Peter Stormare (69) has made a name for himself in Hollywood playing villains. In reality, too, he can be a tough guy, as when he put Bruce Willis himself in his place.
– They wanted to give me tablets, but I said “no, damn it”.
The Swedish film star tells VG about the seasick pills the director wanted him to swallow during the filming of the TV series “1923”.
The episode Stormare is in takes place at sea, where the 69-year-old is having a hard time.
– I get seasick just looking at a boat. The sea and I are not compatible. I could never take the Hurtigruten, says Stormare and chuckles lightly.
So why accept a role as tugboat captain? The Swede, with over 100 films on his resume, shrugs.
– Say it. I am from the coast in northern Sweden, Norrland. And I’m proud. I actually didn’t get sick during the “1923” shoot. I just looked straight ahead at the water, like you did in the car when you got nauseous as a child. It worked, he says to VG.
Admittedly, Stormare only has a guest role in the series. The biggest characters are played by Hollywood icons Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.
Big names, but nothing Stormare isn’t used to. The cheerful Swede has thrown balls with everyone from Tom Cruise and Will Smith to Frances McDormand and Ben Affleck.
The 69-year-old really became a name to reckon with in Hollywood when he played the villain in the classic “Fargo” in 1996. Since then, he has become one of the film city’s big go-to guys when there is a need for badass on film.
Norwegian consumers may best remember the role of mafia boss John Abruzzi in the TV series “Prison Break” and Satan himself in the film “Constantine”. The latter is firmly singled out as the best film interpretation of Lucifer of all time.
– I don’t know if I should be proud or embarrassed of myself, but I consider it a good thing. I really appreciate the fans’ support, Stormare told film website Screenrant in December 2022.
Stormare cannot refrain from telling a robbery story when VG mentions the 1998 film “Armageddon” and the Swede’s role as a Russian cosmonaut.
There he played opposite, among others, Bruce Willis, who we recently learned suffers from frontotemporal dementia.
– At one point during the recording, he cursed at me and said: Damn it, I’ll have the last word. I am the hero.
The backdrop was that Willis’ first day on set involved a scene with Stormare, where they bicker about who can construct the best weapon.
According to the Swede, the “Die Hard” star improvised a new sentence every time Stormare finished the scene, as it was written in the script. Then the 69-year-old took Willis aside for a serious talk.
– I said: You are the hero, but this scene is mine. I will have the last word. It’s your first day on set and I understand you’re excited. You are a cool guy. But this scene I have to win, for later scenes to make sense. Then he took my hand and said: All right, I understand. Then we became good friends.
The Swede’s eyes are filled with a nostalgic veil. He smiles fondly at his own story. A quarter of a century has passed since then. Stormare has gone from floating weightlessly in “Armageddon” to floating on the sea in “1923”.
There he plays tugboat captain Lucca, who suffers from tuberculosis. During the recording, he had to cough hard and roughly. He looked to Scandinavia for inspiration.
– In the north of Sweden and Norway, you get such a cold in the winter that you cough up bloody blood. Most people struggle with bronchitis. Colds are tough!
– It must hurt to drive like that, right? Even if it’s on like.
– It wears on the vocal cords. I put a little extra pressure so that it will be good. Fortunately, it’s not something I have to do for hours every day, says Stormare and pretends to run his palm over his forehead with relief.
– But it’s really not far from what we sound like in Norway and Sweden in the winter!
