On the footsteps of Clint Eastwood (former mayor of Carmel in the US), Gnarr has built on his screen popularity to enter the political arena. For the 43 year-old comedian who starred in the popular TV series Day Shift, Night Shift and Prison Shift produced by Saga Film for Channel 2, this sudden change of career started last December when he set up the spoof political party ‘The Best Party' to make fun of the local government' difficulties in dealing with the country's financial crisis. "Jon Gnarr and The Best Party definitely got a little help from the hugely popular Shift series and the movie Mr. Bjarnfredarson, said Saga Film CEO Kjartan Thor Thordarson.
During his Campaign, Gnarr created a video where he and party members reflected Icelanders' discontent by saying "things here have turned sour" and ‘we've come to the clean out hour". The Best Party ended up winning 34.7% of the votes, taking six out of 15 seats in the City Council. Following an agreement with the governing Social Democratic Alliance, Gnarr is now mayor of the Icelandic capital of 119,000 inhabitants.
"I love this city very much so I really want to do a good job. I will keep my humour and use it to my advantage. It is my aim to be International Mayor of the Year for 2012," he said.