Following the gripping climax of its debut series, the hit Icelandic police drama Black Sands returns for a highly anticipated second season. We caught up with the show’s co-creator and star, Aldís Amah Hamilton, to discuss stepping back into the emotionally charged shoes of detective Aníta. In this exclusive interview, she opens up about the unique challenges of pulling double duty in the writers’ room and on set, navigating the realities of working with infants, the vital role of intimacy coordinators, and why the creative team chose to tackle some of the darkest, most pressing social issues currently facing modern Iceland.
Nordic Watchlist: Congratulations about Black Sands! How was it stepping into the role of Aníta again?
Aldís Amah Hamilton: Its been exactly three years since we shot season one. It is so funny going back in time. There were a lot of feelings I had about it. I was sure I didn’t want her to be as much of a focus point as she was in the season before, and we were all in agreement that we wanted to highlight some of the other characters.
So I stepped into it knowing it wouldn’t be as intense as it could be, but at the same time, it was extremely intense in a very different way. Having a young baby on set all the time and having to go through very intense and difficult scenes with her was a lot—but she was an amazing actress. Our little Kría was fantastic.
But all of that was very hard, way harder than I imagined it to be. When you are writing the scenes, you aren’t really thinking that you will be the one doing those things, which is silly, but it’s the only way for me to write. So coming back was not as physically intense, but it was definitely more emotionally difficult than before.
Nordic Watchlist: You kind of answered my next question already, but not many writers have the luxury to quite literally step into their character’s shoes. Does that affect you in the writers’ room?
Aldís Amah Hamilton: No, it doesn’t, not really – but maybe it should – but so far it hasn’t. It’s actually worrying how removed I can be from all of this when I’m writing and just envisioning everyone doing the stuff. I have favorite characters that are not my own. We all collectively love the character Fríða.
Nordic Watchlist: Oh yes, she’s amazing!
Aldís Amah Hamilton: She’s so wonderful!
Nordic Watchlist: I won’t spoil it for the readers, but her “twist” in the first series was very good.
Aldís Amah Hamilton: Haha, that was all Baldvin’s idea.
Nordic Watchlist: Talking about the writers’ room, there are a few of you working together: you, Baldvin Z, Ragnar Jónsson, and Elías Helgi Kofoed-Hansen. What were everyone’s strengths?
Aldís Amah Hamilton: For the first series, it was just the three of us. Our strengths were clear, but we also figured them out as we went. Neither Ragnar nor I had ever written anything concrete before, whereas Baldvin obviously had. None of us has any official training when it comes to writing, so for the second season, Baldvin brought in Elías, whom he had known for years. Elías is the only one of us who is an actual educated scriptwriter.
If we talk about strengths, Ragnar has been a bloodstain pattern specialist with the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police CSI unit since 2001 and a police officer since 1990. The insight he had into the police force was invaluable; he is the spark of this entire thing. Raggi had this idea of a police officer going back to his hometown and then stuff goes down. That is definitely his strength, and he is an absolute movie buff, which helps.
Baldvin has immense experience, but what stands out to me is his way of spotting potential that can really uplift a scene or a story. Like I mentioned with Fríða earlier—that’s so him. He will spot an opportunity that will surprise you. Also, he’s just interested in people and stories; people tell him stories all the time. He has this great data bank in his mind of just sagas.
Elías has this beautiful, adventurous personality. In his writing, he has this… it’s hard to translate, but in Icelandic, it’s called Töfraraunsæi. “Magical realism” is probably the translation. You can really pick up on it in the final episode of season two; that was his episode. He really thinks outside of the box. He would bring in all these visual elements and little niche things.
And for my strengths… it’s always hard to find one’s own strengths, but I would say I’m the anchor. I ground people in the room. I often say, “If you want to do this, then you have to justify it; how will we do that?” I also feel part of my strength is adding more depth to the characters by finding those nuances that can change the entire setting of a scene—exploring what is or even what is not being said. I’m also the only woman in the writing room, so for the female characters, there is a bit more lived experience added to them.
Nordic Watchlist: The red sweater that Aníta wears in the show has become quite iconic. Is there a story behind the sweater?
Aldís Amah Hamilton: Icewear was our sponsor, and they were coming out with that sweater at the same time, so I think that’s the story! Since then, I’ve had people writing to me from as far as Australia asking for the knitting pattern.
Since then, I’ve had people writing to me from as far as Australia asking for the knitting pattern.
Nordic Watchlist: Ha, brilliant! Did you feel the pressure of the success of the first series when you were writing season two?
Aldís Amah Hamilton: Not at all. We were greenlit before we premiered the first season. We didn’t have all the funding yet for season two, but we were basically told we could start writing. We wrote it during winter and then premiered the first season in January. So, when we started writing the second season, we really didn’t know what was going to happen.
When we wrote the first one, we knew we wanted at least two seasons. We also didn’t want this to drag on; we decided it would only be a two-season thing. When we began writing for season two, we were thinking, “Okay, how can we answer all the questions that we threw into the story so the people will feel that the saga has concluded?” So yeah, I wouldn’t say we were burdened at all.
