Eksklusivt Interview med Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Nikolaj-Coster-Waldau

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau plays the ultimate despicable womanizer, the kind of cheating charmer who spells trouble, in THE OTHER WOMAN, a hilarious comedy from director Nick Cassavetes. At first, his character Mark seems like the ideal boyfriend for Carly, the dynamic lawyer he is dating, played by Cameron Diaz. He is handsome, smart, attentive and successful.  However, appearances can be deceptive! Mark, it turns out, is married to Kate (Leslie Mann) and we later discover that he is also having an affair with the very much younger Amber (Kate Upton).  The three woman involved in Mark’s web of lies get to know each other and plot revenge. They become close pals, in the process discovering the power of female friendship.

DANISH ACTOR NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU ON BAD BOYS, GOOD ROLES, RELATIONSHIPS AND FAMILY LIFE

When we meet the suave and sophisticated Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), he seems like every woman’s dream man: great looking, great company, thoughtful and rich. It’s not surprising that Carly, the lawyer portrayed by Cameron Diaz, falls for his seductive charms. She never suspects for a moment that Mark is lying to her – until the day he tells her he cannot make it for a date he had committed to. Realizing something is not right, she drives to the house where she thinks he lives alone and discovers that he has been deceiving her and is leading a double life. His wife Kate (Leslie Mann) answers the door. In fact, Mark is a triple-timer! He is also dating the lovely, unsuspecting Amber, played by Kate Upton. Is there no end to this man’s lies?
Kate, Carly and Amber become friends and decide to give Mark what he deserves, in this very funny film which centers on the relationship between the women.
It takes a strong man to play this incorrigible cheater alongside three talented actresses, and Coster-Waldau was up to the job!
THE OTHER WOMAN also stars Don Johnson and Nicki Minaj. Responsible for the fabulous costumes and the look of the characters, was the legendary costume designer, Patricia Field (SEX AND THE CITY).

A graduate of the National Theater School in Denmark, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is best known for his starring role as Jaime Lannister in the massively successful TV series, GAME OF THRONES. About to enter its fourth season, it was nominated for an Emmy in 2011. In 2001, Nikolaj starred in Ridley Scott’s multi Oscar winning drama BLACK HAWK DOWN, which was followed by ENIGMA. His films include KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, (again from Ridley Scott) WIMBELDON, FIREWALL, HEADHUNTERS, NIGHT WATCH, REMBRANDT, and BLEKINGEGADE, a high-profile Danish mini-series. Recent projects include Guillermo Del Toro’s MAMA and OBLIVION with Tom Cruise. Coster-Waldau lives in Copenhagen with his family.

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The actor sat down in Copenhagen to discuss THE OTHER WOMAN.

Q: What kind of guy is your character Mark?

A: “He is one of those guys who is very successful and is making a lot of money, but his life is all about appearance. I think there are quite a few men like him out there. It’s very important to him that not only is he successful, but that people can see by his appearance how successful he is. That includes having the perfect marriage, and living in a beautiful house. Because he makes so much money, he thinks that allows him to have a bit of fun on the side. He feels entitled. It is almost expected of him that he can live the life of a bachelor, while he’s married. He’s one of those guys who can justify any kind of bad behavior. Even when he is caught with his pants down he will go: ‘what are you talking about. I didn’t do that. That’s ridiculous?’”

Q: Is he likeable at all?

A: “The trick in playing a role like this is that you still want to have moments, at least in the beginning, where you think he could be a nice guy; but of course he really has to be horrible. We can’t have the audience feeling too sorry for him. He is charming. I think actually it could be a lot of fun hanging out with this guy. Clearly Kate Upton’s character is very naïve and you can see her having her heart broken again and again, because of who she is. He is playing the game and he loves being loved.”

Q: What was the appeal of this film for you?

A: “I thought the scenes were very, very funny when I read the script. The draw was really Nick Cassavetes, the director. I don’t know why he was keen on me for this part. I am so lucky. I haven’t done anything like this before. It was great being allowed to be so outrageously horrible and then being caught. There are some very funny scenes that made me laugh. My favorite scene is so childish but so funny; it is the one in which he dives into the toilet, because the girls have been teaching him a lesson and have given him a very strong laxative that has very severe, immediate consequences! That scene was a lot of fun. Nick Cassavetes is brilliant. He is a very, very funny guy; he will take the time to explore how far can we take the comedy. I think what is hilarious is that Mark, takes himself so seriously. He can’t bear the idea of losing face and of course that’s funny to watch.”

