Q & A/LENA OLIN:Actress Suggested Playing Two Roles.

Q&A/Lena Olin:

Actress suggested Playing two roles.

Chicago Tribute:

Long before She made her way to Hollywood,Swedish actress Lena oLin honed her skills under the direction of Ingmar Bergman at Stockholm´s Royal Dramatic Theatre.

Lena Olin comienzos

After mastering Shakespearen classies onstage and earning starter roles in European films,Olin´s breaktrough performance in The Unbearable Lightness of Being(1988) created an international buzz loud enough to ture her from Europe to the United States.

Lena Olin:1988

She stars with Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes in The Reader as Holocaust survivor Ilana Mather,as well as her mother,Rose Mother,in the film´s 1960s flashbacks.

Originally cast solely for the role of Ilana,Olin suggested to director Stephen Daldry that She play both daughter and mother.

Lena Olin:Ilana and Rose

Q:Before reading David Hare´s screenplay,were you familiar with Bernhard Schlink´s book,Der Vorleser on which it´s based?

A:Yes, I had read the book years ago.It´s a popular book in Germany.

Al most every other person had read it,and it´s been a best-seller in Europe.It´s a story about a Nazi, basically,who has a Love affair with an underage German boy.It´s extremely complicated.

As I read the book,I thought it almost would not be possible to work as a film.But when I watch the movie,it becomes more powerful to see these characters as people of flesh and blood,and I have a better understanding of what they are going through.

Q:How did you wind up playing both he modern-day Ilana Mather and her Mother?

A:I was so moved by the character of the mother and her testimony and the trial,I got this idea a that it could be so interesting to play the mother and the child.

We inherit the joy and pain of our Lives,and it flows through generations,so it just seemed like a nice idea.

Q:In the trailers,Ilana Mather is portrayed almost as Fiennes´psychologist:a wealthy,powerful woman interviewing him from her couch.

A:I´ve heard that before;it seems that way.But when Stephen(Daldry)approached me with this role,he wanted to portray another kind of survivor-someone who´s meved on.

She´s a victim of the Holocaust herself,and I think that was very important to Stephen and my self to portray someone who had moved on.

Obviously,her insides have been torn apart,and She grew up in hell and carries the pain.

But She´s made a life for herself:She lives in a beautiful apartament and has a very successful life.

At the end(of the film)when you meet this woman,David wanted a shot of a regular survivor,he wanted the audience to see someone…..who has done well with her life.

Q:When you starred in Alias,you were so good at being bad.Even for the role of Ilana Mather,your character is embittered and unflinching.

A:Everyone is complicated but it´s interesting to dig into a complicated characted,to try to find that within yourself.I couldn´t say that I prefer one over the other,but I love to play complicated characters.

Lena Olin:2008

LENA OLIN IN THE READER PREMIER…….

“Lena Olin:Biography 4º parte”

In a 2005 MEA interview during the production of “Casanova” Lena spoke of what it was like to work with Lasse:

“He is very honest with booth me and the others,and I can ask him about anything.And  he is always calm.This morning things were a bit chaotic before we started filming,because the water  had risen to such a high level that the extras couldn`t get here.But Lasse was calm.And because he is calm,everyone else is calm too.He knows exactly what he wants to achieve and how to archive it.Which has the side effect that when we get home at night,we don`t talk shop.A short reflection about one of the scenes maybe,that`s it”.

Following the amazing success of the critically acclaimed “Chocolat”,Lena proved to be just as prolific in the new millennium as She had been in the 1990`s,starring as a jederal judge in 2001`s “Ignition”,opposite Bill Pullman,as a vampire in Michael Kymer`s 2002 production of the Anne Rice novel “Queen of  the Damned”.

Lena Olin:Chocolat

A nurse in  denial over the odd-happenings withion her own home in the horror film Darkness,a devastated mother in “The United States of Leland”,and a psychic radio talk show host in Ron Shelton`s blockbuster,”Hollywood Homicide” in 2003…..

Lena Olin:Ignition

Roles as varied and multi-faceted as Lena is herself.And like her films in the 1990`s while neither necessareily success ful in the box-office nor with the critics,Lena gave every thing She had to each performance,leaving no doubt as to her rangeor abilities.

The quintessential role of her career(since The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Enemies,A love Story)would surprisinghy come on the small screen.

Lena Olin:Queen of the Damned

In 2002 Lena signed on as a regular cast member of J.J Abram`s hit television series,Alias.Having seen her as Mona Demarkov in “Romeo Is Bleeding” years before,Abrams Knew that She`d be perfect in the role of series´star,Sydney Bristow`s(played by Jennifer Garner) mother,Irina Derevko.

Lena Olin:Irina Derevko-Alias

Drevko was a former KGB spy sent to the United States in the 1970`s to seduce and marry a CIA agent,steal his secrets and help mother Russia win the cold war.

After faking her death in a car crash,Derevko returned home and eventually began her own empire as “The Man”,a mafia leader and terrorist,who resurfaces in her family`s life unexpectedly,leaving everyone guessing as to what her true intentions are.

Lena Olin:Irina and Jack

In a 2002 Entertainment Weekly interview,Abrams Said,”This is a coup for us.Here is a woman who is so accesible and relatable and vulnerable,and at the same time,She is whip smart and could kick your ass faster than you blink”.

A hit with teens and twenty somethings,Lena`s fabulous portrayal of this enigmatic charater brought her to the attention of a whole new generation of fans,earming her a cult-like following of devotees…..attention that left the usually shy star a bit uncomfortable,as well as confused.(“…….it seems as people are suddenly reminded that I exist…”She was quoted as saying in a 2003 National Post interview)as to what all the fuss was about.

Lena Olin:Homenage

After just one seanson,Lena took some time off,preferring to spend more time with her family back on the east coast.The regular commute cross country had taken its toll,and there were other roles being offered to her that She wanted the time to pursue.Still,Lena would be a recurring cast member through the show`s five-season run,lending credibility to what would become second-rate by the end.

Lena Olin:Homenage

In 2005,Lena returned to Sweden to star in Danish director,Simon Staho`s,independent production “Bang Banmg Orangutang”,opposite Mikael Persbrandt,a favorite Swedish leading man,playing his estranged wife,coping with the loss of their young son in a freak automobile accident.

That same year,Lena hit the big screen in the United States in her second joint project with Lasse Hallstrom,playing a Venetian mother hell-bent on marrying her only daughter off to a wealthy merchant in the comedy “Casanova”,which also starred Heath Ledger,Sienna Miller and Jeremy Irons.

Lena Olin:Casanova

Having proved her comedic chops in the independent film “Polish Wedding”,Lena once again showed audiences that She was far from a “one-note”.

A favorite,not only with fans,but also with her co-stars,one role that you`ll never see herplay is that of “Diva”……unless of course the script calls for that.While She does enjoy the perks that come along with being an American film actress,Lena isn`t afraid to get down and dirty and just focus on the work….a trait that was proven whe  She was offered the role of Kathrym Vale in the upcoming independent production of “Devil you Know”.

Lena Olin:Devil you Know

The role had originally gone to Lesley- Anne Waren,but Warren was fired from the production after repeated complaints about the quality of her accommodations,ect.Gracious as ever,Lena stepped into the production and gave it her all,as always,not caring that the budget had no allowances for a team of stylist and assistants to trail her every move.No release date has been set at this time.

Immediately following “Devil you Know”,came another independent role in Awake,where She plays the mother of surgical patient(played by Hayden Christensen).