Coster-Waldau: Age helps you cope under pressure

By Paula Escalada Medrano

Madrid, Aug 20 (EFE).- Ambition, sacrifice and passion. Armed with these attributes, and a kitchen knife, Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has donned a chef’s jacket for his role in the movie A Taste of Hunger.

Coster-Waldau, famed for his role as Jaime Lannister in HBO’s Game of Thrones, told Efe in an interview that these qualities have some overlap when it comes to being an actor.

Directed by Christopher Boe, the A Taste of Hunger follows Carsten (Coster-Waldau) pursues his dream, along with his wife Maggi (Katrine Greis-Rosenthal), of landing a Michelin star. It is a quest that heaps strain on the entire family.

QUESTION: What kind of topics arise in this story about the competitive world of haute cuisine?

ANSWER: One of the things the movie talks about is how to combine two careers with family. Maggie at one point says ‘I want it all, why shouldn’t I have it all’ and that is a theme that a lot of people feel.

It is challenging no matter how you look at it. People work a lot and we all know that you have to nurse and love and take care of that, but sometimes that can be challenging. For these two people it is a bittersweet story because they experience this incredible passion and love and also success together professionally but it comes at a price that he clearly didn’t anticipate.

Q: How did you get an understanding of the world of gastronomy?

A: I was very lucky because here in Copenhagen we have a lot of great restaurants, some unique chefs and I was very lucky that I could meet a few. I spent the day with a guy called Rasmus Kofoed (chef at Geranium, three Michelin stars.)

I spent the day with him and it was more for me to understand his mindset and what it takes, but also to learn about the passion. Anyone who knows about the restaurant business knows how insane, intense it is.