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The Radisson Blu Portman Hotel, London, has announced a fresh new look for its meetings and events space, giving the area an updated, contemporary look and feel.

The recently completed work includes the restyling of all 11 meeting rooms, all public areas and the events space. An additional meeting room – known as the “Modern library-W1” – has been introduced to provide a much needed addition to the in-demand meetings facilities at the hotel. The Modern library offers natural daylight and can comfortably accommodate 15 people. In addition to a new dedicated cloak room, the entire meetings floor and all meeting rooms have been re-carpeted, and new digital signage has been installed outside all meeting rooms.

Set in Portman Square, the Radisson Blu Portman Hotel, with its central location and large meeting facilities, including a ballroom for up to 700 people, remains a popular choice for meeting planners looking for a convenient setting combined with high service standards.

For more information, please visit: www.radissonblu.co.uk/hotel-london

By Maria Smedstad

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The baby-craving gene seems to have bypassed most female members of my family and has instead been replaced by a dog-craving one.

Consequently, when my ageing mutt Jake had to have an operation one New Year’s Eve a while back, it put an anxious dampener on my holiday. Luckily the operation went well, although it left Jake a pretty sad sight to behold, with his shaved patch, and his nose miserably poking out through a buster collar.

But it was a huge relief to have him home, just in time for our village church bells to start their festive pealing. In this village – as in countless other parts of the country – the church serves not only as place of religious ceremony but also as a general meeting place, an art gallery, a music venue and occasionally an outlet for the locally made ‘champagne’. Even heathens like us were welcomed.

And so as our neighbours started sliding past our house, wine bottles in hand, making their way to the church, we joined them. I couldn’t bear to leave Jake and snuck him with us, only to find that the church was full of dogs. This included our neighbours’ Dalmatian, and Jake’s firm enemy, Spike. Strangely, on this particular night, Spike and Jake politely exchanged sniffs and then sat calmly, as the rest of us ‘sang’ along to Auld Lang Syne. It felt like being part of a magic Christmas tale where all of us, heathens, Christians, Dalmatians and mutts alike, managed a moment’s truce.

Or maybe Spike just thought Jake looked too daft to mess with. Or possibly I was just drunk. But in either case, I will remember this New Year’s Eve as a triumphant moment of British tolerance. And with that, I (& Jake) wish you all a Very Merry Christmas!

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Maria Smedstad moved to the UK from Sweden in 1994. She received a degree in Illustration in 2001, before settling in the capital as a freelance cartoonist, creating the autobiographical cartoon Em. She writes a column on the trials and tribulations of life as a Swede in the UK.

By Mette Lisby

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Who has any respect for December weekends?

No, of course nobody does. Any sane person will shiver at the sheer thought of weekends in December.

They imply Christmas drinks. And of course the inevitable Christmas party at work. You know all too well what that means: At some point in December, you will wake up, dazed and confused, aware that yesterday involved bucket loads of alcohol (probably literally) at a party with your co-workers, but the details keep evading you. It’s all hazy… What you did… What you ate… When you came home… How you got home… and maybe even WHERE you work.

Fear kicks in. Fear of what you did exactly. Fear if you even HAVE a job anymore? You have reason to be afraid. You are dealing with your worst enemy- yourself! Countless Christmas party incidents have shown that you cannot be trusted.

And then the hammer of guilt hits you. You probably did something stupid! Maybe you blurted out a profane secret – possibly on the public speaker system at work.

Guilt gives way to a sudden bombardment of flashes. Painful images hit you: you on the dance floor. Your arms are raised unnaturally high above your head because the drunken version of you KNOWS that you’ve got rhythm! And it’s all in your arms. Shake them. You can’t entirely dismiss the possibility of your having begged the DJ to play Macarena and forced everybody to dance through it.

Thanks to technology a whole new level of embarrassment is possible: digital guilt. Who did you drunk-dial? Why are there 163 photos on your cell phone of a shawarma meal? Why is the last photo of Brian and Elsie from accounting eating the shawarma meal? Why are there scraps of sharwama on your chin?

