Thorfinnur has worked in the Icelandic media and entertainment industry since the late 1980s. He was the managing director of the Icelandic Film Fund and the Icelandic Film Centre from 1996 to 2003. During this period, some of Iceland's most prolific film directors made their debuts, such as Baltasar Kormákur (101 Reykjavík) and Dagur Kári (Nói albínói). Thorfinnur was one of the founders of the Icelandic Film and TV Academy, which runs the Icelandic Edda Awards. Thanks in part to Thorfinnur's contribution, the Icelandic Film Industry has been referred to as "the Hollywood of the North". He was the live-broadcast host of the first ceremony in 1999. From 2003 to 2005 he was the Director of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Iceland, and was then hired by Dagur Group to head its production arm, BaseCamp. He has been host of Ísland í dag (Iceland today) on Stöð 2 (Icelandic Channel 2) and of Vikulokin (The End of the Week) on Rás 1. He is a member of the European Film Academy.