Welcome, welcome, welcome to Armchair Expert. I'm Dax Shepard. And although she is not currently present, she is present in the interview. Worry not, miniature mouse is here.
Quick thank you to everybody who came to the Salt Lake City show. We had the most excellent time. It was so wonderful to be out in the world and seen arm cherries face to face. My goodness, what a wonderful time it was.
Today we have Alicia Vikander. Alicia Vikander is an Academy Award winning actor. I fell in love with her in X, Martina. But of course she's had an enormous career tomb raider, the Danish girl, Jason Born, the Green Knight.
And now she has a new movie out called Blue Bayou. I hope everyone checks out Blue Bayou. I also hope everyone enjoys Alicia Vikander. This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace.
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Hi. I'm so excited to meet you. I didn't think this would ever happen in any way. I was watching X Machina and falling deeply in love with you as I think every single person did, which is its own interesting psychological thing we should explore.
And I thought in my head, I actually had the thought, well, I'll never bump into her. She's not going to be in like a cheap TV comedy. We're never going to be like cast mates or anything. And I'm pretty much done going to any parties so that I won't meet that person.
But I would love to. And yet here we are. I'm so happy. You guys have done so great.
I just feel honored now to be one of the guests on your show. Oh my god. That's what you've done in just a few years. So straight away from the cheap TV comedies.
That's like what I long to do now. That's what I make like light, fun stuff. I'll tell you, it is really, really fun to do because in general, everyone's in a good mood. You're trying to make some funny stuff happen really fun, really fun around set.
But I will see this. You can leave work having a comedy and going like, hmm, I don't know if we got that and there's no way to fix it. Like there's no way to push in slowly and add the perfect song that'll maybe cover up and give some emotion. Like it's either funny or it's not.
So that is the only part that I think is some pressure, some pressure that maybe is unexpected. I guess you are right. I still have that feeling. I mean, with drama.
I guess you're right, but it's easier to kind of go in and make it something new in the edit. Well, have you had the experience I have when doing a drama where I left work? I was like, hmm, I didn't really do the thing I was hoping to do. That's a bummer and embarrassing.
And then I see it and I go, ooh, that song made the whole thing work. Thank God they put that song in there. Yeah. But one thing that I think is pretty like, I mean, it's not completely wrong when you have that feeling too.
But if you don't accept when it happened today, actually, when we were shooting and the character, he was like, did you feel that? And I thought, yeah, I felt it. And the thing is, when you get that take, it's like a thing that just happens and it hangs in the air. And the amazing thing is that the boom guy knows it.
Yeah. And the guy on the monitor knows it. And it's like, no one said anything but everyone. Okay, that was it.
And it's amazing. And you don't know what it is, but in unison, everyone knows. It was a bit of magic there. This will be a fun thing about this complaining.
But I do think it's unique to this job, which is let's say that moment you're talking about can happen in a wide. So if you're not incredibly familiar with how the sausage is made, you shoot this big, big shot with probably all the actors and you see the whole set, but that is not what you will see in the finished movie. You'll see a close up of the person having their emotional scene. So the agony of God in that moment in the wide and then like, okay, let's move in for coverage.
And then you just never get that feeling in coverage. That happens too. But then it's cool. Like the series I'm shooting right now, I've shot eight weeks now seven and I did like my first real close up two days ago.
Really? Yeah. I'll be here as a French filmmaker. And I've done three days in a row with like eight pages a day of just two people talking, but he's very good at blocking.
It's kind of when you set the choreography of how you move in a scene and it's never dull. And that's so nice. The other day it was like a bit closer, like I don't know, hardbody, but like it was the first just my face close up in eight weeks. And in one way, I admire that because he is a very talented filmmaker and he dares to trust both the performances, actors and his own words and that it will transcend and work in a bigger frame and that you hopefully will be able to stay in those frames longer.
