An International Delight

Carsten Norgaard certainly personifies the “world wide” aspect of the World Wide Web. 

Born in Frederiksberg, Denmark, he studied in London at The Actors Centre and has worked in Danish, German and Swedish television and film productions. He can currently be seen co-starring in two series streamed online: Amazon Studios’ The Man in the High Castle and the Danish dramedy Rita, available in the U.S. on Netflix with English subtitles.

The Man in the High Castle, Amazon’s most-streamed original series, takes place in 1962 and is based on the Philip K. Dick novel about an alternative reality where the Axis powers won World War II and the United States is ruled by the Nazis and the Japanese. Norgaard plays a double agent who poses as a Swedish businessman named Victor Baynes but who is really troubled Nazi Colonel Rudolph Wegener, trying to make amends for his wartime atrocities.

Norgaard’s first role in the United States, which proved to be a breakout, was as a villainous Icelandic hockey coach in the 1994 Disney film D2: The Mighty Ducks. He has appeared in  NBC’s Grimm, Fox’s Sleepy Hollow and CBS’s Person of Interest, NCIS: Los Angeles and The Unit and co-starred in the miniseries Air Force One is Down.

He also co-produced the 2001 indie film The Gristle, the first film ever financed with a bank loan backed by the SBA (Small Business Administration).

Q:  Playing a Nazi is, by its very nature, dramatic. What was it like for you, especially on location in Berlin?

A: Considering the history of what went on in the ’30s and ’40s, and to have all the paraphernalia, all the cars. …That part of Berlin was shut off so that we could shoot. At the time, I was in full regalia, wearing a coat till I stepped out. It’s strong imagery, embedded in people’s minds.

Wearing the costume [based on the real-life Nazi uniform, complete with swastika armband, re-created by costume designer Audrey Fisher] is just very powerful. It has a very imposing feeling. It was a scary time, and the imagery stands out a lot. Those designers at the time sure knew how to make the outfit imposing. I think Audrey Fisher did an amazing job.

Q: You shot a climactic scene opposite a very-much-alive but aged Adolf Hitler (played by Wolf Muser), in a former Nazi building in Berlin. How was that?

A: The entrance down to his lair, so to speak, the way it was dressed, and knowing Hitler had been in that building, was eerie. Granted [for this show] he was a fictitious evil figure, but just the fact that you had to meet him was a very big task. It was daunting, and eerie.

I don’t want to say more about the scene, because in this new world of binge-watching, I have friends who have said, “Please, please, don’t tell me the story.” They don’t want to get spoilers. But you think about it as you progress – it’s on a need to know basis, so you get the next script, and the next and the next, and you think, “What’s it all going to lead to?”

Q: Your character is very nuanced – he’s not an out-and-out Nazi villain. He’s a Nazi with a conscience, if that’s possible. How do you see him?

A:  It’s a complicated character. Obviously, he’s deeply flawed. He’s done terrible things. The guilt weighs heavily upon him and has made a mess of his family life. His effort to avert a war between the Nazi and the Japanese empires is an attempt to make up for things, at atonement.

The horrible irony is that people live in a world or  system that’s cruel and awful yet still manage to defend it to themselves that they’re doing the right thing.

Q: That’s the case with Obergruppenführer John Smith (played by Rufus Sewell), a Nazi leader with whom your character reunites; you share a holiday meal with Smith and his family at their home on Long Island. There’s more nuance to your scenes with him.

A:  We spoke at length, Rufus and I, and also had long conversations with [creator-executive producer] Frank Spotnitz. We agreed that less is more. [In a scene,] we’re sitting around, having a glass of American whiskey. We’re speaking in code. This is the first time Smith has faced someone who is not a subordinate; they’re on equal footing and friends. Rudolph is able to push the issues.

There is so much subtext, in these pleasant homely surroundings. Ultimately, it leads up to a betrayal. There is a lot there.

Q: You and Rufus chose an interesting way to help bond off-camera, when you were on location in Vancouver. …

A: We did a hike, a very steep walk called the “Grouse Grind.” Its elevation goes from 1000 to about 4000 feet. It’s the steepest hike I’ve ever done. Rufus and I tackled that hike, a good, formidable hike, and it helped. It was a different way of breaking bread together. We also spent time going to dinner together and building from there.

Q: How was working on an Amazon Studios project different from other projects?

A: The inclusiveness: Amazon’s approach of having the audience vote on the pilot carried over to the freedom that Amazon bestowed on the project, that allowed an organic creativity to flow. Everybody collaborated and communicated.

Q: You had already been on a series that’s been streamed: the Danish TV series Rita, available in the U.S. on Netflix. Have you gotten U.S. fans from that show? Who is your character, Tom?

A: I think Rita has been well received by critics and fans alike – great storytelling, whether film or television, no matter the language transcends borders. It's an edgy, no-holds-barred dramedy, about Rita, a school teacher who's in a way a Joan of Arc for her kids.

Tom was Rita's first love; after 20 years of their not seeing each other, Tom's daughter moves in with her boyfriend – who turns out to be Rita's son. The old flames now get a second chance to observe one another in very close quarters.

Q: Indeed, you’ve had a very international life and career – born in Denmark, studied in London, worked in the U.S., Denmark, Germany and elsewhere. Do different countries have different styles of acting and production, and if so, how does that influence you when you move from role to role? And what about acting in different languages – does your background help you?

A: Budgets and production size are in general smaller in Europe than in the U.S., which means that stories are more character-driven. As for acting, I find actors have passion for their craft no matter where they live and work, and it's a blessing to get to act and move audiences in different languages. The inclusiveness and collaboration I experienced on The Man in the High Castle give for a fertile creative ground and are probably more of a European approach.

Q: What attracted you to acting in the first place, and why did you choose to study in London?

A: I've always, since I was very young, loved movies as a medium; great acting and filmmaking can transport you to a different place and a different universe. [Hans Christian] Andersen said, "To Travel is to live." London was away from home, but close enough to jump back if it didn't work out.

Q:  It certainly has worked out! Any last thoughts on The Man in the High Castle?

A: I think it’s a story of friendship and love – love for people, love for one’s country, sacrifice, betrayal, but also, hope. Seeing what’s happened in Paris, San Bernardino, Brussels, brings a lot of fear. I think this show manages to bring out the fear, but ultimately, there is hope. Even in the darkest times, people move on.