Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Skuespilleren som spiller hovedrollen, får høyere lønn enn de andre. - The actor who plays the main role gets higher pay than the others.

som is a relative pronoun, equivalent to English who/that here. It introduces the relative clause som spiller hovedrollen (who plays the main role), which describes skuespilleren (the actor). Together, Skuespilleren som spiller hovedrollen is the full subject of the sentence.

Why is there a comma after hovedrollen? Is it necessary?

The comma after hovedrollen separates the long subject (Skuespilleren som spiller hovedrollen) from the rest of the sentence. In modern Norwegian, this comma is optional; many people would write the sentence without it:

Skuespilleren som spiller hovedrollen får høyere lønn enn de andre.

So the comma is more about readability than a strict rule in this case.

Why is it høyere lønn and not mer lønn? What is the difference?

Both høyere lønn and mer lønn are possible, but they sound a bit different:

høyere lønn = literally higher salary, using the comparative of the adjective høy (high). This is the most natural way to say a higher salary.
mer lønn = more salary/pay, using mer (more) with the uncountable noun lønn.

In many contexts they overlap, but høyere lønn is the default when comparing salaries.

Why does lønn have no article here? In English we say “a higher salary”.

In Norwegian, lønn is often treated as a mass/uncountable noun when you talk about pay in general. In those cases you normally use it without an article:

høy lønn – high pay
høyere lønn – higher pay
lav lønn – low pay

You can say en høyere lønn, which is closer to the English structure a higher salary, but høyere lønn (without the article) is slightly more neutral and common.

What exactly does de andre refer to, and why don’t we repeat skuespillerne?

de andre literally means the others. From context, it clearly refers to the other actors. Norwegian often avoids repeating a known noun when it is obvious from context:

Skuespilleren som spiller hovedrollen, får høyere lønn enn de andre (skuespillerne).

Adding skuespillerne is correct but unnecessary, so it is usually dropped.

Can I move som spiller hovedrollen to another place in the sentence?

No, not freely. The relative clause som spiller hovedrollen must stay right after the noun it describes (skuespilleren). If you move it, you change the meaning or make the sentence wrong.

For example:

Skuespilleren som spiller hovedrollen får høyere lønn enn de andre.
= The actor who plays the main role gets higher pay than the others.

But:

Skuespilleren får høyere lønn enn de andre som spiller hovedrollen.
Now som spiller hovedrollen describes de andre, so it would mean “the others who play the main role”, which doesn’t fit here.

What is the structure of the word hovedrollen?

hovedrollen is a compound word plus a definite ending:

hoved – main, chief, principal
rolle – role, part (in a play/film)
hovedrolle – main role (indefinite)
hovedrollen – the main role (definite singular)

Norwegian often forms compounds without spaces, and then adds the definite ending (-en / -a / -et) to the whole compound.

Why is skuespilleren in the definite form? Could I say en skuespiller instead?

skuespilleren means the actor, while en skuespiller means an actor. Both can be grammatical, but they fit different contexts:

Skuespilleren som spiller hovedrollen, får …
Suggests that the speaker and listener know which actor is meant (for example, the lead in a specific film).
En skuespiller som spiller hovedrollen, får …
Means an actor who plays the main role gets …, more like a general rule, not about one specific, known actor.

So you choose definite vs. indefinite depending on whether the person is specific/known in the context.

Is skuespilleren gender-neutral, or does it mean a male actor?

In modern Norwegian, skuespiller (and its definite form skuespilleren) is normally gender-neutral: it can refer to any actor, regardless of gender. There is an older feminine form skuespillerinne, but it sounds dated or marked today and is used much less.

So in this sentence, skuespilleren would usually be understood as the actor / the lead actor, not specifically a man.

Could I say har høyere lønn instead of får høyere lønn?

Yes, both are possible, but they focus on slightly different things:

får høyere lønn = gets higher pay (focus on what the person is paid, often about the payment arrangement or decision).
har høyere lønn = has a higher salary (focus on the existing situation or state).

In many contexts they are interchangeable, and both would be understood as “earns more” than the others.

How does the present tense work in spiller and får? Is it like “is playing / is getting” or “plays / gets”?

Norwegian only has one simple present tense form, here spiller and får. It can correspond to both English plays / gets and is playing / is getting, depending on context. In this sentence it expresses a general fact or rule:

Skuespilleren som spiller hovedrollen, får høyere lønn …
≈ The actor who plays the main role gets higher pay …

If you wanted to stress something happening just now, context or adverbs would do that, not a different verb form.