And then when he punched in for real and kind of reminds me of like during lockdown, actually, I watched a lot of old classics. And it's amazing if you watch films from like the 30s, 40s and it's incredible performances. And they run scenes in wide shots for a long time and you're as engaged. And then suddenly if you're aware of it, they go close and it's like it happens only a few times in the film and the impact is so big.
It's interesting because it can be easier and it's so hard to make movies, especially what we do now here, shooting it like this. I am a bit more terrified. I'm like, I don't know if this is going to work. You're sure?
Because you're a bit more naked in that sense, but normally you cover a lot. Then you also set up for the fact, like you said, you can go into an edit and you do have a lot more choices. And then also can push to bring out emotions easier if you go close, let's say. Yeah.
It's a big cost in the series. I mean, he's one of those directors that a lot of actors want to work with. So the actors that he's brought on set are. They're all great.
Yeah, no, I walk in every day and I'm like, okay, in with those long scenes, I just need to know your shit. Yeah, exactly. So I would say that I'm so impressed by everyone surrounding me on the show. I would imagine for you, you would enjoy like many different touch points on a set, like a big choreograph scene with lots of movement and marks because you did ballet.
Like to me, that feels like something that would appeal to you. I love that. How long did you do ballet? I went to the Royal Swedish ballet schools.
I started when I was nine and the whole nine years in school. This is most of my questions, Ferlicia, about this experience, as you might guess. This is fascinating. Well, first of all, have you been in ballet?
No. Monica's a two time state cheerleader. So she had her own version of that, but it was more the American. I'm sure the training is not very far off.
It is intense and violent. A little violent and a little emotional. Lots of injuries. Yeah.
But I only did that for a few years, nine years. I mean, that's so much dedication. Okay. So I have a stereotype in my mind of people who do ballet.
I've had several different friends that were into ballet and where it differs, in my opinion, from other things is I've noticed they'll still do it. Like it's their workout in a way. And it's clearly something cathartic is happening when they do this work. Not you.
You'll never do it as a workout. No, to me, it was so difficult to quit when I did because it had been my life. When I quit, it was emotionally very hard to make that. I was very afraid that I was making the wrong decision.
Yeah. I was also feeling like I was letting everyone down, especially all the teachers. When I did it, it was kind of from having done it like six, seven hours a day, six days a week, these years, I never took a ballet class from the day I quit. Did you feel super liberated?
Like, oh my God, I have so much time. I have so much less pain. I didn't get friends. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. No, I suddenly became a very kind of 18 year old, 18 year old. I wanted to do everything in travel.
We're let out of a ballet cage. Yeah. I mean, it was amazing. And I wouldn't exchange that for anything.
In one way, it was kind of my education for what I do now, but it's tough. I'm like impressed. Like, even if I did it myself, I kind of forget that sometimes and I went to the opera here in Paris just a few weeks ago. And as soon as I see the dancers, I'm like, oh my God, I just can't believe because like somewhere I still remember what it's like and what it is.
And then even more, I'm like, oh my God, I'm such all and like, people should know what these guys go through. And then I saw Romeo and Juliet pretty amazing. It was their first opening night with like a full audience. And then I was behind stage and I got to say hi to the premiere.
And the dancers who did the leads. And it's a lot of puddder. It's called in French, but it's so when the classical thing when you see that, the couple dancing and the gold gets lifted a lot and thrown around and Romeo and Juliet is like up in the air and down on the floor. It's very dramatic and romantic, obviously.
And they die. It says a lot of throwing her everywhere. And then she stands there. She's like, oh, yeah, no, I'm okay.
You know, but I broke a rib. So she was like, yeah, we had to work out. He had to like have his hand on another rib tonight. Oh.
So he can like throw me from here. I mean, yeah, I mean, that's just nuts. Yeah, yeah, it definitely follows the pattern way more of a professional sport than it does like an artistic outlet. Yeah, it's exactly that.
