Film & TV

Interview: Julie Christiansen

Julie Christiansen

Danish actor Julie Christiansen is in Australia as a guest of the Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival.

Danish actor Julie Christiansen is probably best known to Australian audiences for her role in the popular TV series Borgen. In Australia as a guest of the Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival, she spoke to Glam from her hotel room in Melbourne.

Although having just turned 31, she has been acting for over half of her life.

I started acting when I was 14 years old. My dad saw an ad in the newspaper; he sent in a picture and I  auditioned and was lucky to get picked. And I’ve been doing it ever since!

Christiansen this year stars in the Danish feature While We Live, which has been a critical and popular smash in Denmark. The first feature for brothers  Mehdi and Milad Avaz we were curious as to what drew her to the project.

I did a pilot with the director and I just had a feeling about these guys. I thought they were really cool and they had something they wanted to say to the world. Like they mattered a lot. I read the script and I was totally blown away. Then I heard that it was Sebastian [Jessen]that was playing the male lead…he’s one of my great friends and I’ve done many things with him before. So that convinced me. I believed in them, I believed in the script and I really wanted to do something with Sebastian again. 

While We Live is, like many of the films in this year’s festival, based on true events.

It was the director’s friend who was the guy who survived in the real accident. Apparently he tried to commit suicide four times after the incident. I heard that my character is a person too!

She’s doesn’t know exactly how much of the film is factual, although she is sure of one thing.

I know that the accident was made totally as it was and that they couldn’t get any Danish stunt guys to do it coz it was very dangerous, so they had to fly somebody in from Norway!

Christiansen is travelling around with Mehdi Avaz attending openings and Q & As for the festival.

Mehdi and I are so excited and honoured to be the invited guests of this festival. And I love Australia! I love Australians. I think you’re all the sweetest people on the planet. I want to stay.

And what is one of her recommendations from this year’s crop?

I saw U-July 22 the Norwegian film about the shooting on the island. It was done in one take! It was thrilling and horrible at the same time.

I think [us Scandinavians] are very brave. We’re doing some brave subjects.

Sadly for us, Julie has to return to Denmark, but she has exciting work waiting for her there.

I have a movie coming out next month called A Fortunate Man, which is also going to be a mini-series. It’s based on a novel from 1901, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever done in my life. The director is the great Bille August.

The Volvo Scandinavian Film Festival runs in Adelaide from July 18th-August 5th.

Check out the full program here.

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