Actress Noomi Rapace (THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO) discusses her career, passions, characters and upcoming film, THE SECRETS WE KEEP.

Actress Noomi Rapace (THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO) joins Host Jenny Curtis on Hollywood Unscripted in a passionate conversation about her career, characters and upcoming film, THE SECRETS WE KEEP. Through the conversation they discuss: 

0:51 - Traveling through summer and quarantining in London

2:38 - How THE SECRETS WE KEEP came to be and finding Yuval Adler. 

4:25 - Being able to see her film differently as a producer. 

5:31 - Finding how she was able to juggle the producer and actor role. 

7:09 - Being affected by the character of Maya. 

8:16 - Holding her characters close and getting lost in them. 

12:04 - Playing against herself when playing seven sisters in WHAT HAPPENED TO MONDAY. 

15:48 - Acting being about connection and the fear that sometimes goes along with it. 

18:03 - Her first part in a film at 7 years old instilling her with her dream of acting. 

19:18 - Leaving home at 15 to go to acting school and finding herself in a whole new world. 

22:24 - Finding freedom in art. 

24:27 - Playing the villain in BRIGHT. 

25:00 - Getting into character in THE DROP and her input on the story. 

27:45 - Going to bat for her characters

30:37 - Getting Chris Messina on board for THE SECRETS WE KEEP

31:55 - Amy Seimetz bringing collaboration to the project. 

33:06 - The challenges Noomi faced on set with THE SECRETS WE KEEP. 

36:50 - How she takes care of herself when she’s working on the intense roles she takes on. 

38:16 - Doing her own stunts. 

40:38 - Noomi’s take on a life in storytelling. 

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Hosted and Produced by: Jenny Curtis

Executive Producer: Stuart Halperin

Edited and Co-Produced by: J Whiting

Theme Music by: Celleste & Eric Dick

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Transcript

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*PLEASE NOTE: TRANSCRIPTS ARE GENERATED USING A COMBINATION OF SPEECH RECOGNITION SOFTWARE AND HUMAN TRANSCRIBERS, AND MAY CONTAIN ERRORS. PLEASE CHECK THE CORRESPONDING AUDIO BEFORE QUOTING IN PRINT.

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Announcer: From  CurtCo  Media.

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Announcer: There's  no  place like Hollywood.

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Jenny Curtis: Welcome  to  another  special  episode  of  Hollywood  Unscripted,  Stuck  At  Home.  I'm  Jenny  Curtis  and  today  I  am  virtually  sitting  down  with  the  coolest  actress,  Noomi  Rapace.  She's  well- known  for  originating  the  role  of  Lisbeth  Salander  and  The  Girl  With  the  Dragon  Tattoo  and  the  rest  of  that  series.  She's  been  in  Sherlock  Holmes:  Game  of  Shadows,  Bright,  What  Happened  to  Monday,  The  Drop,  and  so  many  more.  She's  an  actress  with  fierce  strength  and  an  open  heart  and  today  we  get  to  cover  her  latest  movie,  The  Secrets  We  Keep,  along  with  the  rest  of  her  career.  Noomi,  thank  you  so  much  for  joining  me.

Noomi Rapace: Thank you  for  having  me.

Jenny Curtis: You're  currently  in  London,  is  that  correct?

Noomi Rapace: That  is  correct.  I'm  in  my  house  in  London  and been  in  quarantine  for  the  last  14  days  because  I've  been  traveling  this  summer  and  then  I  came  back  and  I've  been  stuck  in  my  house,  watching  a  lot  of  films.  It's  a  strange  time  but  also  gives  me  time  to  catch  up  on  things.

Jenny Curtis: It's  definitely  a  shorter  quarantine  than  some  of  us  who  have  been  stuck  in  our  homes  for  like  three  months  at  this  point.

Noomi Rapace: Oh  my  God,  I  know.  I  have  a  lot  of  friends  in L.A.  Normally  I  go  there  a  couple  of  times  a  year  and  I  stay  for  a  month  or  six  weeks  and  I  miss  my  friends  so  much.  It  just  feels  very  unreal  and  it  feels  like  you  guys  have  had  it  way  tougher  than  we.  It's  been  quite  hard  and it kind of  feels  like  you're  living  in  a  movie.

Jenny Curtis: Yeah,  that's  a  good  way  of  putting  it,  living  in  a  movie.  It  feels  very  unreal.  But  we're  all  healthy  here  and  I'm  glad  that  you're  healthy  and  you've  gotten  to  travel.  How  have  you  been  traveling?  How  do  you  stay  safe?  What  have  you  been  doing?

Noomi Rapace: I  went  to  Sweden  for  work.  Sweden  and  Denmark  for  meetings,  and  I'm  producing  a  couple  projects,  so  I  went  to  work  with  my  partners.  Then  I  went  to  my  friend's  birthday  in  Spain.  In  Europe,  some  countries  are  open.  There's  rules,  obviously,  but  it's  very  different.  In  some  countries  there's  less  rules,  like  in  Sweden,  people  are  not  wearing  any  masks  and  people  social  distance  and  all  that,  but  it's  way  more  relaxed.  I  mean,  now  we're  kind  of  slowly  going  back  to  normal  in  London,  which  feels  good.  My  son  is  back  in  school  and  I'm  prepping  for  a  film.

Jenny Curtis: Talking  about  producing,  I'd  love  to  jump  in  immediately  with  The  Secrets  We  Keep,  which  is  coming  out  this  week,  September  16th,  in  theaters  and  then  will  be  on  VOD  in  October.  You  are  an  EP  on  the  film  as  well  as  the  lead.  I  just  would  love  to  hear  about  the  genesis  of  this  project  and  yeah,  take  us  from  the  beginning.

Noomi Rapace: Yeah,  wow.  So  I  was  given  this  script  way  back,  maybe  three,  four  years  ago,  and  it  actually  came  to  me  and  Joel because  we  were  looking  for  something  to  do  together.  Then  I  read  it  and  I  called  Joel.  I  was  like, " Dude,  there's  something  in  here.  There's  a  heartbeat.  There's  a  core.  There's  a  story  that  needs  to  be  told."  Then  I  came  on  board  as  a  producer  and  then  we  started  this  journey  to  find  a  director.  So  I  met  with  different  directors  and  when  I  met  Yuval,  that  was  when  it  kind  of  all  just  fell  into  place.  I  always  knew  the  script  needed  work,  because  I  wanted  to  explore  something  less  known  and  kind  of  change  my  character  into  something  that  was...  Originally  she  was  not  of  Roma  descent,  so  I  kind  of  wanted  to  shine  light  on  a  problem  and  on  a  situation  that  people  knew  less  about.