And you hit rock bottom, when, in your pocket, you find a photo copy of a hairy bum. And it isn’t yours. Even if all of the above match exactly how you feel, don’t panic! Everyone was just as drunk. Everyone has the same photo copy. Maybe even yours.

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Mette Lisby is Denmark’s leading female comedian. She invites you to laugh along with her monthly humour columns. Since her stand-up debut in 1992, Mette has hosted the Danish versions of “Have I Got News For You” and “Room 101”.

By Karin Modig | Photo: Therese Sandnes

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Playful, comfortable and functional goes a long way in describing the Eva Mork furniture design collection. The minimalism that Scandinavian design is known for is in evidence, but with the added extra touch that makes each piece really stand out.

Norwegian nature provides much of the inspiration for Eva Mork. “I live in a wonderful place in Norway, close to the sea and mountains, and with a rich bird life,” she says. “My inspiration comes from the nature and culture that surrounds me, from the birds’ movements across the sky to the hulls of boats and everything in between.”

With years of experience as an interior stylist behind her, Eva Mork started designing her own furniture out of a wish to create something out of the ordinary. Her aim is to create pieces that have “that little something that makes you fall in love with them.”

Her furniture has been described as both sculptural and alive, and it manages to flawlessly bridge the gap between decorative and practical. More than just pieces of furniture, the designs might well end up being the focal point of a room, yet are still comfortable.

“For me, when I have managed to create something of beauty that is also practical, I have hit the nail on the head,” she says.

All the furniture in the Eva Mork collection is made to order and signed by the designer herself. She also makes commissioned pieces for those who want something truly unique.

For more information, please visit: www.evamork.com

By Inna Allen | Photo: FINSK

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Shoe label FINSK, with its renowned wooden wedge design, is one of the coolest 21st century style icons. Launched in 2004 by London-based Finnish-born Julia Lundsten, FINSK has won numerous awards for its unique avant-garde designs and is now a firm fixture in the fashion world.

The distinct sculptured wooden heel that makes FINSK shoes so recognisable derives from designer Julia Lundsten’s passion for architecture. With an architect father and an interior designer mother, Lundsten’s creative roots and cultivated eye for design are clearly reflected in her work. “My designs are a contrast between the very clean Finnish landscape, with its natural colours and tones, and the busy, urban London life,” Lundsten explains. “My Finnish roots play a significant role in the FINSK aesthetic, although I think that all the places you live or work in and even places you travel to become part of you and will influence your designs somehow.”

Famous fans and future plans

Her individual style has not gone unnoticed. Lundsten has won the prestigious Manolo Blahnik Award two years running. Describing Lundsten’s shoes as “exquisite, divine and perfect”, Blahnik is amongst a growing fan base that also includes Lady Gaga and Rihanna.

Latest collection Archi showcases sharp architectural shapes combined with soft tenable natural materials. The result is a modern and wearable collection of polar opposites such as thick raw edge straps placed next to beautifully pleated seams, or a blocky graphic heel together with a more organic natural leather upper. “There are two sources of inspiration for Archi – the Finnish Archipelago where I spend my summers conjuring an ambience of a calm, muted landscape, juxtaposing with the concepts of 1960s group of architects Archigram,” says Lundsten.

FINSK shoes are sold in selected boutiques worldwide. Lundsten has also collaborated with high street brands Topshop and Faith, as well as high-end labels Ports 1961 and Basso & Brooke. A capsule collection for Urban Outfitters will be in stores soon and Spring/Summer 2012 will see the launch of a more affordable diffusion line called Skin by FINSK.

For more information, please visit: www.finsk.com

By: Linnéa Mitchell | Photo: Alan Strutt

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From secretary to weather girl, TV host, Big Brother winner and now author, Ulrika Jonsson has certainly led a colourful life, and the never-satisfied media have tirelessly fed our appetite for more gossip.

Whether it is good or bad, we all have a strong opinion about the beautiful blonde television personality. The latest addition to her multifaceted career is her first novel The Importance of Being Myrtle. Scan Magazine caught up with Britain’s most famous Swede and discovered a whole new side of her.

