Nordic Honorary Dragon Award recipient Sidse Babett Knudsen stated at Sweden’s Göteborg Movie Competition that she felt “pissed off” when filming HBO’s “Westworld,” notably concerning the therapy of horses.

“Within the U.S., they don’t have a flat hierarchy, which gained’t shock anybody. I might knock on the producers’ door on a regular basis, saying: ‘These horses have been out within the solar for 10 hours, they’ll fucking die,” she recalled. “They don’t seem to be even working as we speak – get them within the shade!’”

She continued, “As a Dane, I used to be simply trying on the sources, cash and logic, going: ‘It’s loopy!’ However, after all, it’s tremendous irritating when an actress talks about horses on a regular basis. How did they react? Not effectively.”

Within the first season of the dystopian collection, Knudsen performed Theresa Cullen, Westworld’s head of high quality assurance. HBO didn’t instantly reply to Selection‘s request for remark.

“You might be ‘solely’ an actor, so eat along with your actors and don’t communicate to technicians, as a result of they may get scared. You’re a child – you’ll be able to’t even go to the toilet with out somebody with a headset informing everybody about it,” Knudsen stated. “I really like watching different filmmakers. It’s magical. However within the U.S., you come on set when you’re wanted and then you definately return to your trailer.”

Quickly to be seen in Gustav Möller’s Berlin-premiering “Sons,” Knudsen additionally opened up a couple of a lot happier expertise, one which turned her right into a famous person: “Borgen.” 

“That was tremendous fascinating, as a result of it was such a bizarre casting. I got here from comedy and I used to be not the plain selection. I’m not the plain selection in something, truly,” she stated. “However the beauty of having such a key function in a TV present is that you’ve a lot time.”

Her character, Birgitte Nyborg, who turned the primary feminine prime minister of Denmark, turned a job mannequin. Knudsen mirrored on finding out precise politicians to arrange for the function.

“I used to be impressed by a couple of of them. I noticed a doc about Tony Blair and observed his physique language modified a lot when he turned associates with Bush,” she stated. “He moved in a sure method after which he turned, effectively, extra Bush-y. Adam [Price, show’s creator], like sure males, thought it could be sufficient if I might simply lose 20 kilos, which I wasn’t in a position to do.”

She continued, “Probably the most progressive strategy to do a narrative a couple of feminine PM was for it to be probably the most regular factor on this planet. At first, they’d scenes that ended with: ‘After which a lady comes right into a room.’ We determined to vary it and overlook about gender until it’s about gender … She was a lady in a world the place it could be fully regular for a girl to take this place, which was not the case – even in Denmark. However there was this want for it to be potential.”

Knudsen got here again to the function in 2022. 

“I might by no means open the door. It was a precept that basically irritated individuals, however it made sense to me. Birgitte was at that stage in her life. The world has grow to be a extra cynical place, so she goes a bit ‘Breaking Dangerous.’ However it’ll get higher once more!,” she assured the viewers, gathered on the Stora Theatern for the screening of Jessica Hausner’s divisive “Membership Zero.” 

A movie she has by no means truly seen – till now. 

“Jesus,” she stated. “I made a decision to make the movie due to Mia [Wasikowska], who’s a magical being. I can hardly say her title with out crying. I had no thought how this movie would end up visually. Typically you had no clue what the digital camera was doing and who was within the scene. It was easier [than I expected]. I believed it could be extra… sickening.”

Earlier than receiving her honorary award, she recalled her beginnings. Desirous to be an actor from an early age, she headed to France to be an au pair – and to audition.

“Once they would see I used to be from Scandinavia, they might go: ‘Do the accent.’ They wished the Swedish Chef from ‘The Muppet Present’ – that’s what they thought I ought to sound like,” she laughed. 

Undeterred, she would finally make her function debut in Jonas Elmer’s “Let’s Get Misplaced.” 

“Folks didn’t need to watch Danish movies and we would have liked one thing new. It was a collective,” she stated of the movie. “As an actor, you had a seat on the desk, you have been part of making a story and taking accountability for it. We have been a era that felt we had the correct to share our opinions and we’re nonetheless like that. I by no means shut up.” 

Not even about these horses.