 When  I  met  Yuval,  he  had  the  same  perspective,  so  we  just  clicked  straightaway  and  I  called  the  other  producers  and the financiers,  and  everyone  was  like, " We  have  our  director."  I  was  shooting  Jack  Ryan  in  New  York,  so  I  went  to  Yuval's  house  early  mornings  and  late  nights  and  we  were just sitting  and  working  on  the  story  together.  It  was  very  much  our  collaboration  and  us  kind  of  diving  into  this  world  and  doing  research  and  finding  Maja's  story,  my  character's  story,  but  also  getting  to  learn  the  world  back  then  and  what  was  going  on.  And it  was  our  goal  to  use  real  events  and  I  kind  of  get  inspired  by  things that  really  happened  and  work  that  into  our  story.  So  it  became  really  personal  for  me  and  I  am  very  proud  of  the  film.

Jenny Curtis: Yeah,  it's  a  beautiful  film.

Noomi Rapace: Thank  you. And you  know  what's  funny,  Jenny?  Now as a producer  I  can  say  that  I'm  proud  of  the  film because  I  find  it  really  problematic  watching  myself.  I'm  not  a  big  fan  of  me.

Jenny Curtis: Are  you  kidding? 

Noomi Rapace: But  as  a  producer  it's  like  the  whole  film  is  my  baby.  So  I  love  Chris  Messina's performance  and  Joe's  performance  and  Amy's  performance.  I  can  watch  them  over  and  over.  Stepping  into  the  producer  chair,  I  can  see  the  project  with  new  eyes.  I've  always  had  this  blurred  vision  when  I  talk  about  my  own  films because  it's  like, " Oh  yeah,  my  performance  and  me,  me,  me,"  and  I  find  that  a  bit  problematic.  But  now  I'm  like,  yeah,  no,  I'm  proud  of  the  film  from  the  producer's  perspective.

Jenny Curtis: Is  this  your  first  time  producing?

Noomi Rapace: No,  it's  not,  but  it's  the  first  time  I  was  so  hands  on.  And  I  was  sitting  with,  in  weekends  and  when  we  would  shoot,  we  shot  in  New  Orleans.  I  was  sitting  late  nights  with  the  other  producer  and  Yuval  and  working  on  the  script  and  working  on  the  production  schedule  and  into  small  details.  So  I  was  very  hands  on  and it  was  incredible.  Very  hard  but  very,  very  fun.  So  it's  the  first  time  I  was  that  involved,  but  I've  been  executive  producer  before.

Jenny Curtis: Was  it  a  struggle  to  kind  of  take  off  your  producer  hat  and  put  on  your  actor  hat,  or  did  they  kind  of  blend  together?

Noomi Rapace: You  know,  it's  interesting  that  you ask  because I've  always  been  scared  of  going  between  the

 looking  at  a  story  and  a  character  and  being  inside  it.  And  I  go  really  deep  into  my  characters.  So  I  think  I  had  this  fear  before  that's  like, " Oh  yeah,  I  can't  do  both."  I've  been  asked  to  direct  films  and  I  was  like, " Can't  do  that.  I  need  to  stay  in  it.  I need  to  be  on  the  inside."  Funny  enough,  it  was  less  hard  than  I  thought,  because  the  responsibility  as  a  producer  is  very  different  from  when  I'm  an  actress.  Because  I  always  need  to  find  the  truth,  the  character's  own  personal  navigation  system,  like  what  is  her  perspective  on  things? What  is  her  back  story?  Who  is  she?  What  is  she  like?  What's  her  fears?  What  is  her  dreams?  If  I  have  filled  up  myself,  my  whole  tool  box  of  the  character's  colors,  basically,  then  I  have  it.

 It  was  kind  of  interesting  to  discover  that  I  could  just  open  that  box.  It  was  almost  like  a  visual  thing.  I'm  interesting  almost  Narnia.  When  you  walk  in,  you  open  the  door  and  you  step  into  this  universe,  and  then  I  close  the  door  to  the  producer.  And  then  I  remember  one  day  when  Yuval  came  to me  and  he  was  asking  something  and  I  was  like, " No,  no,  no,  no.  I  can't  do  that  now.  I  need  to  stay  on  this  side."  Because  then  it  became  split  personality  for  a  second.  I  was  like, " No,  I  can  talk  about  that  in  the end of the day."  It  was  very,  very  interesting.  I  felt  so  connected  with  Maja.  She  kind  of  came  to  me  quite  natural,  I  would  say.

Jenny Curtis: I  saw  an  interview  that  you  did  a  couple  of years ago where  you  kind  of  said  you  take  your  characters  home  with  you and when  you're  playing  them  they  really  affect  your  life.

Noomi Rapace: They  do.

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Jenny Curtis: Was  it  different  on  this  one  then, because  you  were  able  to  step  out  and  be  a  producer,  or  did  Maja  affect  you  in  some  ways? 

Noomi Rapace: I  think  she  affected  me  even  more  because  some  days  I  was  totally,  I  felt  like  I  was  drowning.  It  was  like  I  was  pulled  down in  this  emotional  roller  coaster  and  I  was  doing  ice  bath.  I  (inaudible) , that  you  met  him,  my  assistant.  She was  like  filling  up.  She  was  like  getting  those  big,  big  buckets  and  like  big  10  kilos  bags  of  ice  and  filled  up  my  bathtub.  And  I  was  like  in  ice  for  three  minute.  It's  like  cooling  down  my  system  and  my  nightmares,  I  had  a  lot  of  nightmares  that  was  very  much  Maja's  universe.  And  what  happened  to  her  when  she  was  young  and  broken  memories  and  I  totally  felt  that  she  took  over,  but  what  was  interesting,  I  managed  to  be  less  emotional  about  it  when  I  left  set.  She  was  there,  but  I  could  have  basically  put  her  to  sleep.  I  was like, " Okay,  you  rest  now  I  need  to  step  in  and  sort  some  stuff."

Jenny Curtis: Have  there  been  other  roles  that  you  couldn't  do  that  so  much?

Noomi Rapace: Oh  yeah.  The  normal  me  would  be  that  the  character  is  very  much  alive  in  me  constantly.  But  I  was  doing  research  for  a  film  once  and  I  met  this  woman  who  had  multiple  personality  disorder  and  she  said, " There's  many  versions  of  me.  They're  always  here.  I  see  all  these  figures  and  demons  and  creatures  behind  you normally  when  I'm  talking  to  you,  but  I  choose  to  ignore  them.  And  then  I  will  have  a  conversation  with  them  when  we're  done  Noomi."  And  I  was  like, " Okay."  That's  how  it  normally  is  for  me.  My  character's  always  in  me  and  I  go  home  or  normally  I'm  away  somewhere,  but  I  don't  really  socialize  as  much  when  I'm  working.  I  go  into  my  own  universe  and  I  kind  of  go  to  the  gym  in  the  end  of  the  day  and  I  go  to  bed.  I  don't  do  dinners.