Finding the right words

I bet I am not the only reader who set down The Importance of Being Myrtle feeling a bit quizzical. How did this story about Myrtle, a 58-year-old grey, flat and, frankly, boring woman, who suddenly loses her husband to a heart attack, come about from a woman whose life is quite the opposite of boring? Jonsson giggles at the question and goes on to explain that about six years ago she spoke to a lady who had just lost her husband. “I remember walking away thinking: gosh, what do you do if you are at that age having to start all over again somehow, when you have expected life to be pretty much what it is until the end,” says Jonsson. This turned out to be the seed that grew (after some spicy seasoning) into the story of Myrtle, who lives in a loveless marriage dictated by her psychologically oppressive husband Austin, and who suddenly has to take charge of her life for the very first time. But I am still puzzled as to how she can relate to a woman like Myrtle when her own life has been far from quiet and suppressed. “I think a lot of women can identify with Myrtle. I feel I can somehow identify with her in the way that I’ve been in relationships, although not as extreme, where the man finds it hard to accept a woman who thinks for herself, decides for herself, who has her own ideas and thoughts and who is colourful,” says Jonsson. Writing has always been part of Jonsson’s life. Ulrika started when her father brought a typewriter home from work and has since used it as her outlet and her method of escapism. “I love writing, and I love the English language. So it felt right. It wasn’t part of a plan to expand the brand Ulrika Jonsson. It came from the heart.”

From “teaterapa” to TV host

Born in Sweden in 1967, Jonsson lived alone with her father until she joined her mother in England when she was 12. As a child she was described by her aunt as a “teaterapa” (theatre monkey, person who wants to perform) and had some aspirations of becoming an actress after finishing school. Her mother was less enthusiastic and sent Jonsson to secretarial school in her gap year before she intended to take up a place at Goldsmith’s College, University of London. Having started off as a secretary, she shortly landed her first job in TV, presenting the weather on TV-am as well as on Swedish TV3. Jonsson never had time to even consider university. Her natural charisma and energy led to several jobs in front of the camera, hosting one prime-time TV show after another, including Gladiator, The National Lottery, Eurovision Song Contest, Miss World and Shooting Stars. Adding reality shows such as Come Dine with Me and Dancing on Ice to the list, before winning Celebrity Big Brother in 2009, she has pretty much covered the entire spectrum of what you can achieve in an entertainment television career.

The private life

But what has spiced up her celebrity status that little bit extra is her private life, whether it is for dating fellow Swede and England’s football captain at the time, Sven-Göran Eriksson, or for marrying the bachelor Lance Gerrard-Wright from the dating show Mr Right that she hosted. And it is mainly due to her “Mr Rights” – three of them now if you count her marriages – that she has been the target of many media-moans. “The attention is something I’ve never really understood. The press feels that if you are famous you must be an egotist and therefore we shall punish you by criticising you and following you everywhere,” says Jonsson. A journalist once dressed up as a doctor to get hold of her medical journals whilst she was in hospital after her daughter was born with a heart defect. She is also involved in the phone-hacking scandal inquiry with News of the World. It does not take a genius to work out it must have been pretty frustrating, yet 23 years later, she is still here.

“You have to be able to find a way to go on,” says Jonsson. “I’ve felt very helpless, and I don’t think that I’m a strong or brave person at all… but if you have two, four or even six little eyes that are looking up at you and asking ‘ok mummy, what’s next?’ then you really have to dig deep and have, according to my favourite Swedish expression, ‘is i magen’ (ice in the stomach). I think it’s a calm and quiet strength that I’ve got that comes forward when it’s needed most.” For example when writing, I’m guessing, as she had to write half of the novel standing up or lying down due to a chronic back condition she has battled with during the last four years.