Nordic Watchlist: The first series particularly has quite a lot of intimacy in it, and I noticed in the credits that you had an intimacy coordinator.
Aldís Amah Hamilton: Yes, we did! I highly recommend it.
Nordic Watchlist: Can you tell us a bit about the process?
Aldís Amah Hamilton: I think it made the space safer, not just for the actors, but for everyone else involved. I often think that gets overlooked. When you are doing a scene where there is intimacy involved, you want to make sure everyone can leave the set feeling like everything was fine.
I know there are instances where people felt things didn’t go according to plan, and that affects everyone. We would rehearse everything fully clothed and go through it step-by-step, almost like a dance. It also makes everything more efficient; we knew where the camera was going to be, and we took care not to do those scenes too many times.
We would rehearse everything fully clothed and go through it step-by-step, almost like a dance… I think it made the space safer, not just for the actors, but for everyone else involved.
Nordic Watchlist: Brilliant. In season two, there is a different kind of intimacy: your character Aníta is now a mother. You are working with a baby on set; what was that process like? Had you met Kría before?
Aldís Amah Hamilton: Excellent question. We originally had talked with people who wanted to partake in the process, then they decided two weeks before we started shooting that they weren’t comfortable with it, which is fully understandable. It put the production into a difficult position, so no, I had not met Kría before.
She was there with her parents the entire time; they had their own little room, and because a parent was always present, I felt more comfortable. Everyone on set was aware of how intense this environment can be for infants, so everyone made an extra effort. It went really well, but it was difficult—especially the crying scenes. It was hard to hear. Now that she’s older, I’m excited and nervous to see what she thinks when she’s old enough to watch the series. I hope she will be very proud.
Nordic Watchlist: A good idea for the future might be a ‘rewatch podcast’ with you and Kría together.
Aldís Amah Hamilton: Haha, absolutely! I would love to do that!
Nordic Watchlist: The second season tackles a much darker theme than the first: abuse in foster homes. This has been a growing subject in Iceland for the last decade. How was the research process for something so rooted in Icelandic society of late?
Aldís Amah Hamilton: It’s disgusting how much of this is here—how many stories there are. Just recently, one more big case came up, which is quite harrowing. I didn’t feel like we had to do that much research because we have been reading about these cases in Iceland for the last fifteen years. They’ve become more prominent, but we all know they were there before; people just weren’t listened to back then. Everyone in Iceland knows someone who knows someone that went through something. The research wasn’t hard; only the toll it takes on you to hear about these things was hard.
This storyline was very driven by Baldvin; it’s something he picked up on. The spark of this was introduced in the first season, but in a way that would have been fine if we hadn’t had a second season. In the second season, we added to that quite heavily. It’s not to say every foster home is like this, but because of the cases we have heard, this is something that definitely needs to be better overseen by the government.
Nordic Watchlist: Definitely. Is there something you want to say to the UK audience before they watch the series?
Aldís Amah Hamilton: Oh wow, haha. Well, the audience doesn’t need to worry about the intimacy! Me and Kolbeinn, the actor who played Salamón in the first series, wound up in a relationship after filming ended and have been together ever since, so the intimacy is fine!
I hope people will enjoy the series, but also because we wanted to focus on the theme of motherhood. I suppose we want people to ponder the things that are not talked about openly when it comes to becoming a parent—the dark side of it as well.
Not to discourage anyone, but just to open up the space for people to feel more comfortable talking about the difficulties. In my experience—and I’m not even a mother—you’re almost not supposed to have issues with this giant evolution. You should always be excited and it’s supposed to be easy, but there is a darker side that gets overlooked. After the second season aired in Iceland, women contacted me and thanked us for opening up that space.
Nordic Watchlist: That’s nice.
Aldís Amah Hamilton: It was… well, it was a lot of things. It was also sad to hear. I wish people could talk more about these things, even the really ugly stuff. I hope we can have more empathy, especially for mothers. You are supposed to be this beacon of perfection once you become a mother, and nobody is. The standards are so high, and I want that to change. We are all human.
“It’s an interesting space to be an actor of colour in Iceland particularly… I definitely feel there is a higher requirement to create your own opportunities.
Nordic Watchlist: Well said. Being a writer/actor can be tough. Is this something you are interested in continuing—writing your own projects?
Aldís Amah Hamilton: Yeah, I think I must. Times are tough. It’s also an interesting space to be an actor of color in Iceland; it’s a bit of a weird space to be in. I definitely feel there is a higher requirement to create your own opportunities. I never wanted to be a writer, to be honest, but I really enjoyed this experience. I am now writing a series with my partner, Kolbeinn, which is also extremely enjoyable. As long as I enjoy it, then yes, I will continue.
Nordic Watchlist: Fantastic! Well, thank you so much for your time, Aldís.
Black Sands Seasons 1 and 2 are available to watch on Viaplay US and Viaplay UK