It seems to attract a certain personality type because great pain is ahead of you. There's a weird layer of masochism to it, a tiny bit. It's the ultimate expression of control and not just the physical control, but also like the body shape, the eating. That's why you get them young when they don't know.
Yeah, right. You bring out the pink two twos. False advertising. You lure them in with the twos.
What is everyone in, including me? I was in there. I mean, I was like three and watching the not cracker. And you know, my mom was prepared to like take me to go home after the first act, you know, three years old.
And I was like, oh, and I sat there for two hours. Because of the pink two twos. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, remember, and then she actually put me in class and I was so bummed.
I remember it was like the Christmas kind of show and like my group got to be like pirates and the other group. Like I think butterflies. And I was so, so sad. A whole year I'm training to get to do that.
Yeah. I don't know. I kind of think of it as like the closest thing you can do to joining the convent. Like you dedicate your entire life to it and it's embroiled in so much disappointment and pain.
I feel like if you can get through that experience, it's a pretty good foundation to move forward. I guess what I'm saying is probably everything feels a little bit easy after that. Yeah, I think when things have been hard and like I often thought, well, it's not worse than it's cool. And that was physical pain, but psychologically it's tough.
Like when you find out what the symphony orchestra players go through to get to that point, I think you're largely unaware of it. Like you say, you go to the the opera, you go to a player, you go to a symphony, and you just see the pink two twos or you hear the great song. But then when you find out like the amount of hours it takes one to get themselves in that situation, it's just kind of eye-opening. Yeah.
Is there an impetus for quitting? Was there like an inciting incident or it just was slowly gnawing at you? It was a slowly realization that I didn't want to live my life as dancer. Yeah.
Because it is that hard. That's why I for anyone who actually done it and it's pretty actually cool. I told you I haven't done a class since. But on the show I'm doing now, the director and writer wrote in that I need to do a cafe scene and he hired one of the world's of France's biggest choreographers who I never would have ever be able to work with.
I was a dancer and I was up into the room and I was like, oh my God. As a dancer, I would never ever ever ever have made it into this place. And I had three days when he made me a choreography and I was like, I haven't done this in years. And then he was so sweet.
And he even said, he was like, you should go and join us for a performance next summer. I was like, sure. But it was really incredible. Like I love dancing.
And if you know me, you know that even if I don't take class, I dance everywhere. Well, I don't know you, but I hope to after this. See on the dance floor. Yeah.
I can fuck up a dance floor. No training, but I won't get off of it. I leave it all on the floor just to warn you ahead of time. Amazing.
Well, I don't think there's great don'ts since they just dedicated don'ts. So you grew up in Sweden. Yeah. We had this world-renowned economist on and he was just obsessed with Sweden, so obsessed in the middle way.
And that approach, so we're very interested in Sweden and we want to kind of an insider's perspective. So I'm glad you're here. What I noticed that has to be a little different is you went away at 16. She left Gutenberg.
Yeah. Where are you from? Is that how you pronounce it? Gothenburg.
Gothenburg. Wow. Yeah. I fucked that up.
That's a silent age like Neanderthal, like German. I was wrong. But you went to Stockholm to pursue ballet at 16 completely by yourself and you lived on your own. Yeah.
That's a fine thing to do in Sweden. There's no issue. No one's scared. No, I mean, yeah, I was not even 16.
Few months before I was 16. Yeah. And the thing is the last year before I moved, I was more worried about my mom. I'm a child and I was like, my God, I kind of like felt bad.
And now being an adult, I really understand. I have asked mom, I was like, Oh my God, how did you cope? And she was like, no, the year before you left was tough because she had a hunch with the training that I did that I might get in. If I applied to the school in Stockholm.
So she said she went through this year of like kind of getting to terms with me leaving. And then she said, when you finally did, it was OK. Manageable. Yeah.
But so I think nowadays they do have a boarding school, but they didn't have that then. Who did you live with? Where did you live? No, it was the first six months I rented a room.
And then you get like a small allowance. I think like a hundred and maybe $200 from your city. If you get into a school that you can prove doesn't exist in your town. Oh, OK.