 I  try  to  stay  in  it  but  it  also  depends  on  the  character.  Some  characters  kind  of  needs  more  and  are  more  greedy  with  my  time  and  my  heart.  The  Girl  with  a  Dragon  Tattoo  is  maybe  one  of  the  most  extreme  ones,  but it  was  such  a  long  shoot.  We  did  three  films  back  to  back  and it  was  like  six  months  of  preparation.  So  is  I  think  a  year  and  a  half  when  she  was  living  in  me. And  she  very  much  took  over  my  soul  and  my  body  and  my...  so  I  transformed  my  look,  became  her.  I  was  blending  in  with  her  more and  more.  I  remember  some  of  my  friends  and  my  son  said  to  me,  at  some  point,  he's  like, " I  don't  know  who  you  are."  I  was  like,  and  I  could  feel  like, " Oh,  I'm  on  the  edge  now,  do  I  need  to  pull  myself  back?"

 It's  been  moments  when  I  feel  like  I'm  almost  tipping  over,  but  I  never  did.  I  always  managed  to  find  a  balance  where  it's  like,  okay,  I  know  where  the  edge  is.  I  know  that  I  could  maybe  get  lost,  but  I  also  know  how  to  bring  myself  back.  And  that's  something  I'm  constantly  working  on,  pulling  myself  back  into,  here's  the  safe  spot.  It's  almost like  a  safe  word  that  brings  me  back  to  sanity.  But  sometimes  maybe  I  think  it's  sanity.  It's  not  (inaudible)   some films,  I  don't  realize  how  crazy  I  was  until  I'm  done. And then I was  like, " Oh,  I  was  quite  far  gone."

Jenny Curtis: So  for  The  Girl  with  the  Dragon  Tattoo  for  Lizbeth,  was  it  because  of  what  the  character  demanded  or  was  it  really  the  length  of  having  to  work  on  three  projects  back  to  back?

Noomi Rapace: I  would  say  it  was  combination  maybe.  And  she was  also  very  cried,  broken  inside  and  very  much  a  loner.  So  I  didn't  interact  with  people  and  I  kind  of  felt  like  I  went  deeper  and  deeper  into  my  own  universe.  And  the  less  contact  you  have  with  people, the  less  you  share  what's  going  on. And  the  more  you  will  start  answering  yourself,  it's  almost  like  you  have  conversations  with  yourself  rather  than  involving  others.  When  I  did  the  Seven  Sisters,  What  Happened  to  Monday,  when  I  played  seven  total  different  characters,  they  took  a  grip  on  me  and  it  was  like,  they  almost  hijacked  me. It felt like  I  was  having  a  full  blown  relationship  with  those  seven  sisters.  And I  just  couldn't  interact  with  people  outside  of  my  own  bubble.  I  remember  once  when  one  of  the  sisters  died,  we  did  a  scene  and  I  lost  one  of  the  sisters.

 And  I  was  talking  to  my  real  sister  was  in  London.  We  were  talking the end of  the  day.  And  she  was like, "Is  she  dead?  Did  she  die  today?"  And  I  just  started  crying.  I  like,  yeah,  she's  gone.  And  my  sister  who  was  home  in  my  house,  she  was  like  sharing  the  pain  with  me.  It  was  this  strange.  So  the  only  person  I  could  really  talk  to  was  my  real  sister.  And  maybe  because  I  was  so  much  in  the  sisterhood  and  what  is  it  to  have  sisters,  the  hate,  the  love,  the  competitive  side.  And  then  it's  like  still,  when  it  comes  to  someone  from  the  outside  attacking  and it  was  like, " I  can  fight  with  my  sister.  I  can  hit  my  sister  but  you  can't."  I'm  going  to  defend  her.  I'm  going  to  die  for  her.  Honestly,  I  want  to  kill  her.  You  know  what  I  mean?  So it's been different  on  every  journey  sort  of. 

Jenny Curtis: Just  to  jump  ahead  to that because  I  really  did  want  to  ask you about it  because  that  struck  me.  I  just  watched  What  Happened  to  Monday  and  the  scene  where  you're  literally  mourning  over  her  body.  And  it  is  your  body.  What  is  the  process  in  playing  against  yourself? Because  I  know  it's  been  done,  like  it's  not  uncommon  for  people  to  maybe  play  their  own  twin,  but  playing  septuplets,  you  were  really  your  entire  support  (inaudible) .

Noomi Rapace: It  was  the  one man, the  seven  woman  show.  It  was  when  the  director,  Tommy  called  me,  he  wanted  me  to  do  a  couple  of  films  before  that  with  him  but  I  couldn't  because  I  was  stuck  in  the  project  and  whatever.  So  we've  been  trying  to  find  something  and  then  he  called  me and  he  was  like, " Yo  Nooms,  I  have  something.  It's  a  crazy  story.  It's  seven  brothers,  but  I  can  only  see  you  do  this.  So if you want to  come  on  board,  we  will  change  it  into  seven  sisters."  So  I  was  like, " Okay,  send  me  the  script."  I  read  the  script  the  same  night  and  I  called  him  the  next  day. And  I  was  like, " Man,  I'm  in,  let's  bring  them  to  life."  So  when  we  were  working  on  the  script  and  change  it  into  from  seven  brothers  to  seven  sisters,  I  kind  of  felt  like  I  had  to  revisit  myself  in  different  chapters  of  my  life.

 Like  when  I  was  15,  one  of  them  is  more  like  Noomi  as  a  15  year  old.  One  is  Noomi  as a  18  year  old.  One  is  Noomi  at  24.  So  it  felt  like  they  were  all  different  versions  of  me.  So  when  I  lost,  when  one  of  them  died,  it  was  like,  I  was  saying  goodbye  to  certain  chapter  of  myself  and  my  life,  which  became  very  personal  in  a  way  that  I  couldn't  predict  before  I  was in this  situation  because it  was  so  I  was  like  playing  my  way  through  the  scenes.  Some  scenes  two  days  to  do  because  maybe  I  started  on  the  floor  dying  and  then  in  the  end  of  the  day  I  am  crying  my  eyes  out,  holding  a  standing  girl,  a  body  and  feeling  that  my  heart  breaks  because  I  died  and  I  lost  my  sister,  but  it's  also,  I  lost  myself.

 But  the  way  I  could  always  use  it,  like  siblings  and  twins  even  more  are  almost  connected  in  a  way  that  is  so  powerful.  So  Jenny,  I  felt  like  I  didn't  need  anyone  else  and  it  scared  me.  But  not  because  I  was  enjoying  the  time  on  my  own.  I was  like, " Oh,  this  is  my  show.  Look  at  me.  I  don't  really  have  that  in  me.  I  love  acting because  it's  connection.  I  love  to  connect."  If  this  was  not  an  interview  about  me,  I  would  love  to  ask  you  questions  and  hear  about  you  and  like,  where  did  you  grow  up?  Like,  why  are  you  sitting  there  and  interviewing  me?  Like  where  did  your  curiosity  into  people  come  from?  I  love  people  that  I  love  to  connect.  I'm  so  curious.  And  I'm  like  obsessed  with  understanding  stuff.  So  for  me,  like  acting  is  all  about  connecting.