The future

So does she want to work as an author full time or will we see more of her on telly? “I’d love to write more, and I’ve already started thinking about the next book,” says Jonsson and explains further that she enjoyed taking a step back from TV, but that she has no plans to give it up completely. “After all I have four children to feed,” she laughs. “During these 23 years, I haven’t always known what’s going to happen next. I’ve never had a grand plan. My career has given me so many opportunities to do so many different things, and every job has been to improve myself or stretch myself. Either I’m brave or stupid, but I’ve always wanted to do things that are a bit different. I’m not scared of that. I don’t live for my critics. I don’t think ‘oh I shouldn’t write a book because then I might get criticised’, but because I want to. Then, afterwards, I have to say, I might go ‘ouch’. But I think it’s so important that… well, we only live once, and we have one chance to take care of the opportunities we get.”

Despite living most of her life in England, Jonsson is still close to her roots. “I feel one hundred per cent Swedish. There’s no question about that. I have never wanted to change my passport, nationality or anything. So I’m very Swedish. Apart from my terrible grammar,” she says, in perfect Swedish.

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After Marklund, Mankell, Larsson, Nesbø and The Killing comes Jussi Adler-Olsen. With the UK release of Mercy, his first novel in the Department Q series, Danish Adler-Olsen takes on the thriller genre, with a good dose of dark and bitter characters, a twisted crime case and a pinch of humour.

With Scandinavian crime stories, both on paper and on the screen, still attracting the world’s attention, Jussi Adler-Olsen’s first novel published in English could not come at a more opportune time. However, it is not just sheer luck or a savvy publisher that has opened these doors for him, as his books have already been immense hits in Denmark and Germany. He also took home the Glass Key award in 2010 (among other accolades), which has previously been awarded to the aforementioned Jo Nesbø, Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell.

Adler-Olsen tells us how he did not intentionally seek out a popular genre or a way to gain fame, nor did he set out to write crime stories either. “When I started writing, I was more or less financially independent, so instead of writing for the money, I started writing for the reader.”

Jussi Adler-Olsen has indeed already dabbled in many a career line, including as a comic book shop owner, magazine editor and publisher, so life experiences and funds are not necessarily in short supply. And his current occupation certainly suits his lifestyle: “What other job can you do in your pyjamas from your own home?” he laughs. “It’s a free form of living that suits me. After working extremely hard in my job as a publisher, I’m happy to stay home and see my son grow up. My father told me that I have so many talents, and I should make use of them all on my own terms. He was so right.”

Lessons in human nature

Born in 1950, as the youngest of four children, Jussi Adler-Olsen was introduced to the many sides of the human psyche from a very young age on, as he grew up on the grounds of different Danish mental institutions, where his father worked as a psychiatrist. He was in direct contact with some of the patients and witnessed both the good and evil in them, grasping that every human is capable of both.

Even as a young boy, Adler-Olsen showed an avid skill for storytelling. “As a boy scout, a friend and I once spent a week in a lookout tower, and to pass the time we would tell each other stories. While he told me stories by Edgar Allan Poe, I made up my own. I knew how to make him scared as well as feel empathy by telling stories that could happen in real life,” he says.

He went on to study medicine, sociology, politics and film. “While studying film at university, I learnt a lot about point of view, suspense and all the elements of an exciting story.”  Even though Adler-Olsen did not return to the “storytelling” until later in his life, he was still conscious of the fact that he could write. At 30 years-old, he spent some time in the Netherlands with his wife and wrote his first novel, which was, however, never published. But Adler-Olsen had found out what he needed to: whenever he was ready, he would be able to settle down as a writer.

Taking on the thriller

Although now listed among famous Scandinavian crime writers, it was not Jussi Adler-Olsen’s intention to become one. “Thriller stories and movies interest me a lot, as well as classical stories like The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I think the thriller has a lot in common with the classical, international, political, big and exciting stories. It doesn’t necessarily have to be crime,” he explains. His first novels were in fact more straight-forward thrillers, whereas the Department Q series, which currently consists of four novels, has taken him more into the crime territory.

