Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.05.2016, Side 22

dealt with the politics of that. While
at the same time he’s having troubles
with his family.
I’ve worked with Baltasar quite a
few times and Baltasar, to me, he’s
pretty much a genius when it comes
to casting. He’s one of my favourite di-
rectors. He will cast you for something
and then he will trust you to just go.
He’ll talk to you only a few times when
you’re shooting. He’ll say two things to
you and you’ll be like “Oh yes, of course!
You’re right.” And that’s exactly what
he does. When he casts you, he knows
what you are strong at and what you’re
weak at and he knows what little piece
of information you need to do what he
wants.
It wasn’t difficult for you
to get into character then?
It’s well written, that’s the first thing.
That really helps. Also, as I remember,
Baltasar, Sigurjón Kjartansson and
myself all pretty much agreed on the
type of person he is. I think he really
benefits from being unique. He’s not
an alcoholic, for instance. He doesn’t
have that.
I distinctly remember Sigurjón get-
ting drafts from Clive Bradley in the
UK where Clive had written, ‘Andri sits
down with a glass of whiskey…’ and
Sigurjón was like ‘This is not Icelan-
dic. We don’t do that.’
Instead he drinks big glasses
of milk?
[Chuckles]… We had that discussion
that the glass of milk is a really good
thing. It’s the last thing he does before
he goes to bed. In many ways, it child-
ish, but at the same time it reminds
me of the countryside in Iceland. Peo-
ple eat dinner and drink milk fresh
from the cow.
We chose that brand because the
main milk company was getting a re-
ally bad wrap. There was talk about
them cheating the market. I remember
saying, “Why isn’t he just drinking the
usual blue carton stuff?” because I had
been abroad and didn’t know this was
the latest Icelandic scandal. Someone
said “No, No, No! We don’t want to ad-
vertise them.”
So I’m drinking lactose-free milk.
It makes it more interesting. He’s
drinking lactose-free milk? Why is
he drinking milk at all? It’s like when
people drink decaf. I mean, you’re not
doing it for the taste. I like how weird
it is. That’s the greatest thing about
this character: the contradictions.
I think that’s what drives him. The
idea that someone has seen and done
so much but, lactose-free milk would
be his drink of choice before bed? It’s
just lovely.
You’ve become a bit of a sex
symbol in the UK. How do you
feel about that? Receive any
interesting fan mail?
I haven’t received any letters. I’ve re-
ceived an overwhelming amount of…
response from this role. I don’t know
what to say. I honestly… it’s funny. I
think that’s great and I hope I get to
enjoy that even further. I have a lovely
wife and she seems to like my look. My
older daughter is sometimes like, “You
need to clean up,” and I like that too.
Is there any word on
a second season?
Nothing has been confirmed yet. We
got the response we hoped for and
there seems to be a following with the
show. I think if it makes sense to RVK
Studios, I think everyone would really
like to. I love my character and would
like to see him again.
Interview introduction and additional
reporting by Ciarán Daly.
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FEATURE
STORY:
ÓFÆRÐ/
TRAPPED

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Photo by ARI MAGG22
'Trapped' ('Ófærð') is Iceland’s most
internationally successful television
show and RVK Studios’ first major
television project, with ‘Everest’ being
the studio’s first major film. ‘Trapped’
is a crime series about a body found
in a fjörd and a town snowed in by
weather. It’s harsh, bleak and utterly
Icelandic, but it has pulled in audiences
around the world, trapping them in its
beautiful isolation. This strange mur-
der mystery, in a small town in a small
country, takes place where the weather
is as much a character as a setting.
RVK Studios is any writer’s dream
office: clean, well-lit, with a great cof-
fee machine and both a foosball and a
full-sized snooker table with the balls
frozen mid-game. No doubt waiting
for when the players need a quick men-
tal break from all the creative stuff
they get up to in here. I’m waiting and
snooping around while Sigurjón Kjar-
tansson, the head writer of ‘Trapped’,
and Jón Gnarr, the comedian, writer
and former mayor of Reykjavík, finish
their meeting.
Both Sigurjón and Jón worked to-
gether as a comedy duo on the radio
and on a hit sketch show on television,
‘Fóstbræður’. Now Sigurjón is the
Head Of Development at RVK Studios,
a company formed with Icelandic di-
rector Baltasar Kormákur (‘Everest’,
‘Contraband’, ‘The Deep’) and Magnús
V. Sigurdsson.
Sigurjón is finally done with his
meeting and he takes me to see his
writing office, which still has parts
of the ‘Trapped’ set—including the
brown couch constantly slept on by
one of the main characters. After a
few minutes looking at the couch and
pieces of wood that used to be the set,
Sigurjón leads me to a nearby coffee
shop, Café Haiti, for the interview.
Where did the idea for
'Trapped' come from?
Baltasar came up with this great idea:
• HOW TO WRITE
ICELAND’S MOST
POPULAR TV SHOW