This is part of the middle way right there. You get that and I got a bit of cash on my parents. But yeah, it wasn't much. But then I rented a room, but then I actually managed to find an apartment that I rented.
I mean, it's so crazy because Stockholm like the rest of the world and big cities now is like to rent prices are crazy. So I was extremely lucky that I found something actually central in Stockholm. So yeah, I mean, it was pretty cool. I remember when I was 16 and I was like, no, just come over to my place.
You know, it was like so cool. And I was like, I have oats and meatballs. I mean, it was tiny, this flat, but it was kind of cheap only because they there was a regulator of prices because it didn't really have a kitchen. OK.
OK. So it was like just a cabinet and then it was a sink and I had like this like a hot cat and then I bought this mini bar. And I remember I was like milk, yogurt, like a freeze compartment, which only fit like one packet. That's so sweet.
I don't know why I ate like frozen meatballs. Yeah, like how did you respond to that much freedom still responsible or? I think I was quite a responsible child growing up, but it's interesting because I lived in a very small apartment with my mom growing up. And I think just in 2014, 15 and you're about to like, Oh, my God, I just need to break out and do things and maybe not follow the rules and whatever.
I probably held back another year because I knew that I might just be leaving and then I want to be nice. You know, but then I remember I arrived in Stockholm like maybe two weeks leading up to the school starting. It's like summer. And I remember just for me, I mean, Stockholm now maybe it's not very big.
But to me then it was like the capital was huge. And I went down the subway and I have this memory of me like I was like life begins now. Oh my God. I had to work out.
I didn't wash your clothes. It's like one of those things that my mom was like, you need to do it more. You don't even know how to do it. And I was like, obviously I know how to do it.
And then I remember I stood there. I was trying to figure it out on the day. But then school started. Fun was over.
Yeah. I mean, naturally, I wanted to go to bed as soon as possible because I had to be up at five 30 a.m. in the morning and be in school by seven. What age can you drink there?
Eighteen. And I really use that. So between the second and last and last year, I guess, because like we said earlier, that it's so closed in and it takes up so much time being in school that I hadn't made a lot of friends just because I moved out moved from my hometown to Stockholm and I spent most of my time in school. And I made this like promise to myself.
I was like, I'm going to make friends. And I did. And actually, the people I met that summer before my last year are some of my best friends still today. But it's fun to say to them now.
I was like, yeah, no, I was kind of like hunting. I remember I was at this party and like, actually, she was one of my bridesmaid at my wedding. And I remember I walked into this party, you know, and I was like, saw this gorgeous girl like down the hallway and she seemed so cool and like, everyone want to talk to her. And I was like, she's going to become my friend.
So yeah, so then that last year I kind of rebelled ballet school a bit. So I kind of became friends with a guy who had the key to the school. OK, because we did spend so much hours in school. They actually had beds in our locker rooms.
Oh my God. This sounds like a Soviet era gymnast training program. Yeah, no. So I sometimes went out dancing, but I couldn't really drink because I then knew I was going to go to school, but I love being out like dancing.
So I, well, we're down to like five when I closed and then I went straight to school and I had an outfit in school and put the ballet plan up and then I walked into class. I was like, oh, so then you go in, you do an exchange program in New York. So this question probably won't apply to you, but I am curious. I was just talking about this with Monica the other day.
Swedes are my favorite people to run into traveling. You find them everywhere. You do find them everywhere. They're everywhere.
They're scattered about the globe on holiday at all times. And I find that they are almost universally fantastic conversationalists. And my first experience with it was on a train ride from Barcelona to Rome, very long train ride. I was 19 and my girlfriend and I were seated across four Swedish kids traveling and we got to talk anyway at this incredible time and I asked, you know, had you guys ever been in the States, one of them had done an exchange program in the South.