Q: Can you talk about your leading ladies? I believe Leslie Mann, who plays your long-suffering wife, was allergic to you?

A: “Yes I think everything about me made her come out in a rash. I have a bit of stubble in the film and I could barely get close to her, without her neck exploding in itchy pain. Maybe it’s just because she’s such a good actress and on a subconscious level she knew she had to stay away from this guy (laughs).”

Q: She told me that as a happily married woman, she’d actually been looking forward to kissing a gorgeous man in this film, and so it was a deep disappointment!

A: “I know I really disappointed her, but what can you do? You try your best. (laughs) Sometimes you fail. But it was great working with Leslie. She has very good timing. She’s clearly a very funny lady. Cameron has done a lot of great comedies in the past and I just tried to not get in her way too much. I was very lucky to be working with her, she is great. Kate Upton also has a natural instinct for comedy and allows herself to be as young as she is. Often she’s portrayed as a very sexy, diva’esque woman but actually she is so talented. She allowed her own personality, which is very goofy and fun, to shine through. I thought she did a great job.”

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Q: It sounds like the shoot was a lot of fun?

A: “It was a great shoot. I had fun with the director and of course the crew. The three girls are very, very girly and I am not that girly, so sometimes they just got into that whole energy of three girls giggling. You have to step away as a guy. It just got too intense. (laughs)”

Q: Can you talk about working with Patricia Field, the renowned costume designer, to create Mark’s style? He’s very debonair. Is your style similar to his?

A: “My style is as far removed from Mark’s as you can imagine, but it was a lot of fun working with Patricia. She is a wonderful lady. She has this husky voice. It was a privilege to get to work with her and her whole team. I’ve never worn anything as expensive as I wore in this film. There was a costume change for every scene basically, because Mark is one of those people who needs everyone to see how expensive his clothes are. Those suits were really exquisite and you could tell the quality. It was very important to the character that the wealth was shown, so he would wear Tom Ford suits. He would drive the most expensive car; I drove a light blue Aston Martin Convertible. It was beautiful, I enjoyed it. And I love dressing up. That’s part of my job. It’s what builds character and clearly Mark needed those really sharp suits. But in my own life I wear jeans and a tee shirt. It’s very basic. I put on whatever is at the top of the pile and then once every two weeks I’ll turn the tee shirt pile over so I don’t just use the same one. It’s boring. But I like it, it is comfortable.”

Q: What would you say this film is all about?

A: “I guess it’s about female friendship, female empowerment, women taking control of their lives, being responsible for their own lives. Often really horrible bad behavior goes unpunished and in this film these girls set out to right the wrongs that Mark has perpetrated. I guess it’s a revenge movie in many ways, although the core is about an unlikely friendship. What could be more unlikely than the wife and the mistresses becoming great friends?”

Q: What does the film say about relationships and fidelity?

A: “I think some men and women cheat. Unfortunately that happens. Mark in particular is not a very nice guy and he doesn’t deserve to be with this nice woman (his wife Kate). Now of course one can argue, and I am sure he would argue, that his wife is very trusting. I think he could probably argue that she knew all along what was going on. How could she not have known about his affairs? I’ve heard a lot of guys say that, when they talk about being unfaithful. They say: ‘well, my wife knows and it’s a silent agreement between us, a silent understanding.’ Personally of course I think fidelity goes along with honesty and respect. They are the fundamentals that are important in a relationship, because today in this day and age I don’t see any point in staying together if you’re not being honest, if you’re not having fun together. Why would you stay in a relationship otherwise? I could understand maybe 30, 40, 50 years ago but today no.”

Q: You also star as Jaime in the very popular GAME OF THRONES; he is a different kind of rogue isn’t he?

A: “Yes Jaime’s an honest man. He is trustworthy and he’s been faithful to the same woman his whole life and he’ll do anything for her, which has also in many ways caused him problems. You might not like him but he’s not a liar. Mark in THE OTHER WOMAN is just a liar. He will lie about anything. I don’t even think he knows how to tell the truth. Jaime is very truthful, which is also sometimes painful because he’s able to hurt with his honesty.”