In the first book in the series, Mercy, Adler-Olsen introduces us to his anti-hero Carl Mørck, a defeated, disillusioned and unstable homicide detective, who is struggling to cope with a shooting incident that left one of his colleagues dead and the other one paralysed. He is relegated to the basement to take care of Department Q, which is supposed to handle “cases of special focus”. Together with his enthusiastic assistant Assad, Mørck stumbles upon the case of missing politician Merete Lynggaard, which puts them on the track of a twisted criminal with a gruesome plan.

Although the premise is dark with an air of despair, Adler-Olsen has still managed to infuse humour into his story, for example, through Mørck’s “sidekick” Assad. “Without humour, there is no story for me,” Adler-Olsen asserts. Assad also acts as a catalyst for Mørck’s character, who needs someone to keep him going, as he has almost given up on life. As the series continues, Mørck gains a second assistant in Rose, who will in turn help move along the relationship between Mørck and Assad.

With four books already out, Adler-Olsen still has many a story to tell about Department Q. “I have to finish Carl, Assad and Rose’s stories, maybe in 9, 10 or 11 books. Perhaps 10.5,” he laughs. “But I could fill 20 books with all the cases I have for Department Q.” So it remains to see how many stories readers can actually still await.

And for those interested in seeing Carl Mørck on the big or small screen, Adler-Olsen says there are three different treatments in talks: firstly, one movie for each book similar to the Swedish adaptations of Stieg Larsson’s novels; secondly, a local German version; and thirdly, an American TV series.

Department Q series in English:
Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen – 12 May 2011, Michael Joseph
Disgrace by Jussi Adler-Olsen – 21 June 2012, Michael Joseph

For more information, please visit: www.jussiadlerolsen.dk

By Nia Kajastie | Photo: Morten Jerichau

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Nordic design is known for its clean, strong lines as well as its simplicity and functionality. It is often based on forms, colour combinations and patterns found in Scandinavian nature, which is in parts lush and peaceful while at times also wild and rough. Working along the same lines, but bringing their own recognisable organic touch and powerful prints to the table, is Danish design brand by nord. Spearheaded by co-founder and designer Hanne Berzant, the company was established in 2008 and is spreading its presence to continental Europe and the UK, as well as the US. Scan Magazine was able to get to know Berzant and her brand a bit better.

Hanne Berzant and her husband, who is a business development consultant with experience in the fashion industry, wanted to create a distinctive design company for home accessories sharing a close link with Nordic design heritage and nature. They also wanted to establish a strong brand identity, which would give all their products a uniquely “by nord” look and feel.

Berzant, a formally educated graphic designer, had already garnered many years of experience working as an art director for lifestyle magazines. “So you could say, I have always been in design,” she says. “The format then was paper, but my focus on creating strong images and aesthetic products has always been there. That said, it was a very tough decision after ten years to leave a comfortable position at the publishing house and start my own company with all the insecurity involved.”

Danish success

Berzant was, however, able to make the successful jump from securely employed to self-employed and is now on a mission to make by nord into an internationally recognised design brand. Following in the footsteps of another Danish success story, namely the ‘world’s best restaurant’ Noma, by nord is fully inspired by the inexhaustible beauty and rawness of Nordic nature, hence their slogan ‘where design meets nature’.

“We must be able to tell the inspirational stories behind each one of our products,” explains Berzant. “The overall aim is, of course, to create products which are so uniquely by nord that they are instantly recognised as such. I believe our bed linen and cushions with digital prints are good examples of such products.”

In addition to influences found everywhere in nature, from forests to the back garden, Berzant is also inspired by the Scandinavian design heritage, which emphasises strong lines, soft colour combinations and user friendliness in products. It is a large and useful pool of knowledge and creativity to tap into, as Nordic design classics are plentiful and renowned worldwide. A lot of people already trust and admire the handicraft of many Scandinavians, so a new, strong design force on the field is indeed welcomed gladly.

Organic materials and bold prints

With a strong connection to nature, by nord also believes in sustainable design and accountability in production, combining style, functionality and organic materials. Their collection is not based on trends or seasons either, so all extensions and additions are carefully planned as a part of the organic design process.

“We also work very closely with our customers, agents and end-users, listening to their ideas as to which by nord designs and products we should concentrate on, as well as how the brand should evolve,” says Berzant. “So it’s very important for us to stay empathetic and in touch with external opinions.”

