IN CONVERSATION WITH KRISTOFER HIVJU
interview by MAREK BARTEK
Norwegian actor Kristofer Hivju first gained international recognition for his breakout role as Tormund Giantsbane in Game Of Thrones, and since then he’s worked on an array of interesting productions including Afterburn and The Fate of the Furious. In his latest project The Iris Affair, he takes on the role of Jensen Lin, a genius whose efforts to help humankind take a dark turn. The highly anticipated thriller streams exclusively on SkyShowtime from 6th December, with new episodes weekly.
First of all, congratulations on this new project! What attracted you to The Iris Affair in the first place?
First and foremost, it was Neil Cross, the creator of the show. I love Luther and his other work, and I was excited to be a part of his project. Secondly, it was the premise of the show — one day we will create a quantum computer and it will be a game changer for everything. It’s a very scary thought, and a triggering concept but it’s also something interesting to explore. And thirdly, I found Jensen Lin a very beautiful, strange and genius human being; I really enjoyed diving into his character.
You already mentioned that you portray the character of Jensen Lin. He's a scientist who builds the machine, which the movie's plot circles around. What can you tell us about the role itself?
Well, Jensen is a very troubled man. To have a brilliant brain can be a troubling thing, and I think people like him need a sense of direction. For half his life, he has been together with Cameron (Tom Hollander) trying to figure out how to build this beautiful device that can help all humans. It can cure cancer and anything else we need help with, so that objective is very noble and beautiful. Then the turn of events comes, when he understands that he has spent half his life creating a monster. It’s a complex and horrible situation that changes everything and makes him want to destroy his life's work.
How does one approach portraying a character that realises the power — but also the danger — of their own creation?
It always start with small things. Sometimes you try to do good, but it turns out you haven’t really helped. For example, you try to help a friend who needs you to be tough on them, but if you’re too kind, you're not helping them. If you take that circumstance and multiply it by a billion, you get into Jensen's mind.
I found it very interesting to explore his conscience, and how far he's willing to go to stop his own creation. Of course, he's a man full of regret, but the stakes are so high that he has no choice but to become a killer. And I think every human being, if you put them in the right or the wrong situation, is able to do what he’s done. It's like if you ask people in prison whether they would have done anything differently if they could, and many of them say no. In those circumstances, the state they were in, that was their only solution. And of course, they will regret it, but if you push a human far enough, we can do horrible things. And that's what the show is about.
What was the most challenging part of the preparation and filming for you?
It was understanding the concepts. It was understanding Neil Cross's mind and everything from Hindu cosmology to how the universe works, quantum physics; to dive into all that material and try to be at least 1% as smart as Jensen is.
Do you feel like you have a better understanding of the universe?
The problem with the universe is the more you know, the less you understand. We're sitting in our solar system with our stars, and then we have a trillion other universes. And beyond that, there’s another four trillion universes. These concepts of existence are so complex that you can lose your mind trying to grasp them. I try not to though.
It’s safe to say the role itself is extremely complex, so I do wonder if it allowed you to explore something new creatively as a performer.
Definitely! The finding of Jensen Lin’s range itself was extremely fascinating. He's the kindest, sweetest human being you can find, but at the same time he is forced to become a murderer and a wild man, all within one person. But it was also the uncovering of what drives us to do stuff like that, and how different we are from ourselves or who we can become.
Did you also discover something about yourself on a personal level while portraying Jensen?
I think you always do, no matter the role. It happens in the moment because you really experience something when filming. You're going into this dream universe and you try to forget about all the technicalities and all the stuff, so you can just go with it. You experience moments with your fellow players that become a part of your own memory, a part of your own system. And this was an emotionally challenging part, so I definitely went into some horrible stuff in the world of acting.
The whole series has an undertone of moral dilemma, not only for you, but also for the character of Iris. What do you hope the audience takes from the series?
I hope they understand that every person lives with dilemmas, every person has horrible choices to make. They can hopefully watch this show and think, “OK, maybe my life isn’t as hard as it sometimes seems.” That's definitely one aspect.
But I also just hope they will enjoy the ride, enjoy the thriller, the action and the hunt for Iris. And maybe they will rewind and watch some scenes again to fully understand. It is a journey without a doubt.