WRITTEN BY: Annika Pham
Cannes: The young songwriter/acting talent who is represented by the new music/acting talent rep TEN Film headed by Peter Possne, was at the Swedish Film Institute’s press meeting on Thursday.
Cannes: The young songwriter/acting talent who is represented by the new music/acting talent rep TEN Film headed by Peter Possne, was at the Swedish Film Institute’s press meeting on Thursday.
We caught up with him.
How do you deal with the responsibility of having more than 2 million followers on social media?
Omar Rudberg: If you start reflecting too much about responsibility, then it’s hard to be 100% yourself on social media. Ultimately, I’m just myself, I stand for representation, inclusivity, I speak up when necessary. I’m not so good at expressing myself through written words, but I often share other people’s posts - for example from Zara Larsson, or Young Royals’ head-writer Lisa Ambjörn whose views I often share.
What convinced you to move from music to acting?
OR: It all started during the pandemic. The music industry shut down. Being a musician during that period was extremely harsh. I didn’t have a job. Luckily, I had a friend - Felicia Maxime (aka Stella in Young Royals). She was test-screening for Young Royals and told me about it. She said-ohhh it’s about a Swedish prince who falls in love with a guy at a private school. I said I have to be the prince!!! And so, through her, I did the casting and got the part as Simon.
How was your acting experience of learning by doing it with Netflix's hit series Young Royals?
OR. We had an acting coach. A few weeks before we started shooting, we did rehearsals. Then I just got right into it. It came naturally, but I got a lot of help from my co-star Edvin Ryding and the directors Rojda [Sedersöz] and Erika [Calmeyer] in particular.
Now we’re half way through the shooting period of the third and final season.
You now have an agent in Peter Possne from TEN Film, carefully evaluating exciting film and TV projects for you. It seems like your acting career is really taking off….
OR: Yes. I got a chance, out of nowhere, to be an actor. I have to keep on going. I’m glad I have a great team around me. Peter takes great care of me. I couldn’t have made it on my own. (Read our story: Film mogul Peter Possne and Swedish Pop music king Ola Håkansson launch TEN Film)
What type of stories are you interested in?
OR: I’m interested in everything, but if I could choose, I’d love to do a movie in Spanish language, as I speak fluently Spanish - being Venezuelan - and English. It would be natural for me to do this. Also…I’d love to play in a Disney movie!! That would be amazing. I’d love to play Aladdin😊 It would be a dream come true.
Before turning into Aladdin, you are riding Carousel, a genre movie by Oscar nominated Simon Sandquist, produced by Scandinavian Content Distribution now in post-production.
OR: I said yes to this project because it is totally different from Young Royals. This is important for me - breaking away from previous roles, and showing I can do different stuff as an actor. I also loved the idea to do a horror movie.
What’s next?
OR: While doing Young Royals, I’m preparing the music-for the Swedish reality TV show ‘Så mycket bättre’ [TV4]. It’s a huge Swedish show with artists coming together and singing together. I’m so happy about it. I also continue to compose my own music, then the film Carousel will premiere. I have other major things coming up for the fall, that I can’t announce right now.