Scan Magazine | Cover Feature | Josefine Frida
Josefine Frida — from SKAM to Disco You might have seen her on the screen: the young feminist with the shoulder-length, blonde hair and her signature red lip, who more than once taught Scandinavians of all ages a thing or two about the struggles of being a teenage girl through her SKAM character, Noora Sætre. Now, Josefine Frida is back on the screen, and two years after the last episode of SKAM aired, the actress is moving from shame to proud flamboyance and is ready to meet Hollywood. By Synne Johnsson | Photo: Sofie Amalie Klougart
Josefine got famous overnight when the Norwegian SKAM became Scandinavia’s most popular TV-series and her character, Noora Sætre, became a role model for thousands of young people across the world. Over four seasons, viewers followed a diverse group of friends through ups and downs, and there were few Scandinavians who did not watch wide-eyed on their TVs, laptops and smartphones with butterflies in their tummies as William, the school’s infamous player, fell head over heels for the inspiring Noora. The TV-series aired for the first time in September 2015. Throughout the first series, the SKAM actors kept a low profile, but during Josefine’s second season, the show went viral, reaching an average of 1.2 million viewers every week. This sudden and unexpected popularity made Noora Sætre a household name in most homes across Norway and, soon, the rest of Scandinavia. Josefine herself has a more clouded memory of when she started to reach TV stardom. “I don’t think I understood it; I still don’t understand it, actually,” the 23-year-old says. “I never thought I would
get the role. I just auditioned for it because I thought ‘okay, I don’t have anything else to do right now, so I might as well’. Being a part of it, though, was simply amazing, every single day.” The SKAM actors were shielded from the spotlight through the entire show and did not give a single interview until the last episode aired. Josefine thinks that this made her sudden fame a lot easier to handle. “It’s not the people who come up to you and say that they are so happy to meet you or tell you how pretty you are that are difficult about being famous. It’s all the gossip magazines and the constant media attention that’s the challenging part of it.”
Social awareness As SKAM became a global phenomenon, Josefine’s fame rocketed, and she now has almost two million followers on Instagram. And with those followers, comes the responsibility of having young people looking up to her. “I’m pretty shy, and these days there’s a lot of focus on who’s a good role model and who’s not. It makes you think twice before posting anything,” she says, explaining that she has, thankfully, not experienced any explicit pres-
sure of being a good role model, probably because she avoids voicing controversial opinions. “I don’t know how I would handle public debates about what I, as a person, might be doing wrong. There seems to be this expectation that you have to use your voice all the time, but I don’t think that’s the case. I’ve decided that acting is my job, so I’d rather focus on choosing good and important roles and stories to take part in,” she says. That does not, however, mean that she is in any way oblivious. Josefine admits that her position has made her conscious of what she posts on social media. Moreover, she is grateful for the fans she has and happy that people look up to Noora, as she believes the character is a healthy role model. “I get messages every day from people who say I’m their idol. I remember what it was like when I was younger and was a fan of someone – I wanted to be like them and do what they did, so I try to avoid encouraging people to do anything silly,” she smiles. “I think a lot of people still look up to me because of Noora, but I don’t mind. Noora is a good character to look up to.” Her image as ‘Noora from SKAM’ is not one she necessarily wishes to let go of, but she does hope and believe that after her new role in Disco, some might see her as ‘Noora from SKAM and Mirjam from Disco’.
Disco freestyle Her film debut, Disco, will be released this autumn. The film is about 19-year-old Issue 128 | September 2019 | 33