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Home Theater Forum recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ingrid Bolsø Berdal - upcoming Norwegian actress who portrays the formidable role of Atalanta in Hercules, alongside Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Ingrid discusses working with a fine fellow cast, taking on strong female roles, and her creative passions.
Hercules was released on Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray on November 4, 2011.
HTF: Hi Ingrid, how are you today?
Ingrid: I'm very good thank you. Oh, wonderful. Do you talk in both English and American accent, or what's the deal?
HTF: Well, I'm English but have been living in America for about 20 years so my accent is a hybrid of the two.
Ingrid: I see. 'Cause I tend to respond in the way that I'm being spoken to so, so I might just switch to English as of now.
HTF: I was watching a couple of clips of you and you do have an English way of responding but sometimes your responses and your inflexion is very American. But it's always got that very Norway grounding. So you have an interesting accent as a result.
Ingrid: Well, in 2008 I moved to London so I've lived there for a years. But then a lot of my friends are American so whenever I'm in America I try to adapt to the American way of speaking. And for my work, I need to get that accent under my skin as well. Doing interviews I'm all over the place.
HTF: So you had a great cast with Hercules, a lot of great British actors; Ian McShane, John Hurt, Rufus Sewell and more. And then of course you had Dwayne Johnson, a larger than life American actor. So tell me about working with such prolific actors and it was like being one of the only females on set.
Ingrid: Yeah, well it's a huge experience to meet these people that you've watched on screen. Sometimes you get the impression that they are something else just because they are famous. But people are people and they're not different than you and me apart from the fact that they're very, very famous. And when you meet people that are in the same profession as yourself it was just a great experience to see that you do have the craft that you share. And the professionalism, I can't really describe. Obviously there are times that are tough and challenging, and to see how all these amazing people attack that and deliver under pressure. I really learned a lot from it. And to see John Hurt and Ian McShane, and these incredible, wonderful actors, to see how they work and treat everybody with respect. It's really incredible to watch. And then you have Dwayne Johnson! He's a huge star. As you say he's larger life. And he comes on set and he's the most humble, whole hearted human being that you can imagine that spreads joy, and really wants everybody to feel safe. He's a very big inspiration to everybody.
HTF: And you've balanced working on American film and film and television and other creative outlets back in Norway. Is that important to you to remain connected to where you started – to that creative scene back home - as well as explore opportunities on a more global scale?
Ingrid: Yes definitely. As I said this is a craft. You can do this across cultures and across borders. What's different as I've experienced it, is the scale and the massive amount of people that are involved that I haven't been that used to. Norway is a small, very small environment. If you put it next to the American film business, the crews are much smaller, the structure in Norway is quite flat. But it's just been a wonderful experience to do this with certain American films just to get used to it. Because at the end of the day, what matters is what you deliver in front of the camera. And a good story is a good story, not necessarily where it's been told.
HTF: You've explored music, film, television, theater, in your career, but you started out studying music. What was the trigger to try acting? What was the pull, or was it something that you were recommended to do? And, adding to that, would you like to in the future somehow merge your creative talent and passions to be able to do something music related in film or television?
Ingrid: Oh, Neil, I love you (laughs,) that’s something I could talk about this for the next hour for 14 days. But to answer shortly, I could get very frustrated because there was so much that I wanted to do. There are many types of expressions that I really love to do. I started studying music and I found a fantastic outlet though the sound. The noise. But my body just started moving by itself in the university when I started music and jazz. And I also wanted to write stories. I've always been wanting to explore human nature and the way we connect. And psychology's also been a big part of what I've been interested in. So when I studied music I was, really in love with that but at the same time I was quite frustrated because I felt I didn't fit in anywhere. And when I saw that there was something called the drama school, and saw the curriculum; they had poetry, they had physical, psychology, singing and movement, I thought, “huh,” maybe this is the place where I can fit. So then I started the drama school and felt at home. But now, my beating, bouncing heart really wants to play more when it comes to both physical movement, and music, and singing, and hopefully it will manifest itself in some sense. That's a huge dream, yeah.
HTF: So, when I think about your role in Hercules, is it important to you to take or find roles where you can be a role model, as a strong female character?
Ingrid: It was important to me that we chose something where we could be feminine but didn't have to act like one of the guys in order to be respected. One of the things that I can talk about to young women about is that we don't have to do things the way that the guys do. We don't necessarily have to copy them in order to feel strong or be heard. And I think the more that we do that the more it will inspire others to do that, and can create a space that can flourish and expand. And I think it's really necessary for us to do that. When it comes to parts I like, yes I am more drawn to that. At the end of the day we all want to just play parts which have their own story, a reason that isn’t necessarily connected to a man.
HTF: So Ingrid, in the film or the music world, is there any particular person - a director, actor, singer, or musician that you look up to?
Ingrid: Well there are two people that spring to mind. The first is Mike Patton (Former lead singer of Faith No More.) He's been one of my biggest inspirations growing up in the music world, in the vocalist world. He plays in a band called Mr. Bungle that I listened to a lot when I was younger. And he's got so many things going on now, developing music and inspiring lots of people. And the other is Tilda Swinton because she's so herself. I get inspired by people who go their own way and find their taste and do it. The authenticity that both these artists have really inspired me when I got scared. When my head gets scared and my ego shouts “hey you can't do that 'cause people are gonna find you stupid,” or “this is just rubbish.” Then I think about Mike Patton or Tilda Swinton, and I think “well, they do it and they follow their heart,” and that helps me.