 Then  when  I  said  yes  to  What  Happened  to  Monday,  I  was  terrified  that  I  wouldn't  have  any,  the  only  way,  my  only  method  in  acting  is  connection  and  truth.  And  how  can  you  connect  with  yourself  if  you're,  I'm  just  here,  there's  no  one  else  here.  So  like  having  a  green  room  with  marks  and  tennis  balls  and  crosses  and  everything  is  going  to  be  happening  in CGI  (inaudible) .  It's  like, " How  am  I  even  going  to  function?  Like,  where's  the  truth?"  Strangely  enough,  they  all  just  came  to  life.  It was  almost like I did  a  recording  in  my  head  of  the...  I  played  Saturday  and  then  I  switched  to  Friday  and  then  I  could  almost  see  myself  and  hear  myself.  I  mean,  we  did  record  my  lines.  I  was  listening  to  my  own  lines  and  answering  myself,  but  it  was  like,  I  could  see  my  face  and  I  could  talk  to  myself.  So it was  like  an  inner  cinema  that  was  going  on  a  full  on  relationship  drama,  going  on  in  me. 

Jenny Curtis: So  they  weren't  always  standards  then  sometimes you were just talking to nothing.

Noomi Rapace: No sometimes,  (crosstalk) ,  yeah.  We  kind  of  used  all  different  techniques.

Jenny Curtis: Wow.  Talking  about  the  connection  that  you  just  mentioned.  I  actually  did  an  interview  on  somebody  else's  podcast  yesterday  and  he  was  talking  to  me  about  how  actors  are  fearless.  I  like  to  consider  myself  a little bit  of  an  actor,  but  like,  that's  not  how  I  feel  because  I  think  it's  all  about  connection.  And  to  me,  fearlessness  is  not  part  of  the  equation.

Noomi Rapace: I  agree,  but  you  know  it's  funny,  I'm  so  scared  of  things.  I'm  terrified,  but  I  need  to confront  my  fears  and  I  need  to  step  into  those  rooms.  Like  if  I  feel  like, " Oh,  this  is  too  scary."  Like,  I  don't  know.  I  can't,  this  paralyzes  me.  Then  it  almost  becomes  like  this  thing  that  I  have  to  do.  And  I  was  like, " Why  am  I  so  scared?  What  is  so  dangerous?  Like  what's  on  the  other  side."  Then it  almost  becomes  this  need  to  not  be  asleep  under  my  own  fear.  So  it's  like,  I  have  so  much  fear.  I  can  be  maybe  not  shy,  but  like  I  always  felt  like  such  an  outsider  when  I  grew  up.  And  I  always  felt  like  I  don't  belong  in  this  world.  I  don't  fit  in.  I'm  a  weirdo.  I'm  not  like  the  other  girls.  I'm  not  like  the  boys, but I want to have with the  boys.  But  I  am  a  girl  that was like, it's  kind  of  stuck  between. 

 And  I  was  like,  where's  this  space  for  me?  And  then  I  started  watching  films  when  I  was  like  13,  maybe  out,  I  live  on  this  remote  farm  and  films  became  my  oxygen,  my  soul  oxygen  and  I  felt  connected.  And  then  my  fears  and  my  loneliness  and  my  pain  and  my  personal  struggles,  there  was  like  a  space  for  them.  I  felt  like  I  can  fly.  I  can  be.  I  live  in  those  stories  that  are  stories  being  told,  there's  actors  out  there,  directors  bringing  characters  to  life  that  are  like  me.  And  then  I  didn't  feel  alone.  So  that's  the  connection  happened  from  my  little  room  on  this  farm  with  people  probably  in  LA  or  in  New  York  or  in  London  creating  stuff  and  how  that's  changed  me  and  made  it  possible  for  me  to  become  a  better  version  of  myself.

Jenny Curtis: So  when  you  were  watching  those  films,  did  you  know  I'm  going  to  be  an  actor?  That's  what  I'm  going  to be.

Noomi Rapace: Yeah.  So  I  grew  up  between  Sweden  and  Iceland.  I  remember  I  was  in  my  first  film,  like  smallest  part  when  I  was  seven  and  I was  on  set  for  three  weeks.  But  like,  if  you  really  look  for  microscope,  you see like,  oh  yeah,  that  little  girl.  But  for  me it  was  major,  it  changed  my  life.  So  I  was  on  set  for  three  weeks  and  the  director  was  a  crazy  Icelandic,  very  loud  man.  And people were a bit  scared  of  it,  but  I  remember  just  feeling  very  included.  I  remember  one  day  we've  been  working  14  hours,  15  hours  without  breaks.  And  everyone  was  tired.  Like  people  like, " Oh,  we  need  a  break."  Or  I  think  they  wanted  to  wrap  up  the  day  and  he  just  lost  it.  And  he was  like, " What  is  wrong  with  you?  You're  not  real  artist, dah,  dah,  dah."
I  was  sitting  next  to  him,  just  like  quiet  and  like  didn't  dare  to  look  at  him.  And  he  was  like, " How  old  are  you?"  I  was  like  seven.  He's  like, " She's  a  real  actress.  She  doesn't  complain.  Look  at her." And I was like, " Okay,  this  is  what  I got." I think  from  that  moment,  like  he  planted  a  seed  in  me  and  I  was  like,  this  is  where  I  want  to  be.  And  then  we  moved  back  to  Sweden  and  I  was  like  11, 12, 13 and  I  had  my  tales  in  me  and  that  dream  was  very  far  away.  But  then  when  I  was  15,  I  just  brought  myself  together  and  I was  like  forced  myself  to  make  a  decision.  So  I  left  my  family  and  I  moved  to  Stockholm,  which  was  eight  hours  away.  It's  a  long  drive  and  I  went  to  a  drama  high  school  drama  college.  So  that's  when  I  reconnected  with  the  dream  that  started  when  I  was  seven.

Jenny Curtis: Now,  leaving  home  that  young,  was  it  like,  I'm  leaving  you  to  go  to  school  and  I'm  going  to  go  to  this  high  school  or  college  or  were  you  leaving  home  and  then  you  found  your  way  to  school?

Noomi Rapace: No,  I  knew  where  I  was  going.  I've  always  had this  very  strong...  I'm  very  stubborn.  And  I  told  my  family,  it's  like, " I'm  leaving. I'm going to  go  to  this  school."  It  was  like,  I  had  to  audition  to  the  school,  like  there  was  like  three  really  hard  auditions  and  I  was  like  managed  to  get  in.  And  I  just  said  to  them, " I'm  moving  and  I'm  leaving."  They  didn't  stop  me  and  they  let  me  go.  Which,  I  mean,  my  son  is  17  now  and  I  would  never let  him  go.  I  can't  understand  how you  can  let  your  15  year  old  daughter  move.  But  I  was  very  determined  and  very,  I  kind  of knew  that  I  had  to  do  it.  I  felt  like  things  were  not  good  and  I  wouldn't  have  turned  into  a  human  that  I  wanted  to be if  I  would've  stayed.  So it  was  necessary  and  I  became  sober,  I  left. 

