Noomi Rapace spoke about her “angry” public image at Sweden’s Gothenburg Film Festival.
“When I first went to America, Americans can be blunt. They said, ‘Oh, you’re funny. You’re not angry, you’re not aggressive.’ I said, ‘How could I be?’ Everyone thought I would be quiet and moody and would fight and argue about everything, but I never recognized myself in that description,” she laughed.
“When I was younger, I had a lot of anger towards myself, and because of ‘Millennium’ and my experimental theater (people looked at me a certain way). My characters are on fire and on the edge of madness. That’s me. But it’s not just me.”
“I once heard an interview with Jim Carrey. He said that some people mask their pain with laughter and smiles. And I do that in real life.”
Ms. Rapaz met with the audience after a screening of “Mother,” directed by Teona Strugal Mitevska, in which she played Mother Teresa.
“Sometimes you allow that character to get into your heart or your head. They leave a mark on you and some of them stay. Some things stay forever, and she is one of them. There is a before and an after.”
What other characters did she love?
“Definitely Lisbeth Salander, because she was one of the first people who lived inside me and really defined me. Probably Elizabeth Shaw in[Ridley Scott’s]’Prometheus’ and Maria in ‘The Lamb.’ It was about being a mother and being away for too long and realizing that your child isn’t really your child anymore. That was my biggest fear: chasing your dreams and having your child waiting for you.”
She said, “They are all challenged by themselves and by the world, and it’s an eternal battlefield.”
In an interview with Variety magazine at the Venice Film Festival, director Strugal Mitevska said, “I want to demystify the perfect saint.”
“Noomi is strong and bold, and that’s obvious. But she’s not just strong and ferocious, and she’s not just a saint. We had to find her vulnerability and imperfection. Her human side, her imperfect side, her childish side, her obsessive side.”
These days, Lapas practices “living in the present.”
“Am I restless? Yes. What is contentment anyway? Contentment is when you have a calm mind and are drinking your coffee in the morning. Peace and quiet are hard to find. You get a moment of contentment when you accomplish something you were afraid of. Maybe it was fear. When you get too comfortable, you lose motivation. I never want to be comfortable, so I have always pushed myself.”
She initially decided to perfect her English after feeling like a “goal” at an international event.
“As I said earlier, I’m restless and have a good concentration. At the first press conference for ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,’ I was very embarrassed because I couldn’t understand the questions. I felt very weak.”
“When a language becomes yours, a change happens. You start to feel like there’s no distance. If you just memorize lines in a foreign language, you can’t actually act because you don’t have the freedom. It’s not yours. It was a quiet, secret journey that I went on.”
Still, at some point, she got fed up with the “big studio system” and began “craving” European films again.
“When I landed in Iceland[for Lamb]I thought, ‘I’m exactly where I need to be.’ On the second day, I was sitting in the trailer waiting for the farmer to come and signal that the lamb was coming. He said, ‘When you see the head, put your whole hand inside the sheep and pull it out.’ I asked: ‘Inside the sheep’s vagina?’ No gloves? “That was my connection to European cinema,” she joked.
“For weeks I could smell her insides. I thought, ‘She’s back.'”
“You don’t always have to be a huge hit. You don’t always have to attract a huge audience. You’re actually free to explore.”
But she hopes to create a project in Swedish soon, and hopes to help more local projects receive support, despite ongoing funding challenges.
“Give me more money!”
“It’s really simple. If you look at Norway and Denmark and how they embrace their talent, they’ve got films in Cannes, Venice, Sundance. They’ve been nominated for Oscars. We’ve got that talent in this country too. It’s heartbreaking that they don’t get more support. It’s frankly stupid.”
“We are proud of Swedes. So let’s put them on the world stage. Let’s give them the tools to make more noise. The time is now.”
Upon receiving the award, Mr. Rapace dedicated it to his son.
“This morning I remembered 28 years ago when I passed this very building. I went to school a few hours away from Gothenburg, but I used to come here to watch movies and dream of a life as an actress. And here I am,” she said.
“This award is much bigger than me. There are so many people behind me: teachers, mentors, people around me. Directors, actors, producers, the list is so long. I can’t talk about everyone, so today I’ll talk about one person. My son, Lev, has been my closest witness and truth teller. He is the one who keeps me grounded and from whom I have learned the most. He always holds me accountable and makes me want to be more courageous.”
Pia Lundberg, Gothenburg’s artistic director, said Rapace had “formed a body of work defined by presence, courage and uncompromising authenticity.”
“Across genres, languages, and film traditions, she has played characters driven by necessity rather than convention. Whether in an intimate art-house drama or a major international production, Noomi Rapace brings a rare physical and emotional commitment to her roles. Her work seeks understanding, not solace.”
