Nils Bengt Folke Ekerot (8 February 1920 - 26 November 1971) was a Swedish actor and stage director whose name is inseparable from the role of Death in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (1957). The white-faced, black-cloaked figure was a joint creative decision between Ekerot and Bergman, and it has shaped how Death is depicted in film and other media ever since. As a director, he made theatre history by staging the world premiere of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm in 1956.
The Seventh Seal had its premiere on February 16, 1957 and won the Jury Prize at the Cannes festival - Ekerot's role as Death immediately became an icon.
Ekerot as a theater director staged the world premiere of O'Neill's play Long Day's Journey into Night at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm - the production received unanimous critical acclaim.
