His appearance is ugly, but I worked on playing him against his appearance, to make him a bit more feminine, he says to TT.
Kristofer Hivju is in Berlin, where most of the gang behind "Red one" has attended the world premiere and where they simultaneously start the PR tour that will take them to, among other places, London and New York.
"Red one" is the film's code name for Santa Claus. He gets kidnapped from his headquarters in the North Pole and taken away. Santa's bodyguard Callum (Dwayne Johnson) takes up the hunt for the kidnappers, which leads him to different countries and to a number of confrontations with various mythical shady figures (the film has been given an 11-year age limit in Sweden due to the fight scenes).
Santa's Grotesque Brother
The hunt also leads to Krampus, the brother Santa hasn't had any contact with for years. Considering the grotesque appearance, it would be easy to believe that Krampus was created with the help of special effects, but Hivju says that's not the case.
It's 100 percent real, it's me behind the clothes and mask that took hours to put on every day. You can see when the camera zooms in on the face, you see the eyes, you see the pores, it's 100 percent the real thing.
The years as the wildling Tormund Giantsbane in "Game of Thrones" made Kristofer Hivju a sought-after actor. He now works mostly in England or the USA and says that he often gets to play the villain.
If you want a bad guy in an American film who isn't Russian, then you want a Scandinavian actor. A bad guy role is often fun, they can be eccentric, they have the function of driving the plot forward.
Twelve "Beck" Films
He hasn't had any roles in his home country Norway for a long time. He has received many offers, but it hasn't worked out time-wise. On the other hand, he has made twelve "Beck" films in Sweden. Will there be more?
I don't know, but I'm counting on it. I know that two new ones have been made, where I couldn't participate.
"Red one" is a somewhat brutal Christmas film, and when TT asks Kristofer Hivju about his Christmas film favorites, he tops the list with a really violent one.
Tommy Wirkola's "Violent Night". Then there's always "Home Alone" and "Die Hard", but "Violent Night" is the best. I'll be watching it soon.
Note: In Central Europe, Krampus is a folkloric figure depicted as Saint Nicholas' frightening companion.
Age: 45 years.
Family: Wife Gry, two children.
Lives: In Oslo.
Occupation: Actor.
Previous roles in selection: "After Earth", "En iskall jävel", "Turist", "Game of Thrones", "Lilyhammer", "The Fate of the Furious", "Cocaine Bear", "Beck".
Currently starring in: "Red one", which will have its Swedish cinema premiere on November 7.