Their collection started off with their Northern Light candleholders and bed linen with digital prints of Nordic animals, but today it also comprises other home accessories, such as cushions, handmade pottery, bags, and t-shirts with powerful images of Inuit on them.
“The source of inspiration from Nordic nature is vast, so we might be making unique Nordic furniture and lighting one day,” Berzant muses.

The brand is already making waves in the Nordic region among major upscale retailers, as well as garnering interest in continental Europe, the UK and the US. Berzant ultimately wishes for by nord to become a global brand, however, without losing any integral parts of its identity and vision.

UK Agent & stockist for by nord Copenhagen: www.nordicelements.com. For more information, please visit: www.bynord.com

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Michael Nyqvist, it is a name that will make most Scandinavians, or at least those with a TV, nod in recognition, and when adding the name of his renowned alias Mikael Blomqvist, heads all over the world will confirm the actor’s great talent by joining in. Since the BAFTA-winning Millennium movies, Nyqvist’s talent has been in high demand; most recently the Swedish actor has been jetting between Dubai, Prague and Vancouver to film the new Mission Impossible. Still, back on a break in his hometown of Stockholm, the charismatic 50-year-old found time to catch up with Scan Magazine.

When Nyqvist comes through the door at Stockholm’s historic Opera Bar, it is quickly evident that a reflective artist, and not just a performer, has entered the room. Before we have even sat down at our table, the Millennium star has commenced a humorous anecdote about British society, which he experienced while filming London Voodoo in 2004. “I think that’s very British,” he ends his story about a fancy doorman dressed in, on closer inspection, a rather shabby uniform and looks smilingly out the window, where a beautiful but cold day is sweeping through Stockholm. Dressed unassumingly in a dark suit jacket and blue jeans, it is the actor’s charisma and renowned, intense gaze that catch your attention.

Life or death

Even though Nyqvist stumbled into acting rather coincidentally (he applied for drama school on the advice of an ex-girlfriend), he has always felt intensely about his art. “I came to this school, and I knew in a second that this was very interesting. It was the questions that you have to ask yourself as an actor with your character: where do I come from, where do I go? Hard questions, especially for me, because I did not know where I came from; I came from an orphanage, so I hid behind my character in life,” Nyqvist candidly recalls. “When I started, people, like my teachers, would say, ‘Great Micke, but could you calm it down a bit; it’s not life or death’. But it was, and I still have that kind of feeling; it’s for real, and I don’t know if it’s psychotic or if it’s talent.”

Even though Nyqvist felt an immediate connection with his art, he was not always convinced acting would be his path in life. “No, it was such an unanswered love. Everyone said, ‘Michael you are too tall, too small’, and all these things, but I did not care about it. I just wanted to answer these questions.”

After his years at the Swedish Academic School of Drama in Malmö, Nyqvist did, however, prove his critics wrong and appeared in countless roles in plays, TV series and films. In 2000, he had his major breakthrough with his portrait of the drunken and abusive husband Rolf in the award-winning Swedish film Together. In 2004, his star rose even further when he became internationally known as the lost conductor Daniel Daréus in Oscar-nominated As It Is in Heaven.

A struggle for identity

When Nyqvist’s lunch arrives, I ask him what he is having. “Well, it’s a traditional dish I suppose. It’s very good; it’s like something my mom would make. My mom was an awful cook though,” he answers rather confusingly, while shovelling down his cutlets and potato stew with an impressive appetite.

Nyqvist’s parents adopted him from an orphanage at the age of one, and in 2009, the actor published his critically acclaimed book När barnet lagt sig (Just After Dreaming). In it the author describes the moment when he realises he is adopted and his following struggle to find his right place in the world. “I am very proud of that book, writing it was very scary,” he says. When I ask if he thinks the book changed the way people perceive him, he answers without hesitation: “Yeah, it did, and that was sort of a part of it. I think sometimes people treat actors like small children who don’t know how to tie their own shoelaces or like big baboons walking around without emotions, and I am not like that; I always read a lot, wrote a lot… felt a lot.”

