With the introduction of Viaplay in the UK a little over a year ago now, we got introduced to a number of incredible series’ which we may not have ever discovered otherwise. Amongst some of our favourites were Riding in Darkness, Thunder in My Heart, and The Congregation (for those based in Sweden you will find this on CMore, TV4play and Viaplay) . During the course of the year as we watched these series, we began to spot a familiar face – that of actress Malin Persson.
With two of the series making a possible appearance on our Best of 2023 Nordic TV Series, I thought it would be great to catch up with Malin and discuss her involvement with them and what work she had coming up next.
We start off with The Congregation, which came out a couple of years ago, and in fact a new series is due soon. The series is based on true events, another theme here, when a young woman gets involved with a religious cult who aren’t as friendly as they might seem.
Malin Persson: I knew a little bit about the case, which was quite famous in Sweden, but I never knew the real core of the drama involved in it. It was a very interesting experience as it was treated like an ensemble piece- we learned stuff together, we sung songs, and ate our meals all together too.
It created this big family which helped understand the mechanisms of having this strong charismatic leader and the joy that comes with it – but also the destructiveness.
The actress describes how the director, Goran Kapetanovic, was very open to letting cast members immerse themselves in the scenes rather than be strict in following the script.
The charismatic leader in question is played by Aliette Ophiem, whom I have to say goes some extra miles in delivering one of the most terrifying characters I have ever seen. In doing so, delivering probably one of her best performances. There is one particular scene early on in the series where she loses it for the first time and it knocked me sideways. Malin was present in that scene too, along with some other standout moments:
Malin Persson: Honestly, there were goosebumps on my arms. When someone is that good it makes your job so much easier. I have always admired Aliette’s work and, as you say, in this role she is amazing. We all made that happen but she set the tone and her way of acting made it so easy to everyone else.
Aliette had worked with the director before with Caliphate and he said to her to let loose – she just went and it was so amazing being in the room, seeing someone master that moment. She brings a lot more of that in the new season too.
Leading on from strong performances is Riding in Darkness; many may not know but the lead star of the series Jonas Karlsson (who plays Malin’s husband and subject of the story) had been nominated for an Emmy for his role.
Jonas plays Tommy, and whilst Aliette Ophiem played a character who was totally off the rails, so too does Jonas, but with this character someone who is so cold, calculating, and so downright evil you might find yourself shouting at the television.
Similar to The Congregation, this too was based on real events – and one wonders how delicately handled it had to be given the subject matter of sexual abuse and gaslighting?
Malin Persson: It was really delicate, it came to the media only a couple of years ago. With The Congregation, this was ten years later so it wasn’t so fresh in people’s minds like this story. I read the book written by the person I play.
Malin explains how 50% of the time she was totally starstruck playing opposite Jonas. She plays his wife in the series, and apparently it took her ten or so days to fully relax into filming with him.
Malin Persson: He is so good and such a a nice person, the dark story and the psychology of the project, along with the joy of starring alongside such talented people, was such a great experience.
It was a difficult role to play when compared to the group dynamics of The Congregation. Here, Malin had a much more lonely feeling when it came to her character.
Malin Persson: I wanted to explore that a bit. She is so madly in love with her man and so loyal that all of these positive characteristics of hers become so destructive.
The actress explains how director Molly Hartelb, who shot the first half of the series, suggested taking the emotion out when it came to the difficult scenes. She felt like Malin was falling into this more softer, warmer character when really she needed to be colder. The role was a great challenge for her.
Malin Persson: When you think about it, it is really scary what such a charismatic leader can do to you.
From religious cults and sociopathic husbands, to something a little more refreshing – the wonderful Thunder In My Heart. This was my Malin Persson hat trick as I delved into this series after the two previous heavy-going series’, discovering an absolute gem of a TV show which has gone down as one of my favourites of the year.
Malin plays Janice who embarks on an affair with one of the main characters’ best friends, Antonia, but the relationship is far from steady and the pair endure a challenging couple of seasons together.