 And  I  came  to  this  new  city.  I've  never  been  in  a  big  city.  I  was  like a  farm  girl.  I  was  a  good  drinker  and  I  know  how  to  build  things  and  I  could  ride  horses.  I  was  good  with  everything  that  was  creating  and  building  and  painting  and  farm  work.  That  was  my  skills.  But  like,  I've  never  been  in  an  escalator  when I was like 15, I could hardly write and read because I went to alternative school. So  I  came  like  this.  I don't  know  if  he  ever  saw  this  film  with  Jodie  foster  called  Mill. 

Jenny Curtis: I  did  a  long  time  ago.  Yeah. 

Noomi Rapace: I  felt  like  now  I  came  to  the big city. I'm like, oh,  I'm  like,  this  is  wild  kid  that  doesn't  know  how  to

 behave.  So  I  was  basically  quiet  for  a  couple  of  years  just  studying  human  behavior.  It's  like,  this  is  how  the  sophisticated,  people  with  knowledge,  that's  how  they  move  in  the  world.  I  was  studying  how  people  did  things. 

Jenny Curtis: Which  is  part  of  being  an  actor  is  studying  other  humans.  So  when  you  were  at  school,  were  you  studying  a  specific  technique  or  anything?  Or  how  did  they  train  you?

Noomi Rapace: I  would  say  that  it  was  a  cocktail  of  different  things.  And  then  the  last  year  I  started  working  when  I  was  16,  I  got  a  part  in  a  TV  show.  So  I  started  filming  when  I  was  16  and  I  did  12  episodes  of  the  biggest  show  in  Sweden  back  then.  It  was-

Jenny Curtis: Oh  wow. 

Noomi Rapace: ...  really  bad  but  everyone  saw  it.  And  I  was  like,  I  remember  I  saw  one  episode and I was  like, " Oh  my  days,  this  is  so  bad.  I  can't  see  this." I was  like  16. I was  like  this,  no,  no,  no.  And  then  I  started  doing  theater.  So  I  started  working.  I  was  just  working,  working,  working  and  I  think  I  created  my  own  method  and  it  always  brought  me  back  to  truth.  So  what  I  try  to  do,  I'm  obsessed  with  real  stories.  And  I  was  actually  talking  to  David  Ayer,  who  directed  me  in  Bright.  We  were  like  texting  the  other  night  and we're  talking  about  art.  And  for  me,  art  is  freedom  and  arts  and  films  is  universe  of  total  freedom  because  there's  no  right  and  wrong.  There's  no  good  and  bad.  You  have,  you  can  be  anything  and  everything.  The  only  thing  you  need  to  know  is  honesty  somehow  and  that  I  can  do.  It's  not  about  looking  a  certain  way. 

 It's  not  about  vanity.  It's  not  about  being  cute.  It's  not  about  being  smart.  It's  about  knowing  and  having  a  navigation  in  yourself.  It's  like,  okay,  this  is  where  it's  truthful.  This  is  where  the  character  is  in  line  with  everything.  And  it's  not  about  putting  on  a  show  for  me.  It's  not  about  faking  stuff.  It's  about  feeling  it  and  living  from  the  inside  and  like  relating  to  it  rather  than  like  putting  on  things. 

Announcer: A  Moment  of  Your  Time,  a  new  podcast  from  CurtCo  Media.  

Audio: Currently  21  years  old  and  today  I'm going to read a poem for  (crosstalk) .
I felt like  a  magic  extended  from  her  fingertips  down  to  the base of my  (crosstalk) . 
You have to take care of yourself because the  world  needs  you  and  your  voice. 
Trust me, we  do  go  to  (inaudible)  asked about me,  was  ready  to  spit  on  my  dream.
Her  fingers  were  facing you  (inaudible) .
Do  you  feel  like  your  purpose  and  your  worth  is  really  being  questioned.
(inaudible)   stop  me  from  playing  the  piano.
She  buys  walkie  talkies  wonders  to  whom  she  should  give  the  second  device. 
Cats  don't  love  humans.  We  never  did.  We  never  will.  We  just  find  (crosstalk) . 
The  beauty  of  rock climbing  is  that  you  can  only  focus  on  what's  right  in  front  of  you. 
And  so  our  American  life  begins.

Announcer: We  may  need  to  stay  apart,  but  let's  create  together  available  on  all  podcast  platforms,  submit  your  piece  at  curtco. com/ amomentofyourtime.

Jenny Curtis: So  with  Bright,  your  character  was  scary.  She  was  great. 

Noomi Rapace: Yeah,  I  love  her.

Jenny Curtis: I  think  they  should  have  put  you  in  way  more  of  the  film.  I  wanted  all  of  your  story.

Noomi Rapace: Well,  thank  you.  I  loved  her.  She  was  such  amazing  villain  with  a  broken  heart.  She  was  bleeding  inside  and  all  that  blood  turned  black  and  she  was  like, " Oh,  I'm  going  to  destroy  you."

Jenny Curtis: That  kind  of  metaphor.  Is  that  how  you  connect  to  your  characters?  You  kind  of  see  visually,  like  this  is  the  description and  that's  how  I'm  getting  in.  That's  my  pathway  into  this  character.

Noomi Rapace: It's  different  every  time  I  would  say.  When  I  did  The  Drop  with  Tom  Hardy,  I  went  to  Queens  and  Brooklyn  and  I  went  to  rescue  dog  centers.  And  I  was  just  there  like  cleaning  dog  shit  and  just  listening  to  how  the  people  around  me  were  talking.  I  was  like  slowly,  she  came  to  me.  I  didn't,  because  there  was  nothing  to  study.  There  was  not  really  research  to  do.  I  spoke  to  Dennis  Lehane  who  created  her  and  who  was  the  writer  who  was  incredible,  who  I  adore.  I  spoke  to  the  director  and  slowly  she  came  to  me,  but  I  didn't  feel  like  I  needed  to  go  out  and  catch  her.  I  was  like, I'm going  to  trust  the  process.  I  knew  what  she  came  from.  I  decided  what  kind  of  upbringing  she  had  and  like  her  dad  and  what  happened  to  her.
And  then  I  knew  that  she  had  been  in  a  bad  relationship  with  my  Mateus  (inaudible)   character.  And like  when  I  kind  of  filled  myself  with  all  her,  almost  like  a  photo  album  of  her  past,  her  movements  and  the  way  she  dressed  and  she  was  wearing  this  really  sticky,  sweet  perfume  that  Noomi,  that  me  I  hate  it,  but  it  just  made  so  much  sense.  So  it  kind  of  felt  like  I  just  like  slided  into  becoming  her.  And  then  she  more  about  her  than  I  did. There  was  a  scene  that  was  not  in  the  script  that  I was  like  begging  the  director  to  shoot.  I  was  like, " We  need  to  have  this  moment  where  we  see  her  alone  with  her  ex  boyfriend  to  understand  the  relationship  they  have  before  they  go  off  to  the  bar  with  Tom  Hardy  works.  We  need  to  see  how  he  controls  her  and  how  she's  trapped  in  this  dysfunctional  but  still  a  love  relationship.

