[7] Hagen went on to play the title roles in Anthon Chekhov's Ivanov and Raskolnikov, based on Fjodor Dostojevski's Crime and punishment, both at Hålogaland Theater.

In 2006 he became an official member of the repertory company at Det Norske Teatret, and performed there in Verdas mest forelska par (World's Most-in-Love Couple), Få meg på, for faen!

And it's good to meet others who are looking for the same thing.”[5] In the autumn of 2010 Valheim Hagen played Edmund Tyrone in the Riksteatret's production of Eugene O'Neill's Lang dags ferd mot natt (Long Day's Journey into Night).

[12] A 2012 article in Filmmagasinet praising Troubled Water as a great Norwegian film gave part of the credit for its excellence to “unbelievably good acting” by Hagen and other members of the cast.

[13] In 2008, in addition to Troubled Water, Hagen appeared in four other well-received films: Cold Lunch (Lønsj), House of Fools (De gales hus), Max Manus, and The Storm in My Heart (Jernanger).

[6] A January 2009 profile in Aftenposten noted that he was in three different movies that were running simultaneously in Oslo cinemas – The Storm in My Heart, Max Manus, and Troubled Water – and was also rehearsing the “surrealistic comedy” Eit lykkeleg sjølvmord at Det Norske Teatret.

[14] In the autumn of 2011 Hagen played the lead role in a four-part, 4-hour Norwegian TV mini-series, Buzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion?

In 2014 he played The Count in Hans Petter Moland's action thriller film In Order of Disappearance alongside Stellan Skarsgård and Bruno Ganz.

He was nominated for the Amanda Award and won best actor in the Gut Buster Comedy feature category at Austin Fantastic Fest for the role.

An October 2011 article in VG about the making of the film reported that "the filmmakers had to pinch their arms when Pål Sverre Hagen (31) pulled off Heyerdahl's characteristic Larvik English for the first time.

The very first scene Hagen did as Heyerdahl showed him giving a lecture in Washington, D.C., under the auspices of the National Geographic Society, and Sandberg said that he “did it so convincingly that the film-makers stood there open-mouthed,” feeling “that it was Thor standing in front of us.

He hadn't become Heyerdahl yet.”[16] Kon-Tiki was chosen by the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences as one of five nominees for its award for best foreign language film of 2012.