Viking Magazine - June 2017 - 46

Q&A
Hitting His Stride
B
est known in Norway for
fi lms such as " Max Manus:
Man of War, " and " Reprise, "
actor Christian Rubeck, 37,
is now starring alongside
Hollywood's A-listers. He
grew up in Jeløy, Norway, and
attended the prestigious Drama
Centre London. From playing
the Norwegian Foreign Minister
in the Netfl ix original series
" Nobel " to appearing with Brad
Pitt in " Allied, " Rubeck has had
some amazing career moments.
This spring, he appeared on
the small screen in National
Geographic's fi rst scripted show,
" Genius, " playing Nobelwinning
physicist Werner
Heisenberg. Catch Rubeck on
screen with Glenn Close (his
favorite career moment) in the
sci-fi thriller, " What Happened
to Monday?, " later this year.
Viking caught up with the
versatile actor.
Q How did you become
interested in acting?
A My dad and I watched a lot
of fi lms together, and he would
always point out the good
performances. He'd say,
" Look at Dustin Hoffman.
That's a real actor, a character
actor! " Acting has been a
hobby and a passion since
kindergarten. I joined my youth
theater community early and
my mom and dad built sets and
made costumes.
46 VIKING JUNE 2017
sonsofnorway.com
From the small screen to the big screen, Christian Rubeck's acting
career is red hot. BY CHAPIN BLANCHARD
Q What is one of your
favorite memories from
growing up in Norway?
A I grew up on Jeløy, an island
in the Oslofjord. The close
proximity to the sea and forest
meant that most kids spent a lot
of time outdoors. I have good
memories running barefoot over
the fi elds to the beach in the
summer and playing in the snow
during the winter.
Q How did you prepare to
play the role of Norwegian
Foreign Minister in " Nobel? "
A I spoke with several
employees at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and shadowed
the real Minister. My main
concern was that I was too
young for the part. One of my
fi rst role models for a young
man in the high ranks of
politics was President Obama's
speechwriter Jon Favreau, who
started working for him at
age 26. I had the pleasure of
meeting him in Oslo. Eloquent
and charismatic, he was my
inspiration for the character.
Q How do you continue to
challenge yourself and learn
as an actor?
A No matter how many years
of training I've had and how
many parts I've played, I always
feel like a complete amateur
at the beginning of every job.
It's one of the most rewarding,
yet frustrating, parts of acting.
Each director has a different
style and every new character
requires a slightly different
approach. So you learn from
the people and the material you
work with. The challenge is to
not fall back on old routines,
but dare to start out with the
open mind of a rookie.
Q What are some of your
favorite places in Norway?
A Lofoten, Røros, Bergen,
Stavanger and Jeløy.
Q What are your career
goals for 2017?
A I'm planning on landing the
lead in the next Paul Thomas
Anderson fi lm and get an
Academy Award nomination.
I'm joking! As long as I get to
play another interesting part in
a good production, I'm happy.
I still can't really believe I'm
making a living from this.
Name:
Christian Rubeck
Occupation:
Actor
Hometown:
Jeløy, Norway
Lives In: London
and Oslo
PHOTO BY ALEX GRIMWOOD
http://www.sonsofnorway.com
Viking Magazine - June 2017

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