And I said, how'd you like it? And she said, oh, it was I couldn't stand it. And I said, oh, what didn't you like about it? And she said, this forced hospitality, this kind of disingenuous politeness, it's just so not Swedish and it drove me crazy.
And I was like, oh, being from the north, there's even a big difference between Detroit and the South. And I'm like, yeah, I know what you're talking about. But then I think just in general, even where I'm from, there's a lot of like pleasant trees that seem disingenuous. And I wondered if you were aware of that.
I mean, I love all these differences. I love talking about kind of what defines people in different cultures. And it's very hard to kind of notice what you do until you actually move away from your home. And then I was, oh, that's what I'm doing.
I now understand I do these things because I grow up like this. I mean, that is not even just the South. I think it's a very European versus American culture. I kind of came to my house like, oh, my, like, everything is amazing.
And they like me so much. And it was so happy. They want to do all these things apparently. But then you kind of realize that, oh, that sometimes it's just conversation to.
Yeah. And those are things we do not say. So we will just blindly trust everything that you guys say. You're right, right.
Yeah. And then you realize I think Swedes abroad are generally, like you said, I think they're more conversation on if you go to Sweden, I think it might be a bit different. You know, if you go to a party there, you might think, oh, this means I'm quite stuck up and quite boring and like very serious. And yeah, and I think that's just because for us, you get to know each other, but this isn't you can tell me if it's wrong, but then it's a bit of a short time before you actually become friends.
It's like in America, you felt like I can have met people quite a few times. And I'm like, which friends? And then it's like, yeah, but I would never get invited to somebody's house. It's pleasant and nice.
But then I'm like, shouldn't we like hang out? Yeah. Yeah. Let's go to the inner circle.
Yeah, exactly. And I think that's something different. So in Europe, I think you need to find a bit more to get in there to get to know the person. But then if you manage to do it, people open up.
So my wife and I are both from Michigan, like we have the same culture. And then of course, we have different childhood. So the way I interpret love and how I would show love is different from hers, but that's from a childhood dynamic that's different. But I do wonder because you're married to someone from Ireland and he, of course, has his own culture.
Do you ever bump up against where you just go like, oh, I'm sorry, sweetie. That probably hurt your feelings, but that's just a very Swedish thing I did. Like, is there any cultural layers? We have quite similar offerings from like kind of working class families, a smaller house.
And so we mostly more felt we have quite a lot of similarities with our families. It was a very easy kind of introduction there too. Really? So there's no like cultural differences in displaying affection or like our Swedes affectionate.
Well, it's interesting just with America's name. I love you to anyone. To everyone. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm the biggest offender of that. Can I just admit real quick? He's going to say it to you. Yeah.
Yeah. Well, and I'll mean it, but continue. Yeah. So I love you in Swedish is your absc a and that is like I was with my thoughts, like long relationship boyfriend for one and a half year before I said that.
And I think I said it like four times. OK, can I be clear though? So I have this bracket for humans in my life that are friends and I do love them. Like the feeling I have inside for them is butterflies.
I would never say that prematurely to a romantic partner because that means so much and that's such a kind of a level of commitment that I would never be haphazard about. Yeah. But it is the language too. It's so interesting to get to know a culture through languages too and how they work.
And like saying that in Swedish is like, oh, oh, oh. I remember when my dad says it on the phone, sometimes I'm not really quite emotional. That's nice that it reserves a power. Yeah, it's pretty cool that those words are very impactful.
So it's not the same. Like when I say I love you in English, it doesn't ring or it doesn't emotionally mean the same thing as if I say it in Swedish. Yeah, like in your lifetime, if you're Swedish, you're probably only going to say that word to a handful of people. It's become because of you guys.
Oh, no more use. It's actually changed over the past 10 years, I would say. It's almost gone to the point that when we might be like you guys soon. You're loose.
Like you love the person at McDonald's who just rang you up? No, that would be strange. That probably. But yeah, if you're craving a Big Mac and you have been for a year and they give it to you, you might feel a pang of love for them.