 And it was  like,  that  would  be  the  last  puzzle  piece  we  need  to  understand  fully  who  she  is  because  she  will  never  tell  anyone,  but  we  will  see  how  her  body  just  like  react  to  him  being  in  the  room.  So  I  always  had  this  like  strong  sense  of  like  same  when  I  did  Prometheus.  I  read  the  script  and  straight  away  fell  in  love  with  Elizabeth  Shaw  and  I  had  like  several  conversations  with  Ridley.  And  then  I  was  like  I  think  there's  two  missing  beats,  small  little  glue  scenes,  but  I  feel  like  we  need  to  just  tell  the  story  about  her  a  little  bit  more,  just  to  make  her  human  and  to  show  a  bit  of  her  vulnerability  and  her  fears  because  she  has  a  strong  mind,  but  her  body  is  breaking.  So  the  conflict  between  mind  and  body.  So  I've  always  had  the  sense  and  I  guess  that  is  almost  a  producer  hat  again,  and to  see  the  arc  of  the  characters,  not  just  from  the  character's  perspective,  like  in  the  storyline,  in  the  curve  and  the  wave  of  the  story,  what does  the  audience  need  to  see  to  be  able  to  relate  to  her?

Jenny Curtis: Well,  and  it's  also  like  on  a  set,  everybody's  doing  their  job  and  they're  doing  the  best  they  can,  but  it's  sort  of  the  actor's  job  to  go  to  bat  for  their  character  because  sometimes  it's  not  someone  else's  focus.  Can  we  hear  more  about  times  you've gone  to  bat  for  your  characters?

Noomi Rapace: Oh  my  God.  Every  time.  And  it's always like,  I  don't  want  to  be  pretty.  I  want  to  be  real.  I think it was Joel Kinnaman who  said  to  me at one  point he was  like, " I  guess  it's  not  a  Noomi  character  if  you  don't  look  like  shit  in  the  end.  I  was  like,  mm-hmm (affirmative),  one  day,  Jenny,  I'm  going  to  look  flawless  and  be  beautiful.  I  mean  clueless  or  something.  But  like  since  day  one  I  did  theater  for  10  years,  that  was  my  school.  And  I  always  felt  like,  why  do  we  women  and  girls  need  to  be  pretty  and  likable  and  sweet  and  adorable  and  approachable?  Why  can't  we  just  be  fully  humans  with  all  our  flaws  and  all  our  brokenness  and  anger  and  aggression  and  whatever  it  is.  All  the  colors  needs  to  be  allowed  to  come  out.

 That's  something  I've  been  defending  and  arguing  in  a  lot  of  rooms  since  I  was like  19,  when  people  (inaudible)  like,  who  is  she?  What  is  she  doing  here?  I  was  like,  (inaudible)   like  knocking  on  the  door  to  the  producers.  And  the  director  is  like,  I  have  an  idea. And I was  like,  wait,  what?  We  didn't  invite  you. I was like,  no,  but it's  a  really  good  idea.

Jenny Curtis: Is  it  true  you  refuse  to  go  on  magazine  covers  as  Lizbeth  because  she  was  wouldn't  have  done  that?

Noomi Rapace: Yeah.  I  said  no  to  so  many  things.  I  was like because  I  kind  of  stepped  into  Lisbeth  shoes  and I was like,  she  would  never  do  this.  And  I  remember  that  I  got  awarded  as  the  sexiest  woman,  dah,  dah,  dah  for  GQ  magazine.  I  don't  remember  what  it  was  and  they  wanted  me  to  come  and  take  the  award.  And I was like, "No, I can't. She would  be  very  upset.  She  wouldn't  do  that.  This  is  against  everything  she  believed  in.  She  didn't  want  to  be  labeled.  She  didn't  want  to  be  judged  that  someone  would  like  look  at  her  as  a  sexual  creature  that  would  be  put  into  a  box,  we  rate  you  highly  as  a  sexual  creature.  She  would  be  like,  you  know  what?  Yeah, it sounds like can't  do  it."  That  my  loyalty  to  her  was  stronger  than  everything  else.

 And  then  I  remember  they  wanted me to  do,  obviously  the  production,  wanted  me  to  do  a  lot  of  press  and  do  covers  and  I  was  like,  you can't do it. And  they  were  like  what?  And  there  was like  one  magazine  that  I  wanted  to  do.  And it  was  like  a  men's  magazine  that  only  did  men  on  the  cover.  And  I  was  like,  yeah,  but  I  can sit in  the  suits.  I  could  just  like  be  me  in  a  suit.  And  they're  like, " No,  we  don't  want  you."  And  now funny enough,  that  magazine  just  reached  out  to  my  team  recently  and was like,  we  want  her  on  the  cover  now. I was like, " Okay,  can  I  be  a  man  on  the  cover?"

Jenny Curtis: What  did  they  say?  Did  they  say  yeah. 

Noomi Rapace: They  said  yes,  no.  Yeah.  I  mean,  I  think  it  will  do  it  for  when  I'm  promoting  a  film  that  way  makes  sense.

Jenny Curtis: Yeah.  So  going  back  to  The  Secrets  We  Keep  because  you  brought  up  how  Joel  Kinnaman and  you  were  looking  for  a  project  together.  So  he  was  in  it  from  the  start.  How  did  you  find  Chris  Messina?  How  did  he  come  on  board?

Noomi Rapace: Oh,  Chris,  I  went to  the  premiere  of  sharp  objects  in  LA.  I  was  invited  by  someone.  I  don't  remember  someone  that  was  working  on  the  show.  I'm  a  big  fan  of  Amy  Adams,  so  I  was  like  really  looking  forward  to  see  her,  bring  this  character  to  life.  And  then  I  discovered  Chris  and  I  was  like, "Who is  this  man?  He's  amazing.  And  he's  so  full  of  life.  And  he  has  this  desperation  and  strength  and  vulnerability  at  the  same  time." And I  was  like, " Wow."  And  it's  really  hard  to  play  those  cop  roles.  I  remember  that  he  brought  that  character  to  life  in  the  most  beautiful  way.  And  then  I  had  him  in  mind, I was  like,  I  want  to  find  something  to  do  with  him.  So  when  Yuval  started  the  casting  process  and  he  was  on  one  of the lists I was  like,  yes,  yes,  he's  amazing.

