When Lena Olin got her hands on crime writer Ragnar Jónasson's books, she immediately understood that Hulda Hermannsdóttir was the role she had been waiting for a long time.
It's a female character who is so uncompromising, so hard, so incredibly difficult for those around her, and absolutely, absolutely wonderful, she says.
Lena Olin found a lot in common with the fictional detective, for example, how they handle grief.
I've been through terrible things, and what I understand about Hulda is that she puts her grief aside somewhere and then lets it lie there. That's something I can identify with. Some people love to talk about things, but Hulda and I probably suffer from the same thing, we try to work our way out of grief instead.
"Haven't worked together much"
She and Lasse Hallström have been a couple for over 30 years, but they have only worked together on a few occasions before. Most recently in the feature film "Hilma", about Hilma af Klint, with their daughter Tora Hallström in the role of the artist as a young woman.
We haven't worked together much. It's like we've been busy with other things, both of us, and then you want to find something that feels really right.
It's so great working with Lasse because he's so tough and he gives so much freedom, and the Icelandic actors loved working with him. So it's not just me saying that, but all the actors who work with him.
Like in theater
The role in "The darkness" is Olin's first leading role in a TV series, and she's very comfortable with the format.
What I miss about theater is that you have an ensemble where you come back to the same people and that you feel very "connected" to the context. It's the same with TV series too. I'm looking forward to season two.
Is a second season planned?
No, but I think it's contracted for more seasons, as they do with TV series. If it goes really well, they'd like you to be on the hook.
"The darkness" premieres on November 1 on Sky Showtime.
Born: 1955 in Stockholm.
Selected roles: "Picasso's adventure" (1978), "Fanny & Alexander" (1982), "The unbearable lightness of being" (1988), "Havana" (1990), "The ninth gate" (1999), "Chocolat" (2000), "Alias" (TV series, 2001-2006), "Casanova" (2005), "The reader" (2008), "Look out for Jönssonligan" (2020), "Hilma" (2022).
Current: As an Icelandic police officer in "The darkness", which will be shown in six episodes on Sky Showtime from November 1.