I think I had one in 20 years. Wow. Wow. But that's also familial, like how you're raised because when I first joined this group of friends, it was the same thing.
Like I started babysitting for them and I would leave and they'd be like, but I love you. And I was like, I don't know what to say. Like, do they love me? Like I've only been babysitting for like a month.
But so for me, it was also a transition of like, oh, they don't mean it in the way that I'm thinking about it. Yeah. Or like the French here, it's amazing. It's again, language that forms entire culture and people.
So French, they kind of like it's always not an issue that they like to argue and like to talk a lot, you know, to think of it. And then it's also it's like when something's good, they don't say it's good. They say it's a pamal. And that means it's not bad.
It's not bad. That's the high compliment. It's not bad. It's like, oh, that's like, it's like, you know, we had it on set.
He was off. But he was like, then we know, oh, I'm very happy. Bama. Yeah, exactly.
Not bad. And it just shows it's like I spoke to a friend, his French and he said, yeah, you're a kid growing up. And when someone tells you you've done good, they say it's not bad. I just don't know if after lovemaking of my partner said not bad.
I mean, OK, I will work on that. That's very American. We hear we're saying like, it's amazing. That's not the word of me.
We love superlatives in America. Everything's the best. It's no, it's like if I say it in America, it's like, oh, that's really good. They're like, oh, yeah, we failed you.
It doesn't like it. Yeah, she's put off. Well, I have friends that are more abusive than me. And yeah, it annoys me because I'm like, oh, it means nothing.
I figured like in my mind, I'm at the level where I'm super enthusiastic, but I'm not disingenuous in my mind, which certainly you must read as disingenuous as I do in other people who are more. But I feel like when I'm talking enthusiastically about things I love, which there's so many, it's not act like I have those feelings inside. I have butterflies and excitement and enthusiasm for a big Mac. Like I can eventize being a big Mac.
Like, like it's a real thing. Yeah. And I think I become a bit more like that when I'm out in LA. Now I suddenly reached a higher level and I have a difficulty to express that.
Something higher. Yeah. Yeah, boy. You're right.
You don't leave yourself a lot of room, but I want to say you could almost argue it is the difference in a worldview that is infinite and abundant or one that is finite and needs to be doled out carefully. Does that make any sense? And it's an interesting thought. Like, so let me first acknowledge it's so annoying.
That would I mean, nuts if I were you. Like, well, nothing means nothing. Everyone fucking loves their. Yeah, that's true.
I love these things. Like I end up talking about it a lot traveling. I kind of like to figure out. Yeah.
You appreciate it. The difference. Yeah. When I was in Japan to learn that the language is like, I had to speak a bit of Japanese and I kind of read this line.
I was like, and I read it in the translated version in English and I asked how I translate. I was like, I would love for it to have a tiny bit of sarcasm in there. Yeah. And he was like, well, then all you have to do is address this person a bit above them.
What you should. Ah, yeah. Be like calling the guy at the valor highness. That would be sarcastic.
Yeah, but they just can do it in a very slight. Subtle way. Subtle way. And I thought that was cool.
How many languages do you speak? Because I noticed you did a movie in Danish early on. My Danish when I've had a few drinks is pretty good. OK.
When you're playing pool. Yeah. But I'm in Copenhagen and play pool probably. That's what they kind of do there.
Yeah. I would give it a go. I do understand a bit of French. I realize now.
So they can't talk too much shit. About your own set. No. So I was kind of showing that I was like, I do know what you're saying.
Can I tell you that's Monica's dream? Because when we talk about superpowers, I want to be invisible. She wants to be able to hear what people think, which I think would be terrible. I would not want to know that at all.
No, it's none of my business. None of my business. I'm just scared. But she can do that.
She's figured out and you could do it too. So learn a language and tell everyone you don't speak it. And then you could do it. You could hear them talking about it.
OK, that's a big plan. But sure, it's going to take a while, but not as hard as ballet. True. And Michael speaks German.
