Nordic Film Talks: Sofie Gråbøl

Famed Danish actress Sofie Gråbøl found herself throwing punches for the first time on the set of Anders Thomas Jensen’s The Last Viking (Den sidste viking).

Her character, Margrethe, is an athletic woman who gets physical towards Manfred, played by Mads Mikkelsen, after he makes an offensive comment to her and her husband.

In her 40 years of acting, Gråbøl had never thrown a stage punch, and found the experience intimidating. “I’ve been an actor for 40 years, and I realised when I read that scene, I have never punched anyone and I've never been punched. I've never done a proper stunt punch, and I was really looking forward to it. I was doing boxing training a little bit.”

On the day of the shoot, she wasn’t as tough as expected. “Once I stood there in that kitchen, I found it really difficult technically (laughs). It was so strange to me. These male colleagues and the stunt coordinator were telling me how to angle the punch. They had done it a thousand times… I have to admit I was not a natural in the punching.”

Gråbøl, speaking in Venice for the latest episode of the Nordic Film Talks podcast, said she was eager to re-enter the skewed worlds of Jensen – the pair last collaborated 25 years ago on his film Flickering Lights (Blinkende lygter).

“He always tells stories that deal with very grand topics on a very big and deep scale - which is not something we are usually comfortable with in Denmark. Instead, we tend to excel in the little social realistic stories. He always tells stories that deal with God or death or identity or family – he deals with these themes in such a humorous and intelligent way that he makes you listen, but it never gets pretentious. “

The Last Viking, black comedy mixed with family trauma, follows Anker (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), who comes out of prison and needs to reunite with his brother Manfred, who is suffering from a mental breakdown, to find out where their old stolen loot was buried. They set off to their former childhood home, where Gråbøl’s Margrethe is living with her husband Werner (Søren Malling).

Even though Margrethe is not a main character, the actress says: “This is what we love about Anders Thomas: Every character has a reason to be there, and is a fully formed person. No matter how small a character is measured in lines and pages, every character has a world of its own. She is a dysfunctional person in a dysfunctional relationship.”

She continues: “She is past that young feeling when you think anything is possible. She’s frustrated with her husband, and with herself as well, she never did anything to fulfil her potential. She thinks Anker might be her ticket to another life.”

After a strong reception in Venice, The Last Viking will also play in Toronto. Sisse Graum Jørgensen and Sidsel Hybschmann produce for Zentropa Entertainments, in co-production with Zentropa Sweden and Film i Väst, with support from the Danish Film Institute, FilmFyn, Eurimages, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, the Swedish Film Institute, and Creative Europe Media, in collaboration with TV 2 and Nordisk Film Distribution. TrustNordisk handles sales, and has already closed deals in multiple territories.

Reflecting on her early career, Gråbøl remembers being an introverted teenager who stumbled into acting at age 17, when her mother found a newspaper ad about a casting. She ended up starring in the Paul Gauguin biopic Oviri opposite Donald Sutherland. “I wasn't even screen tested for my first job,” she says – she met Sutherland without fully realising what a big star he was. “I had that Narnia feeling of just opening a door and then suddenly I was in this completely different world.”

From there on, she never looked back, and of course global fame came with her iconic role as Detective Sarah Lund in The Killing (Forbrydelsen). “It was a totally unexpected surprise,” she says of that series’ international success. “Up until that point, we had made very good TV series in Denmark, but they hadn’t travelled the world. We had only been used to importing culture from around the world, but it never really went the other way.” She even got to appear in Absolutely Fabulous as Sarah Lund, which she describes as an “Alice in Wonderland” moment. She’s gone on to more success in roles in projects as diverse as Rose, The Undoing, Prisoner (Huset), Fortitude, Gentleman Jack, and dozens more.

In the full podcast episode, Gråbøl also reflects on the feeling of thousands of people cheering The Last Viking in Venice; her appreciation for Don’t Look Now; and the kinds of roles she would like to do next, combining theatre, film and TV.

All Nordic Film Talks episodes are available on NFTVF’s website on the Industry Insights section (CLICK HERE), and are distributed through major podcast platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon, Castbox, Deezer, Podcast Addict, Podchaser and JioSaavn.