YOU WON A BEST ACTOR AWARD FOR PLAYING EERO TAKKUNEN IN THE 2003 FINNISH CRIME DRAMA FILM BAD BOYS, WHICH IS BASED ON A NOTORIOUS REAL-LIFE FAMILY OF CRIMINALS. WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO PLAY ‘BAD’ WHEN YOU DO? Playing darker characters has always been much more interesting and compelling to me than playing a good guy. You can delve deeper into the layers and depths of the human mind, and explore aspects that you wouldn’t, in normal life, even tend to think about. Some of the hardest, most challenging but also most rewarding roles I’ve had a chance to play include an ultra-radical neo-Nazi skinhead, and, in another film, a junkie. I’ve rarely, if ever, been truly interested in playing traditional hero or good guy characters.
YOUR FATHER SEPPO PÄÄKKÖNEN IS ALSO AN ACTOR, AND YOU PLAYED FATHER AND SON IN THE 2006 MOVIE MATTI: HELL IS FOR HEROES ABOUT OLYMPIC SKI JUMPER MATTI NYKÄNEN. TELL US ABOUT THE MOVIE? The film is a true story about Finland’s most legendary winter athlete that many older people will remember. He used to win literally every gold medal. After his sporting career his life took a turn for the worse, and he became a singer, a stripper and eventually ended-up in prison. Needless to say, the film and my role as Matti were a large and challenging project to work on, especially when the real-life Matti was still alive. My dad only had a couple of scenes in the film and it was more like an inside joke, akin to a cameo, that Matti’s dad was played by my real father.
YOU HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED AS ‘THE MOST PROFITABLE ACTOR IN FINLAND’ AS MANY OF YOUR MOVIES HAVE SEEN BOX OFFICE SUCCESS. HOW DO YOU SELECT A ROLE AND WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA? ARE YOU RULED BY YOUR HEART OR YOUR HEAD? I’ve always tried to be very selective about the films I do and chose by my heart. I’ve worked with scripts, directors and projects that I felt passionate about, and stayed away from the more calculated options. I’d rather do something else to pay my bills than act in a project I’m not passionate about.
YOU ACHIEVED INTERNATIONAL FAME PLAYING INFAMOUS HALFDAN THE BLACK IN HISTORY’S VIKING SERIES. PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THIS ROLE AND THE EXPERIENCE. I played neo-Nazi brothers in a film called Heart of a Lion with my long-time colleague and friend Peter Franzen. Based on the film we received an offer to play brothers in Vikings. ► 246 The Cultured Traveller Sep-Nov 2018