When watching The Fires, it becomes clear very quickly that this is far more than your typical disaster movie. Beneath the looming threat of volcanic eruptions lies a deeply personal, layered story about human nature, control, and the overwhelming power of the elements.

Catching up with Icelandic actress Vigdís Pálsdóttir over a video call, her passion for the project is immediately apparent. We sat down to discuss her central role as Anna, filming amidst real-life geological upheaval, working alongside Pilou Asbæk, and collaborating with director Ugla Hauksdóttir.

A Quest for Connection Amidst the Chaos

Rather than leaning purely into high-octane destruction, The Fires grounds itself in a character-driven journey. When describing the essence of the film and her character Anna, Vigdís frames the narrative not just through the lens of geological catastrophe, but as an internal Odyssey.

“It’s a story about a person who has lost connection to herself,” Vigdís reflects. “It’s a quest—a person looking for her essence and reconnecting with herself. She’s lost her sense of self.”

While Anna navigates her inner turmoil, the volcanic eruptions happening around her act as a parallel force. Nature mirror’s Anna’s internal state – a secondary layer to the story that highlights humanity’s fragile illusion of control.

“The scenery is the volcanic eruptions and everything going on with nature, and it’s another layer: how we deal with our world being turned upside down, and the lack of control we really have,” she explains. “Humanity builds its little homes, cities, barriers, and walls to defend civilization, and nature can just wipe us out if it wants to. It was quite humbling.”

Blurring the Lines Between Fiction and Reality

The timing of the production added a surreal, authentic weight to the film. The original book was written before the recent spate of eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula, yet life soon imitated art as seismic activity began shaking the region in earnest.

For Vigdís, this overlap brought an inescapable reality to the set. Before principal photography began in 2024, the team captured rare, dramatic footage during an active eruption—an experience that proved unforgettable.

“A year before we started shooting, we did one shoot when there was a real eruption going on,” Vigdís shares. “I was hanging onto a helicopter with my feet dangling just above a live eruption, which was quite frightening! I think it really enhances the power of the movie—all this real footage that we have.”

That exposure to raw nature was compounded when the production secured special permission to shoot in Grindavík, a fishing village heavily impacted by earthquakes and evacuations.

“The town had been evacuated, the roads were broken with crevasses through them, even through the sports center,” she recalls. “We got special leave to go in there and film with security around us. It was just such a frightening, scary experience. It really hits home and becomes realistic“,

Unlocking Anna: Science, Structure, and Working with Pilou Asbæk

To portray a top volcanologist convincingly, Vigdís drew on a surprising personal background: she studied geology in college, inspired by an enthusiastic teacher.

“I think every child should have geology field trips every year,” she notes, pointing out how unique Iceland’s raw landscape is compared to the rest of Europe. “Our sense of nature is the mountains and this barren landscape. Not to know anything about it is ridiculous. So I bought some books, studied the script, and made sure I knew what I was talking about!”

That deep dive into Anna’s professional obsession helped Vigdís understand the tremendous pressure the character faces—a pressure that exists long before the film even begins.

“We don’t meet her before the pressure starts. The film begins when the pressure has already begun,” Vigdís says. “Anna is completely obsessed with her job… she has put herself in a box that she can’t get out of.”

Enter Thomas, played by Danish actor Pilou Asbæk. Known frequently for playing antagonists, Asbæk brings a dynamic energy that shatters Anna’s rigid world.

“It was a true joy and privilege to work with him,” Vigdís says of her co-star. “From day one we really clicked, became good friends, and could talk about anything. When Anna meets this man, he just flips down the walls, laughs at her, and sees her for what she is. Feeling that through the character helped me understand why she does what she does.”

Thomas plays a Danish photographer whose path crosses with Anna’s when he is assigned to take photos of an explosion. One the pair meet he becomes besotted with Anna leading to a number of complications.

Collaborating with Ugla Hauksdóttir

Behind the camera, director Ugla Hauksdóttir was task-mastering both the scale of a major disaster feature and the intimacy of a psychological drama. For Vigdís, working with Ugla was a partnership built on trust, precision, and shared vision.

“Ugla has such a clear vision of what she wants, but she also gives you the room as an actor to explore and find the truth in the scene,” Vigdís notes. “She managed to balance this huge, chaotic backdrop of earth-shattering chaos with these quiet, delicate moments between human beings. To have a director who can steer a project that big without ever losing sight of the character’s emotional core is rare.”

That synergy between lead actor and director allowed the film’s tense, underlying atmosphere to feel grounded rather than melodramatic.

Vigdís Hrefna Pálsdóttir: A Screen Presence Anchoring the Storm

At its core, The Fires relies entirely on Vigdís Pálsdóttir’s ability to anchor both the destructive set pieces and the delicate emotional shifts of a woman facing personal and physical ruin. Her performance bridges the gap between raw natural disaster and internal crisis, capturing a poetic duality: the terrifying, unstoppable forces beneath the Earth’s crust, and the equally explosive forces within ourselves.

Driven by her striking central role and Ugla Hauksdóttir’s sharp direction, the film stands as a fresh entry in contemporary Nordic cinema – and a powerful showcase for Pálsdóttir as a leading talent.

The Fires is out now on Digital platforms across the UK through Signature Entertainment