Sportacus

	Sportacus
Icelandic Name:	Íþróttaálfurinn
Actor/Puppeter:	Magnús Scheving
Voice:	Matthias Matthiasson (singing)

Sportacus is the deuteragonist of LazyTown. Sportacus describes himself as a "slightly above-average hero", though his friends have a higher opinion of him, calling him a superhero.

Description

"Sportacus 10 ('Sportacus' to his friends) is LazyTown's resident action-health hero. He's the hero every little boy and girl wants to be: fit, agile and an amazing acrobat with lightning fast moves. He loves to use everyday items in outrageous ways and never does anything ordinary when he can do it with flair. Patient and kind and always understanding, he doesn't tell the kids of LazyTown not to do something, but rather leads by example.

His kryptonite is sugar. Just the slightest bit makes him instantly lethargic, and he crumples to the ground in a heap. His primary mode of transportation is his large airship that hovers over LazyTown. He travels between airship and LazyTown in a pod-like transporter, the Skutla. Alerted to trouble by a large crystal on his uniform, he's ready in a flash to save the day.

Sportacus loves to see others succeed and is disappointed when they won't even try. He looks beyond the status quo and believes there's always a new, unique way to accomplish something. He's a hero-for-all seasons, bringing vim and vigor to a world that's sorely in need of it, an unstoppable wakeup force in a town that's fast asleep." — LazyTown.com

Appearance

Sportacus has fair skin, blue eyes, and dark hair that is normally concealed. He wears an outfit that has several different shades of blue with stripes along it. He wears a dark blue vest, that is held closed by his Crystal case, over a short-sleeve t-shirt that which is light blue at the sleeves and the collar. On his forearms are bracers that are a combination of light and dark blue with some metal or silver detailing. His pants flare out slightly at the bottom and are a color combo of light and dark blue with white stripes running down the sides, he also wears a dark blue belt with a stylized 'S' on it. His shoes are actually boots, it's not very obvious since his pant legs cover them most of the time, and are a very deep color of blue, almost purple, with a '10' on the heels. He also wears a hat that looks like either a ski cap or a night hat that is dark blue in color with white stripes on it and has a pair light blue goggles attached to it. He is quite muscular, showing his health and fitness, and one of his most distinct features is his pointed mustache. In the Icelandic media, he is an elf.

Personality

The local hero of LazyTown, who modestly calls himself only a "sightly-above-average" hero. He, presumably, comes from an island in the North Sea like his predecessor, who has been only identified as "Number 9" in the series. He is highly athletic, as shown by his name, and does flips and jumps to do simple things such as brushing his teeth or preparing himself a sandwich. His only weaknesses are: not knowing how or when to relax and sugar, with the second causing him to suffer an exaggerated sugar crash, which he calls a Sugar Meltdown.

Sportacus is a very understanding and modest person. He knows what he is capable of and is always worried for everyone. He's always trying to help people when he feels it's needed. He doesn't hate anyone (including Robbie Rotten) and he wants to be friends with everyone (even Robbie!). He always sticks with the kids when they are playing or doing sports and he knows what they are capable of. He trusts them a lot, enough to give them responsibilities, knowing they are going to do them. He's not perfect, and has been saved by the kids on several occasions, but he never gives up and he always does his job.

Character development

Appearance

Sportacus was called Íþróttaálfurinn, which translates to The Athletic Elf, during the original plays that the show is based on. In the first play, Áfram Latibær (Go on LazyTown!), he had magical powers and dressed in an outfit that consisted of a navy-blue tunic, baggy scarlet trousers and a large brown hat. He also had a large, thick, blonde mustache and a matching goatee beard. In the second play, Glanni Glæpur í Latabæ (Robbie Rotten in LazyTown), his character became a lot closer what it is now. He traveled around in a hot air balloon (as opposed to an AirShip) and wore a brown and yellow version of his current outfit, with a larger, looser hat and sculpted chest piece.

Background

While in personality he has almost no change, the background of Sportacus changes significantly from the plays to the TV series. In the original plays, he was an Elf, derived from traditional Icelandic mythology. For the TV Series, they transformed him into a superhero in order to make his character more universal, though the Icelandic dub still refers to him as an Elf.

Gallery

Magnús Scheving as Íþróttaálfurinn
Magnús Scheving as Íþróttaálfurinn
Magnús Scheving as Sportacus
Magnús Scheving as Sportacus
Magnús Scheving as Sportacus
Dyri Kristjansson as Sportacus
Julian Essex-Spurrier as Sportacus (LazyTown Live)
James Royce Edwards as Sportacus (Live Events)
Íþróttaálfurinn in the books
Íþróttaálfurinn in the books
Íþróttaálfurinn in the books
Íþróttaálfurinn Illustration
Íþróttaálfurinn 3D Wallpaper
Íþróttaálfurinn Wit Puppet
Sportacus Illustration
Sportacus Illustration
Sportacus Illustration
Sportacus icon from LazyTown Extra
Sportacus in the Amazon Kindle books

Trivia

Sportacus's Icelandic name, Íþróttaálfurinn; translates to "Athletic Elf".
According to LazyTown's Greatest Hits, his favorite song is Twenty Times Time.
In Welcome to LazyTown, a previous superhero called Number 9 was mentioned. This may be another Sportacus.
Sportacus moves so much that sometimes he accidentally bumps into things, such as his airship's door. He also did so once in the first Icelandic play, Áfram Latibær.
Sportacus has appeared in every LazyTown production to date. His debut was in Welcome to LazyTown and his last appearance was in Mystery Of The Pyramid.
Sportacus has a logo of himself on the side of the Skutla.
Before the show was produced, Sportacus's bedtime was actually 8:06. Referring to the Sportacus origin story in [1] this post, that was the time that Mr. Kicker sent everyone to bed in the mines. The time was eventually switched to 8:08 because one of Mani Svavarsson's most beloved instruments is the TR-808.]
Sportacus was given a backstory in the original LazyTown website, but it is likely no longer canon, as some aspects of his personality have also been radically changed. Some examples include:
- Sportacus' name being Alex when he was little and Sportacus 9 passing on his mantle to him.
- Sportacus being related to Bessie Busybody, possibly even being her son.
- The full story can be found here: [2]