Ivo Eensalu

Ivo Eensalu (born April 3, 1949) is an Estonian actor and theatre director. Eensalu's career began in the early 1970s, and has appeared as an actor on stage, film and in television. He became widely known after appearing on the Eesti Televisioon children's educational television series Mõmmi ja aabits. From 1995 until 2001, he was the director of the Estonian Drama Theatre.

Ivo Eensalu was born in Märjamaa in 1949. His father was a carpenter. He graduated from Järvakandi Secondary School in 1967 and enrolled in the Performing Arts Department of the Tallinn State Conservatory (now, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre) the following year, studying drama with instructor Voldemar Panso, and graduating in 1972. His diploma production role was that of Eero in Aleksis Kivi's The Seven Brothers, directed by Panso and performed at the Estonian Drama Theatre in Tallinn. Among his graduating classmates were actors Helgi Annast, Vello Janson, Rein Kotkas, Kersti Kreismann, Siim Rulli, Tõnis Rätsep, Tõnu Saar, Jaak Tamleht, Martin Veinmann, and Juhan Viiding.

Eensalu made his feature film screen debut in the role of Vikerkaar in the 1974 Virve Aruoja and Jaan Tooming directed drama Värvilised unenäod. The following year, he had a more substantial role as Sikk in the Mikk Mikiver directed Tallinnfilm historical drama Indrek, based on the second volume of A. H. Tammsaare's pentalogy Tõde ja õigus.

During the 1980s, he established himself as a character actor. In 1982, he appeared in the Peeter Simm directed Tallinnfilm adventure film Arabella, mereröövli tütar, based on the story of the same name by children's writer Aino Pervik. In 1984, he appeared as a village idiot in the Olav Neuland directed historical adventure film Hundiseaduse aegu.