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Q: GAME OF THRONES is so compelling. Did you ever imagine it would take off and become a huge global hit and what is it about your character that everyone loves?

A: “I had no idea it would become so successful. I don’t think anyone could have imagined that this kind of fantasy show would reach such a big audience. But at the core it’s about families and people. I think what’s interesting about Jaime is his honesty. You start off hating him because he tried to kill an innocent kid and he’s sleeping with his sister Cersei (Lena Headey). So how can you like a character like that? But he has something about him, he’s clearly smart and he’s not afraid. He never backs down. And now that we’re deeper into the series, there is a lot more depth to him and we find out the secrets that he’s been carrying around, especially last season when he lost his hand. I think most of us can relate to certain aspects of his character, how none of us like it when people jump to a conclusion about who we are as a person, based on very little information. Also he’s willing to risk his life for the people he loves. I mean, he will jump into a bear pit to save a woman, with only one arm and no weapons; that’s a nice thing. How can you not like that?”

Q: Jaime has become a heartthrob. Are you surprised that women fall for men like him and Mark too in THE OTHER WOMAN?

A: “You wouldn’t have thought that would have happened, that women would go for Jaime Lannister. It’s funny isn’t it? What is it with women? It’s an old truth that there is this attraction to the guys that break the rules. We look at Mark and we don’t like him, he seems unlikeable but I am sure a lot of women who would meet him in a bar would see something else. There’s clearly something attractive about that kind of guy. It’s weird. When I see guys like that I just go ‘ugh, that’s so disgusting. Why would anyone want to hang out with that guy? He is flashing his money, flashing everything, everything about him is terrible.’”

Q: How have your career and life changed recently?

A: “GAME OF THRONES is really big and clearly being in a successful show means a lot of people notice you because they watch the show. I’ve been working for more than 20 years, but this show is once in a lifetime thing and I am really excited about the opportunities that I’ve had as a result of it. I’m sure THE OTHER WOMAN wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t done GAME OF THRONES, because I don’t think Nick Cassavetes would have seen me. When people actually see your work that helps. Life hasn’t really changed. We’ve built a new bathroom in our house (laughs). It’s wonderful, but I still live in Denmark. I travel a lot which is tough. I have two girls aged 13 and 10. You want to be around for them. When I am working away from home they come and visit and thank God for Skype. That does help a lot. But life at the core is the same.”

Q: Will you continue living in Denmark?

A: “We’ve talked whether it would be better to live in LA or even London, but the thing is these days you never end up shooting in LA, so then my family would be sitting there and Skypeing with me in LA instead of in Denmark, so it wouldn’t make sense. Here we have our base. This is where we’re from and we have family and friends and living here definitely keeps me grounded.”

Q: Any passions outside acting?

A: “I love skiing, I like to be outside, I like to go mountain biking. I am very lucky that my work is really my hobby so I try to do as much acting as I can. Also, when I am not on set I love watching good TV shows, being inspired by good actors and directors. And then of course when you have kids most of the time is spent with them, which is great. Trying to find moments with my wife is the tricky thing.”

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Q: Was acting a big interest when you were a kid?

A: “It was actually, but I had no idea that it was possible. I grew up way out in the countryside in a tiny village, so the idea of acting seemed impossible, but that was the dream. I do remember a teacher coming up to me and saying that I was really good at acting when I was about 10. I was so proud even though I am sure he said that to all of us in the class, but I felt that it was such a big deal. It clearly meant something to me and it mattered to me that I was doing a good job. Acting has always been a passion of mine.”

Q: What’s coming up next, other than the new season of GAMES OF THRONES?

A: “I did a small film with Juliette Binoche that’s coming out later this year, called A THOUSAND TIMES GOODNIGHT, which I really enjoyed. It’s as far away from this one as possible. I just did a film back home here with Susanne Bier, who is a wonderful director. I am about to go out to Australia to film GODS OF EGYPT, directed by Alex Proyas, which is also very different. It is a big, epic, action fantasy movie with Geoffrey Rush and Gerard Butler. I would like to do as many different genres and different kind of scripts as possible, playing different kinds of roles, because to me that’s what acting is all about.”

Læs Mia Christensen’s anmeldelse af “The Other Woman” HER
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