It’s been almost a year since we last saw Swedish actress Josefin Asplund, when she appeared via a video call for a special presentation after a London screening, discussing her new series Snow Angels. The series was later released in March and become one of our favourite series of 2022 – most notably for an outstanding performance from Josefin.

This time round, I catch up with her during a break from filming in Denmark for a new undisclosed series!

“Half my hair is brown at the moment,” Josefin points out – it turns out that the hair and makeup team had only time to do half the job which has left her with a pretty ‘cool, hip look’ she laughs.

Josefin always seems to have an interesting hair style going on – for those who caught her in the later seasons of Vikings will remember some of the styles she had going on there, then there was her character in Snow Angels which leads me to discuss her character Emily in Top Dog, whose wardrobe is slightly more upmarket than her previous roles.

“Period pieces are always fun, but you are right, my character Emily does have a certain look to her which fit her character.”

Released back in 2021, Top Dog seems to have circumnavigated around the world before finally coming to the UK with Walter Presents on All4. The series sees Josefin’s character Emily getting embroiled in quite a conspiracy which delivers a wealth of twists and turns.

“Her goal is to really work her way up in her law firm, she has been struggling financially, and she really needs this role to help settle the difficulties she is coming up against – she has no choice really“

Her character is very determined to become one of the top lawyers in Sweden and her work is practically her entire life, but in doing so she encounters some very tricky situations, the first when she encounters Teddy played by Alexej Manelov.

“They have to work together but they are jsut not a good match on paper – but they have to cooperate with each other and it is fun seeing these two worlds combining. He is from the underground criminal world and she is from the top“.

They have different morals and backgrounds which we learn throughout the series.

Emily is a tough cookie and a character Josefin enjoyed playing:

“She is unfiltered and selfish because she is so driven in getting what she wants – which means she gets to step on people’s toes along the way. I felt it was very fun to get to play her“.

The character is world’s apart from her brave performance in Snow Angels, which can also be seen on Walter Presents and comes highly recommended. Much like that series however, is an incredibly strong supporting cast. Here in Top Dog it’s almost a case of a whose who in it with many familiar faces.

One particular character, Emily, clashes heads with Daniel, played by Joel Spira (Thicker Than Water), a rival at the law firm who keeps seeming to get in Emily’s way.

“It has been a few years since I had shot the first series, I had just finished a series called Sanctuary and then went straight into this one. I had no idea who was who but was so happy and surprised when I saw everyone at the read through. Even in small roles there were some big names“.

Josefin does single out Joel Spira:

“I really enjoyed shooting with him, he is just great fun! At one point we had to do so many takes when we had to shoot a scene where we share an elevator and he had his cycle helmet on and I just couldn’t stop laughing. We managed in the end!“

Everyone clearly had worked their arses off in the series – whether that was in front of or behind the camera, and it certainly shows in the series. It picked up at lot of recognition and awards.

There is one particular episode that stands out, which, without giving too much away, pulls the rug from under your feet and tugs on the heart strings. Josefin comments on this part:

“This is the thing I love about Top Dog, it isn’t all just about the crime series – there is so much more drama going beyond the thriller side of it all. There are a lot of emotional and personal experiences the characters are going through and for me personally I just love that mix“.

You get to really be immersed with these characters and begin to understand perhaps the reason why they are the way they are. With the series based on the books by Jen Lapidus, who also wrote Snabba Cash, you know you are in very safe hands, though Josefin does point out to not expect the series to follow the books.

“Top Dog is a blend of the trilogy of books; when it comes to the second season it is its own thing.”

And what about season two? With the series already wrapped Josefin has let on a few bits of information that might get fans of the series excited.

“There will be more Emily and Daniel (Joel Spira), Teddy might not be wearing that jacket as much, and we’ll get to really learn more about Emily’s character“.

So, if you haven’t watched the series yet, you can watch it now on Walter Presents – and believe us that when we saw it, it was worth the wait, so let’s hope it isn’t so long this time for season 2!