After having his first child, Nyqvist went on an exhaustive search to find his real parents, and today he has regular contact with his Italian father. His adoptive father passed away some years ago, and his death was an eye-opener for the actor, who never received any recognition from him when he was alive. “When he died, I had to go through his apartment and empty it… I opened this cupboard, and it was filled with pictures of me, reviews of every part that I had ever played and films, and not just papers from Stockholm – from all over Sweden,” says Nyqvist. “He supported me in a shy, silent way; you could say a Swedish way.”

Poking the stars

While ordering his second cup of coffee, Nyqvist rejects being tired, although he has been, as he says, “working nonstop for the last 11 months”. The last half year he has been on the set of MI4, which he travelled to just one day after wrapping up filming John Singleton’s Abduction, in which he co-stars with the likes of Sigourney Weaver and Taylor Lautner.

“It’s fun when you work with big movie stars like Sigourney Weaver; you want to go and like [he pokes at my shoulder] to see if she is real, and then when Tom and I were fighting… I mean Jesus! That’s the way it is.” But even though he did find the experience a bit surreal, working with Hollywood legend Tom Cruise did not make the actor nervous. “No, not at all, I liked him very much. I loved his energy.”

When asked why he was picked for the role, the actor’s answer is characteristically self-deprecating. “Because I was handsome, intelligent and talented, that’s why,” he smiles and quickly adds, “No, I don’t know, I never asked. They probably had five better ones!”

Coming back as a ghost

After an intensive year during which Nyqvist, his wife and their 16-year-old son had their base in Paris, Nyqvist is now back in his hometown for a well deserved break. “I have to give myself some time; I know that I opened a couple of doors in myself that I really have to look into, and I had a lot of new experiences. I felt very happy about that, but I don’t want to just run around chasing; I want to wait for the good, fun things to do,” the actor reflects.

But when I ask him if he would ever consider doing something else than acting, maybe something less exhausting, the response is firm: “Acting is not something you turn on and off. If you turn it on, you can’t really turn it off again. If I have a brain that still works, I would love to stand on a stage when I am 102 years old playing a ghost – maybe Hamlet’s father.”

Well, in case he is still standing at 102, we would not mind a couple of the front row seats – he is sure to make an unusually intense ghost.

The last movie in the Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, is now out on DVD in the UK.

By Linnéa Mitchell | Photo: Tine Harden

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She hardly needs an introduction anymore: the lead actress of Danish TV crime series The Killing, Sofie Gråbøl, has captivated the British BBC audience on Saturday nights this entire spring in her role as the murder investigator Sarah Lund. With a second series promised this autumn, Scan Magazine thought the time was right to get to know the woman with the sweater a little better.

Knowing the murderer of The Killing was like keeping a national secret for Gråbøl, as the nation became completely obsessed with finding out who the killer was. Not knowing herself until the very end (the writer refused to give out anything in advance throughout the filming), she enjoyed wild conversations with strangers in Copenhagen cafés and supermarkets.

The first series screened in Denmark in 2007. It has since been shown in other European countries, but nowhere has the success been as big as in Britain. Not that it had record viewing figures, but the audience that did follow the 20-episode murder investigation was religiously attached. “I don’t know what it hit with the British people but it’s such a joy,” says Gråbøl, as Scan Magazine catches her for a conversation during a busy theatre commitment. “Maybe we are related more than we know.”

The fluke beginning

Gråbøl’s character Sarah Lund is the latest heroine of the ongoing Scandinavian crime wave: an emotionally closed police investigator, unable to communicate, who puts her family second due to an obsession with finding the murderer. In Denmark, Gråbøl has been a national icon for 25 years, since her breakthrough role in Barndommens Ga­de (Early Spring) in 1986. She has never been to theatre school and nobody in her family works in the film industry. Since 1986, it has pretty much been non-stop. Gråbøl never sat down and decided that this was what she wanted to do. “I’ve always been very, very privileged and have been able to move freely between stage work, film and TV series, and also in so many different genres. I’ve done everything from comedy to Shakespeare,” she says.

