The Norwegian biopic starring Pål Sverre Hagen as the great polar explorer Roald Amundsen is number one on Norwegian screens. We spoke to the director.

Released by SF Studios last Friday, Amundsen went straight to number one at the local box office, selling more than 60,000 tickets from 180 screens for SF Studios Norge.

Sandberg’s first Norwegian film since Kon-Tiki (2012), is based on a script by Ravn Lanesskog (The Last King). Besides Amundsen’s achievements as the first explorer to reach the South Pole and the first to make a ship voyage through the Northwest Passage, the film focuses on aspects of his life little known to the general audience, in particular his relationship with his brother Leon.

The film is produced by Espen Horn and Kristian Strand Sinkerud of Motion Blur with John M. Jacobsen on behalf of SF Studios, with support from the Norwegian Film Institute and Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

Max Manus, Kon-Tiki, now Amundsen…Where does your fascination for larger than life personalities and national heroes come from?
Espen Sandberg: It’s a bit of a coincidence actually. Max Manus came to us via producer John M. Jacobsen. We were supposed to do another movie with him and that script came along so we jumped on it. The same happened with Kon-Tiki. The script came to us via a friend. However I was the one to initiate Amundsen. I just find him fascinating as a person. He is a mystery even in Norway. Everyone seems to disagree about who he was. Some people say he was a great leader, others that he was selfish and didn’t communicate well.

Then I read his autobiography. It was written late in his life. He was bitter and angry and I wondered why as he had had so many successes as a world famous explorer. I also learnt that he had written his brother Leon out of the story, which was intriguing as his brother had played a major role in his life and supported his expeditions. I was curious to find out why.

I think I’m just curious about what it means to be human. We all have our demons or obstacles; watching on the big screen the life of those legendary persons is a bit like seeing through a magnifying glass the complexity of being human.

What new material have you unearthed and how long have you spent on research?
ES: Together with screenwriter Ravn Lanesskog, we’ve researched Roald Amundsen’s life for about four years and I read a lot of books. On top of that, we’ve worked with the Fram museum in Oslo that has diaries and letters published later in his life, and we spoke to the family of Leon Amundsen as Roald didn’t have any kids. We discover Roald Amundsen from many angles, through his brother and his fiancée.

How would you best describe Roald Amundsen as you got to study him in detail. Is he a likeable person?
ES: I think you have to learn to like him. He was enigmatic, totally driven and one-track minded. If you were not with him, you were against him. He was very difficult in that way. Still he was impressive in his achievements. His polar explorations were his life.

You’ve worked several times with Pål Sverre Hagen. What makes him the perfect Roald Amundsen?
ES: He is a great actor, intelligent, with true characteristics of a leader. He is also good without dialogue, at expressing mystery and getting the enigmatic side through. We work extremely well together.

How do you usually work with actors?
ES: We’re constantly developing the script. The script is a living thing so the actors bring a lot to their parts.

How was the shooting of Amundsen?
ES: We shot in Roald’s home, in Oslo, then in the Czech Republic for a lot of interior scenes to capture Norway a century ago. We also shot the exteriors in Iceland. It was fantastic. We did the entire shoot in just 33 days. It was extreme for such a big movie. We had to be super prepared. I was lucky to work with experienced actors who could deliver on the point under tight circumstances.

How was it to direct without Joachim Rønning?
ES: Of course there were times where I felt ahh.. it would be good to have Joachim here! Joachim and I were such a strong team, so it was a new challenge. But this new experience was interesting and fun, and it brought me closer to the DoP [Pål Ulvik Rokseth]. Usually Joachim is the one who works closely with the DoP So I enjoyed that. I also put a lot of work in pre-production to make sure the actors would have a smoother time on set. It thought it would be more stressful in a way, but I must say I enjoyed it.

How did it feel to be back in Norway after filming the Hollywood franchise Pirates of the Caribbean-Salazar’s Revenge? What did you learn from that experience?
ES: The Americans are on top of the game in every field. I learnt a lot by working with them. What I admired with Disney, Jerry [Bruckheimer] and Joe [Caracciolo Jr] is that it’s never over until it’s over. Everybody is constantly working day and night to make the film better. I hope I brought this work ethic with me.

It was nice to come back to Norway and to work with a small crew. It allows you to change things and to be more flexible, although even Disney and the team in the US were flexible. In any case, whether it’s a European or Hollywood movie, you still work the same way with your core team.

What’s next?
ES: Right now, I’m keeping my options open and enjoying family time.