Ólafur Darri ólafsson speaks Caneseries' Entry 'Reykjavik Fusion'

Under the direction of “Severance” star ólafur Darri ólafsson, “Reykjavic Fusion”, one of the best profiled competitive candidates in France's Canneseries, is described by Wild Shep content as “Breaking Bad”.

When the protagonist Jónas, a talented chef who was supposedly locked up for tax fraud, opened and opened a restaurant supported by a crime lord, his life becomes a daily exercise to combat damage while his life leads to crime.

All Jonas wants is to develop his passion for haute cuisine, the “Icelandic ingredients cooked Asian style with all kinds of secret turns”, as he explains his employees. But he will soon be a conflicting accomplice to murder and drown with debts, to endanger his probation, his life and his relatives.

Chick, depth, fast -moving, packed near action in the Icelandic series such as Car Chases, “Rekjavik Fusion” plays out on a much larger screen than almost all Icelandic series.

In addition to U..s/Icelandic Star ólafsson, whose 100-member credits from “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and “True Detective” extend to “captured”, the Icelandic occupation in Hera Hilmar (“Mortal Motors”, “The Eam”) as Mary, an unprepared side-kick-Humer-listener listener takes the crest, and that Crime, the crisis of the crime, and the crisis, the Krist, the Krist, the Krist, the Mumolen, and the crime, the Krists, and crime, which is taken on by the hand. Ex-fiance Katrín, played by Lára Jóhanna Jónsdóttir (“captured”).

In cooperation with Erik Barmack's wild sheep content, the show is the first project produced by ACT4. Ólafssons Banner, which was produced in 2023 with the producer Hörður Rúnarsson, the creator of the show, the show, the co-creator and the writer Birkir Blærgólfsson and the writer Jónas Margeir Ingfsson. In addition to the Icelandic Commissioner Síminn and the co -production partner Arte, the transmitters or platforms on board are Amc Iberia, Viasat, Yle, ERR and SBS. The domestic start is set for this autumn with sales with the MediaPro Studio Distribution Device turnover.

diversity sat down with ólafsson and Rúnarsson in the majestic hotel in Cannes. Both spoke away from the Scandi Noir, their love for cooking and mixing ingredients for the USA/European, so that a perfect fusion can enjoy globally.

This is the first Icelandic series to be selected for Canneseries and the first Act4 project. What does that mean for you?

Ólafur Darri ólafsson: It is extremely important that the first Icelandic series competes here, and it is a big milestone for us at Act4. Getting a company is a challenge, but we are glad that we did it and have our first series here two years after the start.

Many thanks to Hördur, Birkir, Jónas and thanks to the co-directors Samúel [Bjarki Pétursson] and Gunnar [Páll Ólafsson] Anyone who has experienced in commercials but had never made a series, we wanted to break off from the traditional Scandi Noir and do something that was a small festival quickly.

How did you get the idea of ​​mixing cooking with crimes?

Rúnarsson: We set out to give a different taste in terms of creative, writing, occupation and crew, and we wanted a series that would be grounded in the city of Reykjavik.
Basically I like to cook and my father was a cook. The idea for the show originally came from a conversation with a cook that I know. He worked in various restaurants and said: “I do all the hard work with other boys who make all the money.” And then he said: “I even have a friend who came out of prison and he opened a restaurant! He cooked for some bankers who were in a small security prison that delivered all chic ingredients. So I was like” Hum-Das is a fascinating story “.

Ólafsson: Yes, it is actually anchored, much more than you think.

Could you describe your character, Jónas? What made you address you?

Ólafsson: Basically, he goes to prison because of a crime he did not commit, but he is not innocent in the sense that he was forced to serve time for what he did in life.

In Iceland we have a saying to go to prison, which means that they are going there to become a better person. But the irony is that prisons are a place where they actually meet real criminals. Then we wanted to investigate what happens when they come from prison. Jónas, for example, loses his family, his fiance cut the relationships with him and he does not want his two children to visit him in prison. He is full of shame. The only person with whom he really is in contact is his father. We were interested in exploring that. To go to prison to become a better person, but to come out and to realize that society has nothing to do with them. Fortunately in Iceland [the prison system] Is a hundred times better than in the USA, where people, for example, lose voting rights.

