Jussi Lehtonen

Jussi Lehtonen (b. 1974) is an actor and director from Helsinki. He works as the head of the "Communities and Participation" department at the Finnish National Theatre. His most recent directing projects include the National Theatre’s productions of Another Home (2017) and Undocumented Love (2020), where he collaborated with artists of refugee backgrounds. His latest acting roles at the National Theatre include performances in Forest Furiosa (2024), Break! (2023), and Diplomats (2021), as well as in the Espoo Theatre’s Lehman Trilogy (2020). Lehtonen earned his Doctorate in Theatre Arts in 2015 from the University of the Arts Helsinki’s Theatre Academy, focusing on actor-audience interaction in care institutions. He has authored the book In the Same Light – Acting in Care Institution Tours (Avain, 2010) and edited The Horror of Freedom – Writings on Theatre by Those Released from Prison (ntamo, 2016). His debut novel, The Man with a Woman’s Heart, will be published in the fall of 2024 by WSOY.