Ólafur Darri Ólafsson is probably Iceland’s most charismatic actor. He looks impressive on screen, but when you meet him, you are in the presence of somebody larger than life. He is a giant of a man, gregarious, charming with a booming voice. For me, Ólafur Darri is the main star of the Trapped series, although the series has many other great actors.
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Trapped unifies a nation
Icelanders are being treated to the third series of Trapped. It is all very entertaining, and when we are all positively being drowned in TV shows on streaming services. In Iceland, Trapped episodes are a unifying weekly event in Iceland; people sit down on a Sunday evening and comment on every little detail on social media and talk about the show at work. Not many media have such a unifying effect anymore. I follow the shows religiously.
The film star Ólafur Darri
Ólafur Darri has starred in films such as Contraband, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Zoolander 2, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and Eurovision Song Contest: The Legend of Fire Saga. I think that the most interesting film role Ólafur has had is in the 2012 film ‘The Deep,’ based on the tragic story of Guðlaugur Friðþórsson. Guðlaugur was a lone survivor of a fishing boat that capsized off the coast of the Westman Islands in March 1984. By some miracle, Guðlaugur was able to swim to shore and save his life. I think Ólafur Darri plays his role brilliantly, and for me, the film is essential as it pays tribute to the dangers and hardships Icelandic fishermen have faced throughout the years.
Ólafur Darri’s other TV roles
In addition to Trapped, Ólafur Darri has starred in many great TV shows. I love Ólafur Darri’s performance in Trapped, but it has to be said that my favourite role of his is when he played the prisoner dubbed ‘The Mammoth’ in the tragic-comic TV series Fangavaktin (The Prison Shift). I also loved Ólafur Darri in the brilliant TV series ‘The Minister.’ Ólafur Darri plays the Prime Minister of Iceland who has to deal with serious mental illness while dealing with the challenges of being in office. He plays that role with gusto.
Hey Ólafur Darri, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule for this interview. How do you prepare for playing the role of Andre in Trapped
It is interesting to get to play a character over such a long time through many seasons. You started your preparation for the first season, and it just keeps going from there. And slowly, you instinctively know how the character reacts to different situations. But I remember having a lovely afternoon with a police detective where he allowed me to ask him all kinds of questions.
Andri faces a lot of adversity in the Trapped series? Do you feel a lot of affinity for him as a character?
I do. I have a lot of love and respect for Andri and the people in his line of work. Andri tries to stay true to himself, but he is not well in tune with his feelings. He is, though, without a doubt trying to do his best and trying to stay ahead in the game. Andri has a strong sense of justice and integrity, and I think that´s quite evident.
In the third season of Trapped, the weather is, so far, a lot better than in the former series. But what is the most challenging situation you had to face while filming outdoors in Iceland?
I would have to say when we shot Beowulf and Grendel on a mountain near Vík in the fall. The weather was so bad. We would wake up around 4.30 am and get fully geared up only to cancel the day. This went on for a whole week. An excellent making-of documentary by Jon Gustafsson called The Wrath of The Gods shows what was going on. I recommend it. You get to see a car window broken in real-time by rocks blowing about in the wind.
Do you have favourite Iceland themed movies or TV series?
I love Naeturvaktin, Night Shift, by Ragnar Bragason, a low budget tv series that takes place during the night shift at a gas station. It has some of the saddest and funniest things I have seen on tv. One of my favourite Icelandic films would be Stella í orlofi by Thorhildur Thorleifsdottir, such a funny film and captures a period perfectly.
Will we see you soon in any new TV shows or films? If so, can you drop any hints on what roles you will have?
I recently finished filming a series for the BBC, and HBO Max called The Tourist. I think that´s coming out early next year. And then, there are two films in post-production, Summerlight, directed by Elfar Adalsteinsson and Beautiful Beings, directed by Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson. And then there are always a couple of things that you are not allowed to discuss.
What places or activities in Iceland do you especially enjoy and why?
There is so much to see and do in Iceland. Djupalonssandur at Snaefellsnes is my favourite bit of beach in Iceland. A beautiful black sand beach. And sort of between the Westfjords and Snaefellsnes is the beautiful island of Flatey.
If you have the time to explore The Westfjords, then they are such an incredible part of Iceland.
Up north, there is Siglufjordur which serves as the staging area for so much of the show Trapped, and if you go there, you have to eat the best Moroccan food in Iceland.
In the East and Northeast, there are places like Myvatn and Seydisfjordur. For food, I would recommend my favourite restaurant in Reykjavik, which is Sumac. And inside Sumac, there is an extraordinary tiny restaurant called Ox.
What advice would you give to those who are visiting Iceland for the first time?
Don´t get too ambitious. If you only have a few days, stay in or around Reykjavik (a friend of mine runs the Backyard Village in Hveragerdi, I often stay there), so you can easily travel around the south of Iceland. If you have more than a week, consider going up north or to the Westfjords. Like I said before, Iceland might be a small Island, but there is a lot to see and do here. Enjoy.