It started very coincidentally when her mother suggested that she should go to an audition for the French/British/Danish production Gauguin (after worryingly noticing her daughter’s lack of interest in doing anything but sleeping until midday and working in a hotel since finishing school). She got a small part and it took off from there.

The creation of a heroine

The scriptwriter Søren Sveistrup had a very clear idea about The Killing: one murder, 20 episodes and a female detective. But it did not stop him from listening to other ideas. Knowing Gråbøl well from their last collaboration Nikolaj og Julie (another success on Danish television, which won an Emmy), he invited her to brainstorm with him at an early stage. Gråbøl, like all creative people looking for a challenge, remembers saying that she wanted to play a character who was isolated, but at peace with that. “He knows what he wants, but he’s always interested in having a dialogue,” says Gråbøl. The character Sarah Lund took shape (with the famous woollen jumper, symbolising softness and avoiding the typical woman-in-suit in a man’s world), although, once settled, it was not easy to get into at first. “I think it’s because it was so much in my bones to put emotions in every line, and I actually found it very hard not to.” All the people she could think of who acted that way were men so she decided to try to act like a man. “And that worked for me,” she says with a smile. But she does not necessarily think of Lund as a masculine character. “To me she’s a very feminine character; she’s just focused,” says Gråbøl. What was new to her this time was to work from the outside in. “I normally work from the inside out. You can catch the character by adding external things and work your way in, or you can go from the inside out, and I think I normally do that,” she says.

Once at ease with the role, she found that she had a lot more in common with Sarah Lund than she thought. “With work there definitely are similarities between me and her because I’m also very engaged in my work. If I get involved in projects, I like to get married to them,” she says.

The clichés

One of the things The Killing has been credited with by almost every critic (almost touchingly, since it is the British press, after all) is its realism and absence of clichés, which Gråbøl does not completely agree with. “What I think is interesting is what the writer does with the genre,” she says. “Because when you are dealing with the crime genre, then you are dealing with clichés. But I think that what he (Sveistrup) does with the genre is showing that it can be used for so much more.”

Consistently describing Sveistrup as a ‘very brave man’ she says: “There is this notion among TV workers that you are always only a click on the remote away from the audience disappearing, and the danger of that is that this fear of boring the audience can make TV… I mean you throw in so many car chases, love stories, shootings out of fear of boring the audience, and I think that the success of The Killing proves that people want to go deeper, and they want to be challenged. They (the audience) want some more solid food. And I think that… yeah, we should give them that,” says Gråbøl.

But, in all fairness, it is not exactly the first realistic and high-quality production by the Danish broadcast industry. From a Scandinavian perspective there seems to be this notion of surprise as to why there has been so much attention paid to Scandinavian crime stories, from Stieg Larsson to Jo Nesbø. The Scandinavian ‘noir’ genre is not new either, so what is it? “I don’t know… But it might be something about the Scandinavian soul. We have Ibsen, Strindberg and Bergman, and a fine tradition of drama that explores the darkness of the human mind. We feel at home with that.”

The future

It is hard to understand how a person who gets ‘married’ to every project she works on can fit it all in (especially since her ex-husband is working in the Ukraine, and she takes care of their two children alone – forget about nannies!). Even so, she is currently working in the theatre doing Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny og Alexander, and come autumn, it is time to film season three of The Killing. Plans for the long-term future do not really seem to have crossed her mind. “I’m a happy person in the sense that the character that I’m currently working on is always my biggest love,” she says. Reflecting on the past, however, she says: “The older I get, I find that I’m much more fascinated by the questions than the answers. When I was a young actor, I would always try to find all the answers for a character, but the older I get, and I think that goes for every human being, the more complex life seems in a way, and the more I actually allow it to be complex. There’s a beauty in that.”

Will we see her in Britain sometime soon? “I just didn’t have the time this time around. Maybe this autumn it would be possible… I really should put on my sweater and walk down the street!” she laughs. Something tells me she would be very welcome.