Viking Magazine - June 2014 - 38

Q&A
The Viking
Norwegian actor Thorbjørn Harr stars in the History
Channel's period drama series, " Vikings. "
BY SARA SCHLUETER
O
slo native Thorbjørn
Harr attended the Lee
Strasberg Theatre
& Film Institute in New York
and The Norwegian National
Academy of Theatre. These
days, you can catch him
portraying cunning leader Jarl
Borg in the History Channel's
hit series, " Vikings. " Although
the show takes him to different
locations for fi lming, away from
his family, he still lives in the
neighborhood where he grew
up. Viking caught up with Harr
about his current projects and
the importance of Norwegian
culture in Hollywood.
Q What do you enjoy most
about playing Jarl Borg?
A He is a man that does what
he feels needs to be done
in order to get back at the
people who betrayed him. The
audience will see it differently,
but in my work I need to give
my characters a reason for what
they do. That is why it is not so
challenging to play a " bad guy, "
because in my mind he is not.
Q Why do you think it is
important for people to learn
more about the history of
the Vikings?
A It's a time in history that
we don't really know much
about. I fi nd it fascinating that
38 VIKING JUNE 2014 sonsofnorway.com
most of the historical material
written down about the Vikings
was written by their enemies.
Since the Vikings didn't leave
anything written down except
for simple runes carved in
stone, most of what we know
comes from descriptions
made by the people who were
attacked by the Vikings. I think
the show can help inspire a
more diverse conception of
these Norsemen.
Q Why do you think it is
important for Norwegian
folklore and culture to be
portrayed in fi lms and shows?
A As the ratings have shown,
and indeed for the movie
" Frozen, " there is something
about Norwegian folklore that
is communicating something
to audiences in the rest of the
world that they love seeing
right now. I don't know if it is
coincidence or not, but it is a
fact that a lot of Scandinavian
culture has an impact on
Hollywood right now-both
in old stories, such as " Frozen "
and " Vikings, " but also in new
crime television shows being
remade in Hollywood.
Q What projects are you
currently working on?
A Right now, I am back at the
National Theatre in Norway.
I'm working on a production
of Shakespeare's sonnets. It
is a real challenge, but great
fun and quite the opposite of
the work I did in " Vikings. "
That's the great thing about
being an actor. If you want,
you can create a lot of different
experiences for yourself.
Q Where are some places
in Norway that you would
recommend travelers visit?
A Most of the people I meet
outside Scandinavia want
to experience the Northern
Lights, so then you need to
visit northern Norway in the
winter. I would recommend
going in the summer to
experience the Midnight Sun,
the magnifi cent fjords in the
west coast and the amazing
scenery. I usually go a bit
farther down south in the
summertime to our cabin
at the mouth of the Oslofjord.
That's where I fi nd my peace
of mind.
Name:
Thorbjørn Harr
Origin: Oslo
Past Film
Projects:
" Reprise " (2006),
" Into the Dark " (2012),
Disney's " Frozen " -
Norwegian
Adaptation (2013)
Catch Thorbjørn Harr
in " Vikings " on the
History Channel. Find
local listings at
history.com.
PHOTO BY GISLE BJØRNEBY
http://www.history.com http://www.sonsofnorway.com
Viking Magazine - June 2014

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