Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.05.2016, Qupperneq 20

After hitting UK shores earlier this
year in all its subtitled glory, Baltasar
Kormákur’s 'Trapped' ('Ófærð') has
quickly become the most internation-
ally successful Icelandic TV show in
history—with over one million Brits
tuning into the finale on BBC4.
'Trapped' represents Iceland’s first
foray into serialised Nordic noir, tick-
ing all the right boxes in terms of its
scope, sweaters—and spooks. Pro-
duced in the isolated environs of Si-
glufjörður, it’s a classic whodunit
story with a twist: the cops, the sus-
pects, the murderer and the Danes
are all trapped by the deadly Icelandic
climate. It’s a 'Twin Peaks'-style sty-
listic twist on traditional Nordic noir
conventions, with the hero stumbling
through blizzards after criminals,
torchlight swinging across the snow.
Now a heartthrob for millions
of middle-aged, middle-class Brit-
ish women, 'Trapped'’s burly, stoic,
lactose-free male lead, Ólafur Darri,
has skyrocketed to fame—and not
just as “the hottest man in Iceland.”
He has seen murder, smelled murder,
and solved murder, all within the con-
fines of the small screen. Grapevine
caught up with Ólafur to talk crime,
the weather, sex, and milk.
'Trapped' is an international
hit. What’s it like being
the lead character of the
show?
Let’s be honest. The weather is the lead
character of the show. It drives the
first six or seven episodes of the show
and it’s what living in Iceland means
—even more so in the north. You have
to be aware of the weather.
It was a lot of fun. It’s always fun to
get work. It’s even more fun when you
get something substantial like that. It
was really enjoyable. I remember that
meeting with Baltasar and he was
talking to me about this project for the
first time and it sounded really inter-
esting and fun. When we actually were
going to do it, starting rehearsals and
reading the scripts, it seemed like a
dream come true.
Why do you think the show
has had such an effect on
audiences around the world?
It’s such a good premise for a show.
Some of my favourite movies are 'The
Thing' or 'Alien'. I’ve always been fasci-
nated by nature or things people can’t
control. I think this set up is one of my
favourites. The winter is outside, so you
have to deal with everything locally.
It’s like a family village drama
dressed up as a whodunit. The crime
pulls you in and hooks you, but you
stay because you want to see what hap-
pens to these people and the weather
makes it more interesting.
What was it like working in
such a remote location?
It was interesting for me on a personal
level because my mother was raised in
Siglufjörður. My grandparents lived
there. I actually stayed in the apart-
ment where my grandparents raised
my mother and her siblings. It was
lovely. A really good vibe in that apart-
ment. I’ve only heard stories about
how it was. Nowadays there is a tunnel
that goes from Siglufjörður to Ólafs-
fjörður to Akureyri. You can drive
that in like an hour. That didn’t used to
be there. When my grandmother was
there with all the kids and my grand-
father was a captain, he would be away
and she would be alone with all the
kids. The only way to leave the town
would be by ship, by boat. Everything
was closed off. They were really trapped.
I remember my mother saying that my
grandmother was not a fan of that. It re-
ally freaked her out being stuck there.
The part of Andri was written
with you in mind. What was it
like being him?
For any actor to hear that, that some-
one thinks of you, it’s incredible. It
makes me feel trusted. He’s such a
fantastic character to play. His experi-
ences from his life and his work make
him hold his cards very close to his
chest. He doesn’t show a lot of what’s
going on.
He’s Trapped on the inside?
Yes…[chuckle] The title of the show
is great, even better than I originally
thought. “Trapped” as a title applies to so
many things: it applies to this village be-
ing trapped by the weather and it applies
to the people in the village. They are all
trapped. They are all there together.
Andri’s marriage is breaking up
and his family is breaking up. He’s
working in that small town and as the
series progresses you realize it might
not be the easiest thing for him to go to
Reykjavík and work there. He has a his-
tory there. So, yes, he’s trapped, as well.
When you see Andri with the torso
at the beginning, he’s almost too fas-
cinated by it. He smells the body. You
would have thought anyone would
have been disgusted and I think in
many ways he was, but he’s also excit-
ed that something has happened that
he can sink his teeth into, a means of
escape.
How much like Andri are you?
I think I show much more how I feel
than Andri would ever. People don’t
ask me to get out of bed before 11 am
because I’m really grumpy, but I think
Andri would not allow himself to be as
grumpy as I allow myself.
As with any character you play,
you find parts within yourself and
use them. You might add more of this
and less of that, but I think, again, it
came down to great writing. When I
watch Andri, I understand where he
is at. He’s dealing with a lot of things
most of us deal with or will deal with
at some point. He’s failed at work and
20

FEATURE STORY:
ÓFÆRÐ/TRAPPED

CRIME, SEX AND MILK:
TALKING “TRAPPED”
WITH ÓLAFUR DARRI

By York
Underwood
Photo by ARI MAGG