 And  then  we  were  like,  he  was  shooting  some  crazy  project  up  in  Canada  and  then  we  were  face  timing.  Yuval  was  basically  sitting like this and I was  like,  looking  at  Chris,  like  it's  like  obsessed  with  him.  Like  he  was  like,  Oh,  she's  a  bit  too  much.  And  then  me  and  Yuval  came  off  the  call.  I was like, " He's  amazing.  It  feels  like  I'm  married  to  him."  I  could  feel  the  connection  even  though  he's  in  Canada,  I'm  sitting  in  New  York  from  day  one  and  I  loved  every  moment  with  him  every  second.  And  same  with  Amy.  She's  so  amazing.  She's  such  an  incredible  actress  and  a  director.  So  when  she  came  on  board  and  we  were  discussing  the  scenes  and  she  was  moving  so  easily  between...  I  mean,  she's  not  a  producer  on  the  film,  but  she  was  a  producer  like  she  embraces  the  story.  

 She  was  talking  about  like, " Oh  yeah,  if  I  say  this  in  this  scene,  that  will  help  you  guys  later  on."  And  I  was  like,  I  was  just  sitting  like  in  awe  and  like  admiring  her. I was like, " I'm  going  to  be  like  you."  So  he  was  truly,  I  feel  like  everyone  involved  really  went  into  it  with  great  passion.  It  was  very  much  a  collaborative  process.  And  obviously  that  is  Yuval's  way.  He's  Israeli.  So  very  straight  to  the  point.  He  never  sugar  coats  anything.  You  know  what  he  feels  on  things.  Sometimes  it's  like  we  were  clashing  like  this. And I was  like, " No,"  he  was  like, " Yes,  (inaudible) ."  Who is  the  strongest?  And  I  was  like, I'm half Spanish.  I  will  never  surrender  and then it's like, in the end of it, I was like,  okay.  So it  was  a  hard  shoot.  It  was  really  hard,  but  he  had  so  much  fun  at  the  same  time.

Jenny Curtis: What  were some of  the  challenges  you  had  on  set? 

Noomi Rapace: We  had  a  six  week  shoot  and there  was  a  period  drama.  So  it  was  quite  long  days.  I think it  was  in  every  day and  it  was  like  really  long  emotionally  every  day  felt  like  a  week.  And  then  just  finding  the  balance  and  carrying  it  all  in  our  bodies.  Basically  the  story  is  that  I'm  a  housewife  in  the  50s, in a  sleepy,  beautiful  small  town  in  Louisiana.  And  I'm  married  to  a  doctor.  I'm  working  with  him  at  the  office  at  the  doctor's  office.  We  have  the  beautiful  son.  My  life  is  pretty  good,  even  though  I  shut  down  things  in  myself.  So  I  have  on  dealt  inner  scars  that  are  there,  but  repressing  them  and  dealing  with  them  as  much  as  I  can.  And then  one  day  I  see  this  man and  I'm  convinced  that  he  is  someone  that  did  horrible  things  to  me  and  to  my  sister  15  years  ago.  And  she  gets  obsessed  with  him  basically. 

 Then  she  starts  following  him  and  she  follows  him  home  to  his  house  and  she  realizes  that  he  has  a  family  and  kids  and  she  gets  like  drawn  into  his  world  and  she  can't  let  it  go.  And  things  are  starting  to  flush  up  in  her  and  like  almost  like  pieces  that you  can't  really  put  together.  So  she  doesn't  understand  what's  happening  first.  And  then  she  gets  more  and  more  convinced  that  she  needs  him  to  help  her  understand  what happened.  And  he  is  the  voice.  He's  the  answer  to  what  happened.  And  then  she  kidnaps  him,  puts  him in  the  basement  and  forces  her  husband  to  come  in  on  it.  And  she  has  her  son  upstairs.  So  she  starts  living  this  double  life.  And  what  I  find  so  intriguing  and  fascinated  with  this  whole  story  is  that  it  really  deals  with  the  biggest  issues  and  the  biggest  questions  in  life,  forgiveness,  revenge.

 Avenging,  if  you  strike  back  on  someone  who  did  something  wrong  to  you,  and  if  you  break  that  person  equally,  would  you  heal  yourself?  Can  you  come  out  the  other  side?  And  then  she  thinks  she's  in  control.  She  thinks  that  she  just  needs  those  answers.  She  thinks  that  she  wants  to  hurt  him  and  then  she  realizes  that  she  just  needs  to  know  what  happened.  She  just  wants  him  to  admit  that  he  did  it  and  he  just  keeps  denying.  And  he  keeps  saying, " It's  not  me.  You've  mistaken  me  for  somebody  else."  And  my  husband  doubts  me  and  everyone  doubts  me  now.  I  felt  as  Noomi  that  I'm  going  insane.  I'm  losing  myself and  I'm  slowly  it  felt  like  I  was  in  the  swamp  outside  of  New  Orleans and like  just  slowly  losing  oxygen. 

 It  felt  like  I  was  like  breathing  through  a  straw.  Some  days  I  was  just  holding  Yuval.  It's  like,  okay.  And  he  was  like go in, like  one  more  take.  And  I  was like,  okay  (inaudible)   is  my  rock  and he  was  with  me  on  set  and  my  beautiful  assistant.  Some  days, I was just like, " I  don't  know  if  I  can  do  it."  She's  like, " You  can  do it."  I  allowed  myself  to  go  to  a  place  where  I  didn't  really  feel  safe.  I  felt  so  safe  with  my  director  and  my  co- stars.  So  I  could  allow  myself  to  take  the  risk  in  me  to  set  myself  free  and  to  really  touch  the  edge,  to  throw  myself into  her  former.  And  I  felt  like  she  was  like  a  shattered  mirror.  And  then  she  was  like,  almost  like  you  remember  that  film  Memento,  Guy  Pearce  that  I  love. 

 I  kind  of  felt  like  I  was  living  in  Memento,  because  I  had  all  these  reflections  of  my  past  and  all  of  myself and  I  was  running,  but  then  I  was  also  sitting  right  there,  but  then  I  was  lying  down.  I  couldn't  put  the  pieces  together  and  that  kind  of  happened  in  me  and  in  my  dreams.  So  that  made  the  shoot  very  intensive  and  very  hard,  but  also  I  knew  from  the  get  go  that  that  was  the  place  I  had  to  go  to. 

Jenny Curtis: So  besides  ice  baths,  how  do  you  take  care  of  yourself in that kind  of  situation?

Noomi Rapace: Well,  I  work  out  once  or  twice  a  day.  I'm  very  strict  with  my  diet  when  I'm  working.  So  I  don't  want  to  go  on  a  sugar  rush  rollercoaster  because  it  just  messes  up  my  whole  system.  I'm  very  disciplined.  I  don't  drink  alcohol.  I  don't  go  out.  I  can't  really  put  myself  in  situations  where  I  feel  like  I  add  adrenaline  to  myself.  It's  strange,  my  own  discipline  and  my  own  mind  is  probably  my  strongest  tool.  So  I  always  stick,  I  almost  build  up  like  walls  that  I  could  bounce  back  on. So  in  the  end  of  the  day,  I  go  to  the  gym,  no  matter  what,  and  I  will  sweat  out  the  character.  I  will  take  a  bath,  Epsom  salt  and  ice  bath,  I  go  between  them.  And  then  I  go  to  bed  and  I  listen  to  music  before  or  after  in  the  mornings  and  in  the  evenings.

