Speak Swedish to me, part II

I've had a couple of days of hiatus due to bad health, but I'm back now and will try to keep up the tempo over here. The summer is usually a time of vacation also for politics, but rest assured there will be other things to ponder.

A couple of days ago I wrote about Swedish actors in Hollywood, and their sometimes inclination to speak the native tongue as part of their roles, something which Americans of course don't hear every day. I mentioned True Blood as a good example of this, and the character Eric played by Alexander Skarsgård. I now found a clip on youtube which shows the longest segment of Swedish probably in American TV (and movie) history. Over 4 minutes of Swedish dialog when Eric thinks back to his viking-past and how he became a vampire. Scandinavians as vikings is probably the most common image displayed in North America, but not in this way. What is additionally interesting (and entertaining) about this clip is that the Swedish dialog sounds really stiff and quite bad actually. Despite Skarsgård's participation it almost doesn't sound as if a single Swede has been involved in either the writing or the acting, which is very odd for a TV-show that excels in both areas. Anyway, it is very entertaining. Enjoy.

Speak Swedish to me

Swedish actor Peter Stormare is back on the American scene after some hiatus. According to Entertainment Weekly he is to star in the popular TV-show "Weeds", depicting a hot-tempered German chef. Stormare is no stranger to playing other nationalities, acting as a Russian astronaut in the blockbuster "Armageddon" and an Israeli security expert on one episode of "Entourage".

Stormare is one the more famous Swedes to star in American TV and movies of the past fifteen years, and as mentioned Swedish media always love to report on Swedish success in the US. The largest happening involving Peter Stormare was probably when he spoke (cursed) a few words of Swedish in "Jurassic Park 2", a big moment for our small country that not go many by. The same happened when Alexander Skarsgård. starring as Scandinavian vampire Eric in "True Blood", spoke Swedish on a number episodes. Exotic to Americans, patriotic to Swedes.