Malin Persson: Before I did this series, I had done a lot of roles as the deceived wife or a sad character, so I was really pumped to be a bit more of mean character. The universe which Amy Deasismount has created for this series is so special.
Her chemistry with Julia Lyskovan Juhlin (Antonia) is particularly special as they embark on an emotional tug of war. Amy Deasismont, who writes, directs and stars is also a complete revelation in this series (who funnily enough also had a small role in The Congregation too – the stars really did align).
Malin Persson: I think what is interesting is that I haven’t seen many series that have a lesbian couple who have those kind of fights. Often in series’ if there is a female couple their conflicts tend to be about something else, not so much about infidelity and the past. Both me and Julia were so sure of portraying that as we hadn’t seen it so much before, it felt special in a way.
Might there be a third season of the series? It is a question I have to ask.
Malin Persson: Honestly, I don’t know – I’d love to revisit these characters again and where their stories might go.
We can’t not talk about this series without mentioning the genius behind it, Amy Deasismont, the show went on to win a number of awards earlier in the year, beating off some seriously stiff competition. I wonder what it was like working with Amy who is also one of Malin’s closest friends?
Malin Persson: She is so incredibly creative, that is very special to be around, when you read her script there are so many details in it. Moment that’s make you laugh, and a small detail can make you cry. Her presence is very much in everything she does in the series – there is such a fearlessness to her which I think is so inspiring. She is such a force and that is so great to be around.
Rounding things up I turn my attention to Estonia, a series that was released a couple of months ago in Sweden and another that is based on true events. Is it me or does there seem to be a theme going on here?
Malin Persson: Being involved in that project has been very special to me for many different reasons. To start with I have wanted to work with Måns Månsson for a very long time, he is such a talented director, but there was also a more personal connection with this as my father was involved in this accident and died.
The sinking of MS Estonia has been known as one of the most tragic events in maritime history, the series sets about exploring the incident from a number of different narratives and points of view.
Malin Persson: This is a story that I have grown up with in so many parts of my life so it was special to be playing a character in this series. It’s a big series with so many different characters and circulates around different stories involving the people on the boat, the relatives, the investigation – so there is a lot covered in this.
Malin explains how her character loses their mother in the accident, a bizarre connection to Malin’s personal connection with this story – her mother was 31 years old when she lost her husband. It felt like the reality and the drama of it came all floating together for her.
Malin Persson: It felt very healing for me. When acting it’s usually a fantasy, but for me, my biggest fantasy in my life was what had happened to my father and all of a sudden here were these two things connecting. I think the show will handle the story with a lot of warmth and care but also with an artistic eye.
I am interested to know whether the director or anyone on the crew had any idea about Malin’s connection with the tragedy?
Malin Persson: A few weeks before we were heading off to shot I had a call from Måns. He wanted to discuss the character with me, talk about the project and then his whole entrance to it all. I wasn’t sure whether to tell him or not – but I decided it was right to let them know and they had no clue about my connection with this.
And what might be next for Malin?
Malin Persson: I really want to tell you but I can’t – let me just say I am enjoying a new kind of character now, and I am really hyped to get involved with this.
I am always interested to see what films and books people have been watching and very curious to hear what some of Malin’s best recommendations are.
Malin Persson: I have been watching lots of films on the Sight and Sound list which has been fun. I saw Edward Yang’s Yi Yi which I just adored, then the Before Sunrise Trilogy which is just so amazing and poetic. I also watched Beau Travail, Claire Dennis’ film, that you have to watch.
Bringing up movies with Malin leads into more conversation. We have time as it is a Sunday and I realise that my list of movies to watch just got extended even more now!
Malin Persson is without doubt a talent to watch, her versatility in the roles she has played has been fascinating to follow and we genuinely can’t wait to see her in further series and hopefully film in the future.
The Congregation, Thunder in My Heart, and Riding in Darkness are all on Viaplay in the UK. Some can be found on Cmore/TV4play in Sweden too, with Thunder in my heart also on Viaplay.
With Viaplay pulling out of the UK sometime soon, get watching as much as you possibly can!
Estonia‘s release is still to be confirmed but we hope we have news of that in 2024.
