What convinced you to sign an exclusive co-development deal with Nordic Drama Queens?
Sofia Helin: Even though it’s a lot about money these days, the core is the creative process. If that doesn’t work, nothing works. Together with Nordic Drama Queens, we have found a perfect way to collaborate, which is very creative, joyful and full of life. This is all I’m looking for and where true magic can happen.

You were executive producer on the series The Bridge, Honour, Atlantic Crossing. What does it mean for you to now act as a creative producer?
SH: It’s not so different from what I did before but my precise role within the production is just clearer, as a creative producer.

Many of your shows are about women taking control, finding their own voices and fully embracing who they are. Are you grateful for the TV drama boom that has opened up the storytelling space to new and different voices?
SH: The last decade has been fantastic with the development of storytelling in TV drama, which has opened up new ground and encouraged diversity. More and more actresses are taking part in the creative process and seeing the benefits of understanding the process. Other than that, technical developments, with content available on tablets, mobile phones, PCs have enabled people to choose whatever they want to see. There isn’t one person in a family deciding what to watch anymore.

What types of stories make you tick?
SH: It can be any genre! I haven’t done horror yet, but other than that I can work within any genre. What really makes me tick is characters questioning themselves and the world around them, unsolvable problems in life. Why do people suffer, get sick, why are people evil? I want to investigate these big questions, through entertainment.

Are you able to put your executive/creative producer’s hat aside and as an actress, let the director take full control when filming starts?
SH: You have to trust the system built around a project. If you start questioning it, everything can fall apart. This is why you have to prepare in advance and discuss everything before filming starts.

Do you feel that your iconic role as Saga Norén in The Bridge, which made you a household name internationally, has empowered you and helped you to speak up for other women?
SH: Yes it was a match made in heaven. That part became very well-known around the world, while the #MeToo movement went viral. That made people just looking for money, realise that there is an audience out there, real people wanting to see stories reflecting their lives.

In Sweden, despite the Swedish Film Institute’s flagship battle to improve gender equality in the film industry, it is still lacking in feature film. How do you feel about that?
SH: I made the decision to deal with this in my art-Period!

What’s next for you?
SH: I’m developing a feature film and a series with Nordic Drama Queens and preparing a new role elsewhere that I can’t announce yet.