Yes, his mother tongue is English. Right. Because he moved away from Germany when he was two. Somehow I read that he could speak German.
Yeah, it's not his first language, but yeah, he can get by. Yeah, he would hate any of us. No, it's really good. It's really amazing.
It's what it's there. There's their goo. There's their goo. Well, I was just thinking that that's quite an advantage for your kid to grow up in a line.
I bet if you put together a hundred American families, you might get four languages. That could be spoken. That's dreadful. Yeah, but I think one thing that is happening now is it's amazing to see films just in the past few years.
I mean, with Parasite winning an Oscar, people now in America will have started to get used to actually being subtitles and actually start to watch this wonderful treasure of films that have been made all over the world. Stay tuned for more armature expert. If you dare. I have the weirdest surprise for you and I don't know if you're going to like it.
I've never done this ever on the show, but I felt like this was the time to do it. And so here's the backstory before I introduce him. Our best friend, Jess, he grew up in Sweden. He's American, but his dad played professional basketball in Sweden.
So he grew up there for six or seven years. He sings a song that I can't imagine is correct, but I knew you would know. And so I've invited him to sing this song for you. If that's OK with you.
Amazing. Should I join? If I know it. That's the only but I'm going to give Jess your microphone.
Oh, my God. I'm so excited. You can have mine, Monica. Let me stand behind you guys.
Jess, you kind of need to stand, right? Alicia, you're never ever in your life. You're going to see a performance as heartfelt ever. I promise.
I'm more heartfelt. No, no, no, no, no, do it like you do it. OK. Hey, all right.
Yeah, we're going to get them. Get them. We just got to get them. Oh, my God.
I love you. I was 11. So it's so good. It's going for me.
I'm so excited. I've never heard him do what he just did. Oh, my God. You look so Swedish.
You look so Swedish than I do. OK, so this is jazz. And without so my favorite. He had a little delicious flavor.
I'll read that out for the next time. chordistubini to type in some other living in some other urban markets. I'll read it again. I'll read it again.
affection and even as a Upstate. I have a little Benjamin. I love that. It's almost like I know him.
Oh, hello David told Kirsti! I did it again, one more! Let's go! So you can see more of this.
Latin promise has been decided. I know. And I will be the later. Hey, do I have to go to work?
Love you. OK, maybe. OK, we're the words accurate. I think you nailed it.
I think that was correct. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Wow.
That was a first. I kind of remembered it too. Yeah, you were singing a lot. Yeah, I was impressed.
Oh my god. Thank you for doing that. Receiving that, I guess. Thank you for receiving that.
It's the jingle for people long stocking. And yeah, my boys are on Spotify. You do it? Like last year.
Yeah. So that's a good thing. I'm so glad to be able to be like that. Yeah, we do.
Jess has gone to Halloween as Pippie Longshocking at nine of the last 16 years. He makes the best Pippie because he's 6'7. Amazing. Yeah.
And he's probably as strong as Pippie. Maybe not as. Oh god, that was fun. Wow.
So he did a good job. He can sing that song because when I'm listening to it, I'm like, I love it so much. We make him sing it all the time. But I'm like, I don't know if he's saying the real thing or is he just making it up.
No, no, no. That is the real thing. Oh my god. That's exciting.
OK, can we talk about? Because now I've got to put the pedal to the metal so we can talk about your new movie. But I just have to ask a couple questions about Ex Machina. Because I just, I don't know, man, that movie for me was what an experience that movie was on so many different levels.
Like visually, it was so incredible. The acting was insane. The concept with the thinking, all of it was so impressive. And my first question was, where was that set?
We shot it in a studio in London, like five weeks. And then we spent maybe a week, 10 days up by the fields in Norway. Oh, so that's Norway? Yeah.
And it was pretty amazing. So it's part of this hotel, like very simple hotel where we shot it. And I think their business is thriving since. And for the past seven years, it's fully booked.
