Trine Dyrholm tells us about taking walks with James Bond

There are few actresses in world cinema as highly regarded as Trine Dyrholm – once called the “best actress ever” by Alec Baldwin, and the star of films such as Festen and recent Academy Award winning film In a Better World. Her latest film is something of a departure for the talented actress, taking on her first ever romantic comedy role in Susanne Bier’s Love Is All You Need – and we had the pleasure of discussing the title with the Danish actress.

Dyrholm – who plays Ida in the film, the love interest to Pierce Brosnan’s Philip – talks about taking on a role so far away from anything she has done before, taking walks with “James Bond” – as well as discussing the prominence of Danish cinema at present, and her own thoughts on one day moving over to Hollywood…

Your character Ida is quite clumsy and flawed and the audience can see her imperfections, and I was wondering if that was something that attracted you to the role?

A lot of things attracted me to this part because I’ve never done a romantic comedy, it’s my debut as a comedienne in a way. I’ve done a lot in theatre but not on screen. The way she was written… I just really felt for her when I read the script, so yeah I liked the way she has this world that is quite lonely and melancholic and then at the same time she is so happy and open and playful and in a way naïve – I liked that a lot. When I worked with the character, I usually work quite physically with my roles in the past, and this part was so fun to work with because she has to be so feminine and to walk around in those uncomfortable shoes and the wig helped a lot, because I wanted Ida to be alive in hair and body in a way.

Was it nice for you to play a role that is more playful and blissful than you’re used to?

Yeah, I mean I’ve done a lot of darker films and roles, so I haven’t tried this before, and for me to do a scene where you walk through a lemon grove in a red dress with your shoes in your hand and to dance for real, with James Bond, I kind of liked that, it’s new for me.

Having worked on In a Better World with Susanne Bier before – a hard going, affecting drama, was there was a different dynamic on set given this was more light-hearted and comical?

It was different because the setting was different. We started out in Italy for one month and of course that was different as we had a lot of Italians on the crew and everything was so different to shooting in Denmark which we did In a Better World – so the atmosphere had changed. Even though the material was much lighter, Susanne is just very fun to work with and very focused and it doesn’t matter what material it is really, she’s the same, and we did have a lot of fun.

The film does deal with serious themes – could you tell from the script that it was going to be quite light-hearted nonetheless?

Yes, because that’s what Susanne wanted, she wanted it to be a comedy. But she wanted to deal with those subjects in a lighter way and not look too deep into cancer, for example, it is more an undertone and of course for my character it is a big thing, but the story is not about that, it’s all about new beginnings and those two people who open each other up, it’s a story about that. It was a balance when we did it, which was very difficult for me because I’ve trained a lot in very emotional, dark projects, so it was a challenge to not get too deep into those themes and to lighten it up more.

It can’t be easy to play such an optimistic character while balancing the fact she has been diagnosed with cancer and her husband is cheating on her…

It was tough, and also the character is naïve in a way, and we didn’t want her to be stupid either, so I really had to stay on the line with the character all the time, it was a big challenge for me. Not an easy job, but very funny. I usually like it that way though, it was a good task.

Do you think it’s fair to say that European cinema is more accommodating to actresses who aren’t under 25 years old, and to give them these challenging roles like this one?

Um, well I’m thinking about stuff like that a lot these days, I’m turning 41 this week. I mean in Denmark right now we have great parts for women who are over 40 in television for example, and I’ve been very lucky to get some big parts in films over the past few years, but we just have to make it modern so that they keep on writing parts for us. I don’t know how it is in the US, there are some good parts for older actresses like Nicola Kidman for example, but what do you think?

I think there are generally stronger female roles in European cinema, more deeper, multilayered characters, especially over the age of 35 or so.

Yeah. It’s very interesting, but I have been lucky in that sense that I have met some very good directors and I’ve been also a part of developing my characters many times, and if they are letting you in to that process it is easier to get the parts and expand the parts.

So why haven’t you done many films in Hollywood or Britain? Has that been a conscious decision?

I haven’t got the right offer I must say. The language is a little difficult of course too, it’s difficult to work in another language. I have done it for German cinema and in English also, and things in Scandinavia like Norway and Sweden and stuff, but I haven’t yet worked in an English film, but I would really love to actually, as long as the project is right for me.

As someone who has been involved in some huge Scandinavian productions and witnessed this recent boom of Danish films in particular coming to the UK, such as A Royal Affair and The Hunt – what do you think it is about Danish cinema that appeals to British audiences?

We’re very honoured about that actually, because in two years I have had two films at the Oscars also, with A Royal Affair and In a Better World. Maybe it’s that the director’s that have final cut and usually we don’t have that big budget and sometimes it’s more creative – I really feel that a film should cost what it has to cost, but sometimes if you can’t do a big Hollywood film then you have to find another way of thinking and telling the story instead. A film like A Hijacking, it hasn’t got a big budget so they just had to find a way to do that film and I think it’s a great film. Sometimes it makes you more creative. Plus we also have a lot of great actors and directors at the moment, and we have done for many years. But yeah, it is difficult to say what it is exactly, but it’s very interesting and we just have to keep on being better and not sit down and think “Well, Danish film right now is really good so we can just relax”, we just have to keep on making good films.

So what’s next for you?

I’ve just finished a film together with a Danish director Pernille Fischer Christensen called Someone You Love, who I have worked with twice before and it’s with Mikael Persbrant. Oh and then of course I am leaving for the US in the next week to open In a Better World over there – it’s going to be great.

Love Is All You Need Film Page | Love Is All You Need Review

Love Is All You Need is released nationwide on April 19