25. 5. 2018

Children´s opening film Falcons

The film Falcons launched Zlin Film Festival. Read the interview with main child actor.

INTERVIEW WITH LÚKAS EMIL JOHANSEN

How do you feel about coming to the Czech Republic?

I’m very excited. I usually get flight-sick but it is totally worth it. I’ve heard it is a beautiful country. For me it is also a great opportunity to attend the Zlín Film Festival. When I was three years old I decided to become an actor, and now I’m officially an actor. Maybe not the one with the most experience, but when you do a movie like that and attend a film festival like this, it is definitely the real thing. I never expected to be here, but yet I’m here and only thirteen years old. I’m achieving my dream right now.

How do you think it will look like in Iceland during the World Championship? Is Iceland crazy about football right now?

Iceland is a football nation, and the support for the Icelandic team has been growing since our men´s national team made it to the European Championship in 2016 where we managed to beat England 2-1. The women’s national team took part in the European Championship a couple of times, and now the men’s national team is going to compete at the World Cup, which is our greatest success so far. There we will play against the biggest football player of all time, in my opinion, Lionel Messi. So I would say yes, people’s interest in football have never been greater. It doesn’t even matter if you like football or not, you will be supporting our team. We are not the biggest nation, we are not the strongest team, but we have a will power and stand together.

Are you yourself a football player? Who is your favourite football team?

Yes I am. I have been training since I was six years old, with my local club, KR. When I grow up I want to be either a football player or an actor. Beside KR, I support Liverpool and Barcelona. Once I went to Anfield and saw Liverpool win Tottenham.

What was the shooting like? Did you stay friends with other actors?

It was the biggest adventure of my life. This movie combines my dreams, football and acting, so I had been longing for this role for a long time. And I enjoyed every minute of the process. It was seven weeks of shooting and I loved every day. The other kids were great, and the crew was great. We stayed in Westman-Islands for a few weeks, and we were just friends. All of us. Of course, when we were tired and in shooting for so long, some issues came up but it was never a problem. Nothing that matters. They are all great and I’m thankful for their friendship. As for the grown up actors, I’m just grateful for being able to work with people with experience and education.

Is there any take (scene) you will never forget? Any funny moments from the set?

I actually thought I would die on set. I’m not joking, but maybe I was a little dramatic. It was a scene where we are on a boat. I was so sea-sick I thought I would throw up, but I wasn’t allowed to leave the boat. I had to be there. But that was not the worst part. When we were finishing, all the crew left the boat, and it was just us, the actors and the captain. It was the last take of the day, and they were using drones. So we sailed into a cave, like we were supposed to, but when we were heading back to the island, we crashed the cave. One of the actors, the one who plays our coach, Óli Gunnar Gunnarsson, immediately started to push the boat back from the walls inside the cave, but I was so afraid that I couldn’t move. The mast broke down, and a part of the boat broke off, but thankfully it turned out ok. I called my mother that night and told her that I almost died.

About the funny moments, there were some moments when everyone on set just laughed. We were always joking about something.