 And  I  try  to  not  interact  in  too  many  other  things.  I  can't  watch  movies.  I  can't  talk  to  people  really.  I  try  to  just  stay  as  protected  as  possible  from  the  outside  world,  so  I  have  time  to  heal  and  to  process  and  reset  my  mind  and  my  body  for  the  next  day.  But  I  also  feel  like  for  every  day  it's like  (inaudible)  and it's  almost  like  I'm  in  the  end,  I'm  always  rolling.

Jenny Curtis: You  do  your  own  stunts  as  well.  Don't  you?

Noomi Rapace: Yeah.  Most  of  them  as  much  as  they  allow  me  to  do.  In  What  Happened  to  Monday,  I  did  most  of  them,  but  like,  I  mean,  obviously  it  seems  when  I'm  fighting  myself.  So we had an  amazing  stunt  double  that  played  me  fighting  me.  I  was  fighting  her  as  we  were  switching  characters,  but there was  one  day  when  I  was  doing  Wednesday  jumps  from  a  window  down  in  a  dumpster,  that's  like  four  stores  up  or  something.  And they were like,  that's  no  way  you  can  do  that. And  my  stunt  double  did  an  amazing  job  that  day,  but  she  also  so  bruised.  It  doesn't  matter  how  good  you  are.  You  always  get  a  bit  bruised  up.

Jenny Curtis: Oh  yeah. 

Noomi Rapace: My  nose  broke  on  a  job.  My  toe  broke. I broke  a  rib,  pull  muscles.  My  body  is  basically  a  map  of  scars  and  all  the  inches,  you  can  see  here  and  then  it's  a  bit  wide  over  here.  (inaudible) .

Jenny Curtis: So  then  in  that  case,  like  when  you're  taking  care  of  yourself  and  going  to  the  gym,  are  you  doing  a  full  day  of  stunt  sometimes and then going  and  working  out  or  can  you  take  a  break  after  that? 

Noomi Rapace: I  would  adjust  my  workout  then,  and  maybe  do  more  of  a  stretching  pilates  program.  I  try  to  be  kind  to  myself  nowadays.  I  was  harder  on  myself  when  I  was  younger,  but  also  it  comes  down  to the people you  have  around  you.  I  have  an  amazing  team  around  me  that  truly  helps  me  heal  and  stay  on  the  right  side  of  sanity,  insanity.  And  then  sometimes  I  can't  talk  like  it  becomes  overwhelming  and  then  they  will  stir  me  a  little  bit  into  the  right  direction.  It's  like, " Okay,  here's  your  food,  here's  your  coffee,  sit down. I'm going to tell everyone that you need  a  moment."  And  then  I'm  like, okay. 

Jenny Curtis: Oh  man,  I  know  we're  running  out  of  time.  I  have  so  much I want to talk to you about. 

Noomi Rapace: I  love  talking  to  you.  I  was  talking  to  my  friend,  you  know  Barry Kewan  is  amazing  actor.  I'm  so  bad  with  pronouncing  his  last  name.  He's  Irish.  He  was  in  a  Killing  of  a  Sacred  Deer.  Did  you  see  that  one? 

Jenny Curtis: Yeah. 

Noomi Rapace: One  of  my  favorite  films.  He's  an  amazing  actor.  You  would  totally  recognize  his  face.  Anyways,  we  were  talking before we started this interview. I was  like, " Interviews  can  be  really  hard  because  sometimes  the  questions are like not  so  fun."  And  then  I  was  like, " I'm  going  to  see how this  one  goes."  And  now  I'm  really happy. I'm going  to  report  back to him and say, " She's  amazing."

Jenny Curtis: That means  so  much  to  me. 

Noomi Rapace: Because  you  really  want  to  go  into  the  questions,  which  I  appreciate  and  prefer.

Jenny Curtis: My  final  question  that  I've  fallen  in  love  with  wrapping  up  all  my  interviews  this  way  is  what  does  it  mean  to  you  to  have  a  life  in  storytelling?

Noomi Rapace: Wow.  Everything.  We  live  in  a  world  now  that  is  so  mad  and  so  crazy.  And  most  days  it  gives  me  heartache  because  I  look  around  and I'm like, " How  can  we  still  be  dealing  with  those  issues?  How is  it  even  possible?  How  come  we  haven't  gotten  further?"  And  then  I'm  like, " Okay,  but  I  have  this  power.  I  have  a  superpower  because  I  can  decide  what  movies  I  bring  to  life.  I  can  decide  what  I  want  to  send  out  there.  I  will  put  my  mark  on  his  face  by  my  choices.  And  I  can  be  a  part  of  a  narrative  that  is  not  from  a  place  of  hate and ignorance  and  stupidity."  And  that  for  me,  being  a  storyteller  and  being  less  and  have  to  be  in  my  position  to  get  to  work  with  people  that  are  incredible,  brave  people,  people  that  wants  to  tell  stories  that  are  maybe  not  always  comfortable  or  that  are  needed  and  necessary.  That  for  me  is  the  greatest  gift.

Jenny Curtis: Noomi  Rapace,  thank  you  so  much. 

Noomi Rapace: Thank you. 

Jenny Curtis: So  much  for  joining  me  today.  This  has  been  just  an  unbelievable  conversation  and  I  was  so  looking  forward  to  talking  to you  because  you're  (crosstalk) .

Noomi Rapace: Oh,  thank  you.  You're  amazing.  Thank  you  for  this.  It  was  truly,  actually  fun  talking  to  you. 

Jenny Curtis: Oh  wow.  Well,  you're  welcome  to  come  back  any  time.

Noomi Rapace: Amazing.  Maybe  I'll  interview  you  next  time. 

Jenny Curtis: Thank  you,  Noomi.  Hollywood  Unscripted  is  created  by  CurtCo  Media.  This  special  episode  of  the  Stuck  At  Home  series  was  hosted  and  produced  by  me,  Jenny  Curtis,  with  guest  Noomi  Rapace.  Co- produced  and  edited  by  Jay  Whiting,  the  executive  producer  of  Hollywood  Unscripted  is  Stuart  Halperin.  The  Hollywood  Unscripted  theme  song  is  by  Celleste  and  Derek  Dick.  Make  sure  to  subscribe  so  you  don't  miss  any  special  episodes  of  Hollywood  Unscripted  Stuck  At  Home.  And  we  want  to  hear  from  you.  Leave  us  a  rating  and  a  review.  Tell  us  what  you  like,  even  what  you  don't  like,  maybe  we  can  be  better.  Thanks  for  listening.  Stay  safe  and  healthy  and  we'll  see you  next  time.  CurtCo  Media,  media  for  your  mind.

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