This means that there is much more in history: the dynamic with his fiance, who has a new man in her life, the latter being a father for his children and then his relationship with his children. Also the character of Maria [the right-hand to the criminal who loans him money to open the restaurant] is very entertaining.

The key is how to include the audience in such a way that the show and root want to continue to see for its character. Could you expand your complex interpretation and body language that says so much more than words?

Ólafsson: Well, Jonas is constantly responding to situations. It is fun as an actor when something always happens to them. I like Jónas as a multi -layered character, the fact that it is incorrect. In terms of physicality, every part instinctively occurs.

In general, if you as an actor are a well -known name and can probably choose your roles, how do you choose?

Oláfsson: I've already said it, but when I started my acting career, I might have worked with Stellan Skarsgård in 2005. I always watched him as a Scandi actor who had done everything [internationally]But continued to work in Scandinavia. I picked up a lot from him. I asked him: “Don't you want to work with the Coen Brothers?

I always try to stick to it. Then other elements come into play: who is still in there, the money, whatever.
Sometimes people sometimes say that actors can play a role. I don't really agree with that. You can do incredible things, but there are certain parts that are more important, depending on where you are in life. Whenever you play a role, use your experience and knowledge.

In short, if I choose a part, I will follow my intestines. I read the story, and when I think I can do the story better, it is attractive to me.

What did you dug from your inner yourself and then play drum moon in “Severance”?

Ólafsson: I think there was a lot (laughs)! I actually thought of the people who were startled by when I played drumond. We now have a certain government in the USA, and we are in an interesting place where some people seem to be true believers and would do something for a specific individual. I think Drummond is this type of individual and murder would not be the slightest! That pulled me to this character. As an actor, it is fun to put yourself in a way of thinking from someone you would not necessarily be.

Last year I also made a show entitled “Nine Bodies in a Mexican corpse” [for MGM+] Where I played a man who really believes in Trump and stolen elections. It was incredibly pleasant. It was not about making it a stereotype. People believe in all types of things and sometimes they learn in the difficult way that it was completely bullshit.

The show is co-produced by Erik Barmack from Wild Sheep and the ARTE on the other side. You are like a hinge between the USA and Europe and you mix us and European stories. Would you agree?

Rúnarsson: Absolutely. It is a combination of both and Iceland in many ways between the USA and Europe. We look at the USA, even though we are in the Nordicians.

Olafur Darri, as US/Icelander, do you also feel divided between the two or definitely rooted in Iceland?

Ólafsson: I worked a lot in the USA, but I always kept my base in Iceland and never saw a reason to leave. When I started working, the world had just opened, and people kept saying: you have to move to LA to break out internationally. Now everything has changed. Nobody has to live in LA and unfortunately there are far too few filming there. With ACT4 we are proud to bring these two worlds together.

Back to the show, from the first picture, cooking on the screen opens our senses and appetite. I think you had a Michelin chef – Þráinn Freyr Vigfússon – as a consultant. How was it to work with him and love to cook it personally?

Ólafsson: Cooking is a mixture of meditation and chemistry. It's the perfect thing. At the end of a working day, go somewhere and start cooking. I usually made good music and if you are lucky, open a bottle of red and have a glass. My family loves it when I cook my pasta bolognaise or Boeuf Bourguignon.

I love to eat good food, good society. What happened is that I was introduced to this cook Þráinn, who runs two restaurants in Reykjavik – óx and Sümac – and got to know him quite well. I had the feeling that he would be perfect as a consultant and he went beyond anything, designed the entire menu for the restaurant and cooked the food on the set. He was in the kitchen and made me look so good !!

What's next for ACT4?

Ólafsson: We have a new series called “Death of a Horse” [part of the New8 Alliance, commissioned by RÚV]. It is a crime thriller with a turn in the sense that the murder victim is a horse. The owner applies to an insurance claim and begins to investigate. This creates an interesting premise because it questions our relationships with animals – cats, dogs or horses – especially in Iceland – that we consider as part of our family and certainly a large part of our lives.

Will you act in it?

Ólafsson: I will leave it to other people. We have a wonderful pool of actors to choose from in Island. Jonas and Birkir are showrunner.

Rúnarsson: The financing is closed and we shoot in July. We will soon announce our sales partner.