Nikolaj Coster Waldau could have lost winter when Game of Thrones ended in 2019, but the Danish star put his hand up in the snow to continue his latest adventure “Against the Ice.”
The film is now available on Netflix. It follows the adventures of Ejnar Mikkelsen of Denmark, who was an explorer, captain and author who set out to find the journals and maps of the failed Artic expedition that had been unsuccessful a few years earlier. The dispute over Northeast Greenland was at stake, which the United States claimed. The Dutch attempted to invalidate it by proving Greenland was an island. Mikkelsen was accompanied by his two sled dogs, and an inexperienced mate for the mission that became more difficult.
This is a project that Coster-Waldau has worked on for nearly a decade. Peter Flinth, a school friend, sent Mikkelsen the book “Two Against the Ice” for consideration. Flinth was told about the book by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who suggested to Flinth that it could make a great movie. Coster-Waldau was open to the idea and starred in the movie. He also co-wrote it with Joe Derrick, his long-time friend and collaborator.
It was a long and difficult journey. In a recent interview, Coster-Waldau (51), said that it was difficult to adapt the book. I love survival stories and explorers who travel to unexplored places. It’s exciting. It was an interesting combination that really grabbed my attention. Normally, both men would share the same dreams and hopes. But here, one was an explorer and the other was a mechanic. It is this difference that saves them.
The filming was done on location, mostly on glaciers in Iceland and Greenland. They used minimal CGI. The filmmakers advised Joe Cole to play Mikkelsen’s green companion Iver Iversen. (There was a bus that people could use to escape the elements, but there were no personal trailers for the glacier.
Netflix sent a note to Netflix regarding footage that had been viewed. They were concerned that the snow and ice was too much. However, they didn’t realize that this was not makeup or effects. It was actually real. Funny thing is, Coster-Waldau claimed that his fur period costumes were warmer than the modern artic gear many of the crew wore.
Flinth and Coster-Waldau are thrilled to make the film their debut. They brought one of their student short films from New York to New York over 30 years ago in hopes that it would open Hollywood’s doors. Some friends came along and they were able to get a screening room on Broadway. Although it was a great night, it wasn’t exactly a career-changing event. It made the Paris Theater’s premiere of “Against the Ice”, a play by long-time friends, even more meaningful.
Flinth stated that “the fact that Nikolaj, me and the story continued to be worked on for so many years is evidence that there was enough material and substance in it to make it into an excellent movie.”
Friendship is a central theme in the entire project. This is evident in both the story and the fact that CosterWaldau was joined by Derrick in forming Ill Kippers Productions. D.B. He was inspired to create the company after seeing Weiss and D.B.
He said, “I was like, wow. Imagine going to work every single day with your best friend.”
While “Game of Thrones,” was a popular show in the culture, Coster-Waldau knew that there were other things to do than Jaime Lannister. After being a star in his home country, he started working on HBO at the age of 41. He had also had many disappointments and big breaks in Hollywood. He found out that he had booked a pilot on dragons while on vacation. It turned out to be the best-case scenario, even though it may not have looked like it at first.
He was a household name in America thanks to “Game of Thrones”, which gave him stability and renown. He was still working on other projects even after the eight-season series. He doesn’t have to film in Belfast for a few months and has more time to write.
Acting is my passion. He said that he loves acting and getting work as an actor. “But what we do now is so much more fun and so fascinating, just to get into the beginning of a tale and help create it.”
Next, he will be starring in a multi-part Audible drama Derrick wrote. It will debut sometime in May. It’s an “old-school radio play,” he says. But, he is enjoying the moment with “Against The Ice.”
He said, “There’s just such a feeling of accomplishment and pride in making this movie. It was not an easy movie to make.” “Our ambitions were so high.”
