Since the 1990s he has changed his name several times, giving up his Swedish citizenship and then regaining it. In addition to attempting to rob some banks in old age, he was “pinched” with a huge drug load in 2008, for which he was sentenced to a 14-year sentence. Since July 2018, however, he is a free man. It is not known exactly how and where he lives, given that he has once again changed his identity, but it seems that he has settled in Belgium. Although he is divorced from his ex Marijke, in the latest interviews released he always speaks of her with great esteem and affection. He has a new partner, with whom he had a son. In one of the latest interviews released, he says he has no regrets: 

In my life, I have done everything and the f ***** o opposite of everything, except work. I’ve been to South America, and Japan four times, everywhere except Australia. I lived like a king. like a happy king.

One last curiosity: in 1991 he was arrested on the recommendation of a bank teller in Oslo. Seeing him enter and recognizing him, the man feared he was going to make a shot. He was released 24 hours later.