Just like Tim Robbins, even Trine Dyrholm began her KVIFF Talk with memories about what she, as a child, wanted to be when she grew up. “I wanted to have a grocery store, so that I could have free candy, or become a film star. It somehow suited me.” Her second wish came true. Even though she is still afraid that the offers will dry up, she is one of the most awarded Danish actresses and even has a Silver Bear from the Berlinale for the drama The Commune.
She shot the film with Thomas Vinterberg, just like the breakthrough film Celebration, the most famous picture by the Dogma 95 movement. “At the time, we did not know how big Dogma would become – we were shooting with such a small camera. All the actors had to arrange their own costumes and make-up. We took part in creating the film, and it seemed so natural to us, and we had lots of fun,” says the actress, who considers her career a string of happy coincidences. Before getting into film, she became famous as a teen singer in the Danish round of Eurovision.
Trine enjoys that fact that she continues to be involved in the filmmaking process. During the third season of the series The Legacy, she even tried directing two episodes. “It is the actor’s responsibility as well to make the character interesting,” says Dyrholm. On the other hand, she also appreciates directors like Michael Haneke who have a clear vision about a film. She would also like to work with her compatriot Lars von Trier. “I’m a great fan of his. Not all his films, but when I saw Melancholia, I had to call a friend of mine who worked on it as a cameraman to make sure that it was just a film.”
As an artist, Trine Dyrholm seeks out good projects, complex characters and challenges. This could take the form of a romantic stroll among lemon trees, as she found out when filming Susanne Bier’s romance Love Is All You Need (Den skaldede frisør). “Taking a romantic stroll and not making it look ironic was quite difficult,” she remembers.