HTF: Wonderful. Well thank you very much for speaking with Home Theater Forum today. The very best of luck to you.
Ingrid: Well, thank you so much Neil.
Hercules was released on Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray on November 4, 2011.
HTF: Hi Ingrid, how are you today?
Ingrid: I'm very good thank you. Oh, wonderful. Do you talk in both English and American accent, or what's the deal?
HTF: Well, I'm English but have been living in America for about 20 years so my accent is a hybrid of the two.
Ingrid: I see. 'Cause I tend to respond in the way that I'm being spoken to so, so I might just switch to English as of now.
HTF: I was watching a couple of clips of you and you do have an English way of responding but sometimes your responses and your inflexion is very American. But it's always got that very Norway grounding. So you have an interesting accent as a result.
Ingrid: Well, in 2008 I moved to London so I've lived there for a years. But then a lot of my friends are American so whenever I'm in America I try to adapt to the American way of speaking. And for my work, I need to get that accent under my skin as well. Doing interviews I'm all over the place.
HTF: So you had a great cast with Hercules, a lot of great British actors; Ian McShane, John Hurt, Rufus Sewell and more. And then of course you had Dwayne Johnson, a larger than life American actor. So tell me about working with such prolific actors and it was like being one of the only females on set.
Ingrid: Yeah, well it's a huge experience to meet these people that you've watched on screen. Sometimes you get the impression that they are something else just because they are famous. But people are people and they're not different than you and me apart from the fact that they're very, very famous. And when you meet people that are in the same profession as yourself it was just a great experience to see that you do have the craft that you share. And the professionalism, I can't really describe. Obviously there are times that are tough and challenging, and to see how all these amazing people attack that and deliver under pressure. I really learned a lot from it. And to see John Hurt and Ian McShane, and these incredible, wonderful actors, to see how they work and treat everybody with respect. It's really incredible to watch. And then you have Dwayne Johnson! He's a huge star. As you say he's larger life. And he comes on set and he's the most humble, whole hearted human being that you can imagine that spreads joy, and really wants everybody to feel safe. He's a very big inspiration to everybody.
HTF: And you've balanced working on American film and film and television and other creative outlets back in Norway. Is that important to you to remain connected to where you started – to that creative scene back home - as well as explore opportunities on a more global scale?
Ingrid: Yes definitely. As I said this is a craft. You can do this across cultures and across borders. What's different as I've experienced it, is the scale and the massive amount of people that are involved that I haven't been that used to. Norway is a small, very small environment. If you put it next to the American film business, the crews are much smaller, the structure in Norway is quite flat. But it's just been a wonderful experience to do this with certain American films just to get used to it. Because at the end of the day, what matters is what you deliver in front of the camera. And a good story is a good story, not necessarily where it's been told.
HTF: You've explored music, film, television, theater, in your career, but you started out studying music. What was the trigger to try acting? What was the pull, or was it something that you were recommended to do? And, adding to that, would you like to in the future somehow merge your creative talent and passions to be able to do something music related in film or television?
Ingrid: Oh, Neil, I love you (laughs,) that’s something I could talk about this for the next hour for 14 days. But to answer shortly, I could get very frustrated because there was so much that I wanted to do. There are many types of expressions that I really love to do. I started studying music and I found a fantastic outlet though the sound. The noise. But my body just started moving by itself in the university when I started music and jazz. And I also wanted to write stories. I've always been wanting to explore human nature and the way we connect. And psychology's also been a big part of what I've been interested in. So when I studied music I was, really in love with that but at the same time I was quite frustrated because I felt I didn't fit in anywhere. And when I saw that there was something called the drama school, and saw the curriculum; they had poetry, they had physical, psychology, singing and movement, I thought, “huh,” maybe this is the place where I can fit. So then I started the drama school and felt at home. But now, my beating, bouncing heart really wants to play more when it comes to both physical movement, and music, and singing, and hopefully it will manifest itself in some sense. That's a huge dream, yeah.
HTF: So, when I think about your role in Hercules, is it important to you to take or find roles where you can be a role model, as a strong female character?
Ingrid: It was important to me that we chose something where we could be feminine but didn't have to act like one of the guys in order to be respected. One of the things that I can talk about to young women about is that we don't have to do things the way that the guys do. We don't necessarily have to copy them in order to feel strong or be heard. And I think the more that we do that the more it will inspire others to do that, and can create a space that can flourish and expand. And I think it's really necessary for us to do that. When it comes to parts I like, yes I am more drawn to that. At the end of the day we all want to just play parts which have their own story, a reason that isn’t necessarily connected to a man.
HTF: So Ingrid, in the film or the music world, is there any particular person - a director, actor, singer, or musician that you look up to?
Ingrid: Well there are two people that spring to mind. The first is Mike Patton (Former lead singer of Faith No More.) He's been one of my biggest inspirations growing up in the music world, in the vocalist world. He plays in a band called Mr. Bungle that I listened to a lot when I was younger. And he's got so many things going on now, developing music and inspiring lots of people. And the other is Tilda Swinton because she's so herself. I get inspired by people who go their own way and find their taste and do it. The authenticity that both these artists have really inspired me when I got scared. When my head gets scared and my ego shouts “hey you can't do that 'cause people are gonna find you stupid,” or “this is just rubbish.” Then I think about Mike Patton or Tilda Swinton, and I think “well, they do it and they follow their heart,” and that helps me.
HTF: Wonderful. Well thank you very much for speaking with Home Theater Forum today. The very best of luck to you.
Ingrid: Well, thank you so much Neil.
