Hans Petersson was born in 1964 in Borås, Västergötland.[1] He grew particularly tall during puberty and was treated with growth hormone at fourteen years old to limit his growth. He reached his full height of 2.06 metres (6 ft 9 in) at fourteen.[2] He considered a career as a basketball player,[2] and briefly worked as a sea lion trainer at Borås djurpark.[3] He also had jobs as a chauffeur and a teacher before deciding to become an actor.[1] He took on the surname Rosenfeldt – his mother's maiden name – during school, replacing his birth name.[4]
Rosenfeldt began acting in the late 1980s.[1] In addition to small television roles, he acted with the Gothenburg National Theatre for five years, eventually realizing that he did not enjoy acting. Instead, he applied for a job at the radio program Glädjetåget and soon began writing for television, including the soap operasRederiet and Tre kronor, in the 1990s.[4]
As a radio personality, he has been a recurring panel member on Sveriges Radio P1's På Minuten for over a decade.[3][4] He has also worked as a television presenter, hosting the game show Parlamentet from 2000 to 2003.[3] In 2007, he co-wrote Sveriges Television's Christmas calendar, En riktig jul. He served briefly as an entertainment management at Sveriges Television, but did not feel suited to the role.[4] Rosenfeldt hosted Sveriges Radio's winter program in 2009 and 2011; the story of the 2009 program was inspired by his mother's experience with dementia.[4]
In 2006, Rosenfeldt was hired by the Swedish production company Filmlance International to create a crime series that was set in both Sweden and Denmark.[5] The result was The Bridge, a Danish-Swedish co-production that focuses on a pair of detectives investigating a series of crimes that take place near the border of the two countries.[5] The show's first season premiered in 2011 and its second season was aired in 2013.[5]The Bridge was an international success,[2] and spawned five adaptations, including The Bridge, set on the American-Mexican border,[6] and The Tunnel, set on the British-French border.[7]
Rosenfeldt and his friend Michael Hjorth have written a series of crime fiction novels which center around a forensic psychologist. Their first book, Det fördolda (The Secret), was released in 2010, while its sequel, Lärjungen (Disciple), was published in 2011.[3] Together, they adapted the first two novels in the series into a television miniseries, Sebastian Bergman, which was broadcast in 2010.[4]
Rosenfeldt, since 2016, has written the three-series English language detective series Marcella.[8]