And it was like the nicest family who ran that place. We were like living in the rooms we were shooting in and then we had to like move out in the morning. So you know, like, you know, yeah. Yeah, it's kind of like probably now the park quiet in Tokyo.
People go like vacation to have their last and translation experience. Exactly. And one thing I thought was potentially interesting is Alexander Garland, who wrote and directed that. He's a son of a psychologist, your daughter of a psychiatrist, did that come up to children of psychiatrists and psychologists share a bond?
I think the one thing is I grew up with a dad who in his office downstairs, like it has one ball with just a lot of books and one ball is medicine. And then the other one is just fantasy and sci-fi. Oh wow. He thinks it's kind of the same.
He was like, this is all the same world in the same interest. He read fantasy for me when I was a kid. So that interest in science, I think, and sci-fi, I have too, which obviously Alex has. Here's the bond I imagine hypothetically exist as I would hope the children of psychologists or psychiatrists have a more well-rounded toolkit than most kids get.
I think it's interesting. I mean, I give this credit to my dad. I've had a few people sometimes ask me, it's like, ah, I wasn't having a dad who's in that profession. Did he ever like analyze you or give you an answer?
No, never. But I have thought back on time, especially when I've been an adult and live at home. And when I needed it, he was like magically always there. And he has this crazy talent.
And I know now nature in life that he is doing this because he's actually very good at it. And he makes people talk. He is very classic, he's a very good listener. And this has happened a few times.
And at quite strange occasions, I was actually in Tokyo filming. He was there visiting. And we went to this pretty like underground cool nightclub. And it was like pretty intense dungeon.
And it was like this very kind of known famous DJ up in Booth. They got the wow, I was like, where's dad? And then I suddenly see him up in the DJ booth with his hands crossed. And this like DJ has left some other dude standing there.
And then they send him like literally like 25 minutes. And I was like, isn't that his set right now? And then that guy comes down because he's friends with one of my friends. And he's like, oh my god, I said, I don't know what happened.
I said, I met your dad. I opened up my entire life to this guy. And he had no clue what my dad does. And he was like, oh wow.
And that has happened several times. And it's often like, it's not anything my dad says that he does. But people just like end up having very long discussions with him. And like, oh my god, yeah, it's like we just met.
But he had some really very big conversation. God, I hope I bump into him traveling someday. Because that would really bullseye my Swedish stereotype. Like sit down and just have a fucking solid conversation out of the gate.
I think actually my dad and my mom, apparently, they met at a party and ended up sitting at this after one until the 7 AM in the morning talking about death. I was like, yeah, that's like great. So romantic. OK, wait, do I have another question about ex-mikina?
I'm just obsessed with it. It's so funny. What about Sweden? Did you have any more questions about Sweden?
I don't know if your means are gaz I'm so dead average, it's uncomfortable. How in the mean I am. I'm just dead average height, dead average everything. And I was like, oh my goodness, I've never felt so just among everyone.
Yeah, I remember I think it was one of my first events that I ever probably like right in the beginning, like maybe 10 years ago, the first time in LA and they wanted me to go to this GQ, man of the year. Oh boy. That sounds great. So I put my heels on and I went and I remember I stood in the room at the shadow.
And I was like looking out over the room and I was like, something's a bit off. I'm acknowledging something and I don't know what it is. And then I realized I can actually like see the ball. Like, right?
You can look across the restaurant and see the bar. Yeah, in America, I'm almost almost a bit above average. I realize and in Sweden, I'm short. Yeah, yeah, miniature.
Wait, how tall are you? 167 and what's that? So fuck. Oh fuck.
Well, that Rob's Rob's. Oh, five four. OK, that's we like that height. That's a good height.
That's not tall though. Well, yeah, but in Sweden, I'm short. And then men are very tall. I've never been used to like see in bars.
It's always just like heads. Yeah. In shoulders see in a movie, this would have led to a great montage. And you would have went to the movies and sat behind people and you could see the screen.