SETTING SAIL

Lucas Lynggard Tønnesen is coming into his own. Already a household name in his native Denmark, after making his acting debut as the imaginative kid, Buster, in the 2009 production of the “Cirkus Summarum” - the Danish Musical & Circus for kids - he broke through in 2018 with his portrayal of Rasmus in the Scandi dystopian drama “The Rain”. This year he’ll appear in Danish political drama “Borgen – Power & Glory,” and stars as part of the stacked cast of Netflix’s new epic multilingual period mystery-horror series set at sea, “1899”. On a phone call from a little cafe in Copenhagen close to where he lives, the 21-year-old tells us about loving the 80s, crying at sad films and being able to do a backflip, I mean I don’t know about you, but that’s a dating bio keeper right there… and he’s single too.

When did you know that acting was going to be your career path, what lit the fire for you?

I think when I was young and in Cirkus Summarum really, as I was singing and dancing as well as acting. I had so much energy when I was a child, so to have a place like that to go and really be able to express myself and use all that energy, it was what really made me feel I want to get into acting.

Did you go to the movies a lot as a kid, what was the film you knew from start to finish, or the lead actor you wanted to be?

My Father and Uncle used to really love The Goonies and we would watch that when I was younger and I loved that cast. I really liked the ‘Hey You Guys’, actor, John Matuszak, who played the disfigured sloth, I couldn’t believe that was actually an actor playing the guy who was made up, I thought that was pretty cool.

Left Full look **Prada** & jewelry **Slim Barrett**
Right Full look Celine Homme

So tell me about your latest projects?

Well “Borgen” is coming out, and also I’m going to look very different in “1899”, as I’m wearing prosthetics for the character I play. It was really hard because I had to wake up at 3am every day to get into 3 and a half hours of make up! Thankfully I had a great relationship with the Special FX artists, and being in that chair getting ready really gave me the time to focus myself and concentrate on getting into character.

Do you get nervous before you start filming a new role?

You know, I remember doing three seasons of “The Rain”, and getting into the second and third season, I really took that time as an opportunity to home-school myself, and learn more, and understand about making mistakes, and trying things out, so I can be much more confident, and I can proclaim the things that I do much more.

I felt more confident working on the show “Borgen”, while also shooting “1899” simultaneously, and I really gave them both my all, and I think getting closer with the director and cast mates has really helped my whole working process.

What kind of roles do you want to play, perhaps a comedy - or are you attracted more to darker material?

I think a mixture, but there is something with dark characters that just compels me, maybe because I’m such a positive guy myself, so playing the opposite of myself brings out something in me that I didn’t know was there, and I always like to search for those kind of parts. Although I have this sense or feeling in me that I also really want to do a romantic film, I think maybe I have something in my heart that I need to get out there!

Left Coat **Emporio Armani**
Right T-shirt **Dior** & pants **Dunhill**

Oh really, so any ideas who might play your love interest on screen?

Hmm, I think whoever could serve the character well I guess, I mean I think Meryl Streep is great, but come on, it doesn’t have to be a romance story, it could be a love-based relationship, like a story about how I really love my Grandmother Meryl, ha ha!

Nicely swerved Lucas! Ok, what about being a Superhero?

I feel like I’ve done my superhero time already, so I would rather play a villain to be honest, unless they decide to recast Spiderman, then obviously I’m always available.

Maybe a movie musical, harking back to your circus singing days?

Well I also went to singing school when I was younger for six years before I performed in the circus show, and so I would love to maybe bring back what I think I still have, which has been hidden away, for a long time! I’m not sure though, but I wouldn’t say it’s completely out of the question. Maybe a singing villain!

Jacket, knitwear, pants **Givenchy** & boots **Dr. Martens**

Or perhaps a real person, like an iconic legend we all know, who would you totally love to portray on screen?

There’s a really cool poet in Denmark I think you might know, Hans Christian Andersen, and I would love to play him, in his early days in his 20s.

Well of course he wrote the iconic folktale Emperor's New Clothes, who spent all his money on being well dressed. Are you into fashion yourself?

Yes I guess, I like what I like, and my attitude is really based around wear whatever you want. I like doing photo shoots when I can choose what pieces are really “me” and which aren’t, and finding out what kind of style I can really challenge myself with.

I don’t like asking the who’s-your-favourite-actor question all the time, so I’ll frame it like this: Is there an actor’s career out there that you would model yourself on, follow in the footsteps of?

Paul Dano and also Robert Pattinson, I’m a huge fan. You know he started out in Twilight and Harry Potter and then progressed to become one of the coolest indie actors from all his arthouse films, and now he’s fucking Batman! You know, it’s just so amazing to see his progress.

Left Leather jacket and boots **Celine Homme**, shirt **Paul Smith** & jeans **AMI**
Right Shirt **Loewe**

You know he studied a vampire bat to prep for his role as Batman! How do you prep when you’re getting ready for a role. Do you ever listen to music to help inform a character you’re about to play?

I like to get into the vibe of the project and I often create a playlist to help me focus and get into that mood and have a feeling of what I’m going into, and who I’m going to be.

I’m imagining something dark and deep going by your roles so far, so not Britney Spears?

Ha ha, definitely not Britney! I love 80s music, that was the real primetime of music bangers I think.

Full look **Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello**

So outside of work, what do you do in your spare time, I heard you like Chess, did you watch The Queens Gambit?

I really love Chess, and I only saw the first two episodes of that show, so I didn’t really give it my full attention, but I’ve heard from my friends that play, that it’s a good show paying enough respect to the game so people who don’t really know Chess can follow along. I like to play Paddle Tennis too, it’s a really cool sport.

I also read that you spent some of lockdown interior designing your apartment in Copenhagen. Have you seen the Interior and Films Instagram account, which basically shows every cool film set interior ever seen - if you could match your home with any set, what would it be?

Ex Machina, clean clean clean, I like really minimal interiors!

Well that’s typically Scandi chic of you! So would you swap minimalist Copenhagen for maximalist Hollywood, move there if the movie roles start flooding in?

It depends on the project, but if it’s cool and I like the character, then I wouldn’t say no, but it’s not really where my focus is right now.