{"id":424236,"date":"2026-01-19T23:28:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T23:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/424236\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T23:28:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T23:28:08","slug":"bryan-cranston-hosts-sentimental-value-love-in-for-stellan-skarsgard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/424236\/","title":{"rendered":"Bryan Cranston Hosts Sentimental Value Love-In For Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSentimental Value<\/a>\u00a0filmmaker Joachim Trier<\/a>, fresh from the film\u2019s triumph at the European Film Awards, told Deadline that a \u201cEuropean coalition of the willing\u201d had ensured the picture got made.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Norwegian director said that he was \u201cvery proud to see also a lot of local European support for the film.\u201d Echoing themes similar to those reported over the weekend from Germany by Melanie Goodfellow, my Deadline colleague, Trier realized when he was at the awards ceremony that \u201cthis is a Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, French, German, British co-production. Who would have thought Europe united in the movies?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing the film\u2019s wild reception at the Cannes Film Festival last May, where it received a 19-minute ovation, I remember queuing up for the after-party with Eva Yates, director of BBC Film,\u00a0who seemed thrilled that she and her team had backed the film.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey were very supportive,\u201d Trier said of BBC Film\u2019s involvement. \u201cVery, very smart people when it comes to script and editing and creative input, and really also very generous and respectful. So I found that collaboration very valuable and it made it possible for us to have more money and work more with the actors and have more on the screen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTrier said that\u00a0Sentimental Value\u00a0has done tremendously well \u201cbeyond what we had dreamt of and we\u2019re so grateful for that,\u201d marking a lot of that down to \u201clocal distribution, that each country has someone that says, \u2018We\u2019ll fight for this one.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe continued: \u201cYesterday, I felt this embrace from a community outside of Norway. And my joke is that Norway is the suburbs of Europe. So for me, I\u2019ve learned from this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWe were chatting at London\u2019s Soho Hotel following an awards Q&A session attended by Trier and Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd<\/a>, moderated by\u00a0Breaking Bad\u2019s\u00a0Bryan Cranston<\/a>, who described himself as the \u201cfan of fans\u201d of Trier\u2019s sublime film.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t(L\/R) Bryan Cranston, Joachim Trier, and Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd share a joke. Baz Bamigboye\/Deadline<\/p>\n

\n\tTrier and Skarsg\u00e5rd had been in Berlin, where\u00a0Sentimental Value\u00a0won European Film Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenwriter for Trier and Eskil Vogt, Best European Actor and Best European Actress for Skarsgard and Renate Reinsve respectively, and Best Score for Hania Rani.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0With aplomb, Cranston cited scenes from the movie and it was clear that he was indeed the \u201cfan of fans\u201d in a big way, and how struck he was by the film\u2019s story about Gustav Borg, a once storied Norwegian filmmaker played by Skarsg\u00e5rd, a proud Swede, who attempts to re engage with his two adult daughters; Nora an actor, payed by Reinsve; and Agnes, an academic historian played by Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, following the death of their mother, from whom he was divorced.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film delves deep into the generational trauma that troubles the wounded father and his psychologically injured offspring. The family drama is underpinned by the vicissitudes inherent in moviemaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tTrier has suggested that perhaps a background of trauma is a requirement for making movies.<\/p>\n

\n\tAddressing the audience, Cranston likened\u00a0Sentimental Value\u00a0to \u201cone of those Russian dolls that you open it up, and there\u2019s another thing inside another. It\u2019s like a film of a film of a film. And there\u2019s so many personal and intimate items to it that I related to being in this business and my father being in this business and my daughter being in this business. So it was multi-generational,\u201d he said. Cranston was referring to his late father, actor Joe Cranston and to daughter Taylor Dearden, who plays Dr. Melissa King on\u00a0The Pitt.<\/p>\n

\n\tCranston was eager to know how Trier and Vogt had come up with the storyline.<\/p>\n

\n\tTrier told Cranston that he\u2019d had an idea about two grown-up sisters negotiating narratives. Trier\u2019s fond of quoting Joan Didion\u2019s famous observation that\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe tell ourselves stories in order to live.\u201d He explained: \u201dI think there\u2019s something fundamental about having a story to try to understand yourself. The sense of identity is a story. It\u2019s a narrative. Who am I because of this and that? <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAnd it changes and grows and changes again. And now I\u2019ve become a father, I have two daughters that are very young. And so I feel responsible\u2026I\u2019ve been a child in a film family and I know how much it takes out of your parents to make movies. And I\u2019m asking that question, why did I have children quite late in life and my anxiety of kind of being Gustav Borg?<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAnd then I start by thinking he\u2019s kind of like a difficult asshole, but then I thought I actually also love something. [\u201cHe\u2019s a lovable asshole,\u201d Cranston chimed]\u2026And how do I make that work? Then I knew I had one man in the world,\u201d he said pointing to Skarsg\u00e5rd seated on his left. \u201cSo I flew to Sweden,\u201d to visit with him.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJoachim Trier and Renate Reinsve pose at 38th European Film Awards in Berlin <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAndreas Rentz\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tThe\u2019d never met or spoken before, although Trier had seen the actor at a party but was too shy to approach him. Skarsg\u00e5rd said that he\u2019d been waiting a long time for Trier to call him. \u201dIt took some time,\u201d Skarsg\u00e5rd said, mocking at being affronted.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFinally, he called,\u201d but the actor said he was a little coy in responding.\u00a0\u201c\u2019Oh yeah, so what do you want?\u2019 But eventually we sort of \u2026 We have two versions of this, but my version is that we were sort of like dogs sniffing each other,\u201c he said as his nose drifted upwards.<\/p>\n

\n\tTrier did a double-take and exclaimed, \u201cThat\u2019s Stellan\u2019s version!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSkarsg\u00e5rd revealed that he didn\u2019t have to read Trier\u2019s script in the same way that he would never read a screenplay by Lars von Trier or Martin Scorsese, his reason being that \u201cgood directors, they\u2019re really rare\u2026even if the role isn\u2019t that good, I mean, you get a good experience from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCranston asked Skarsg\u00e5rd if he\u2019d needed to research the role or was it just like slipping on \u201ca pair of comfortable shoes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNot necessarily, Skarsg\u00e5rd said. \u201dI knew things about the [movie] business and stuff, but he could be a painter, he could be a musician. The problem is that he\u2019s an artist and he\u2019s trying to combine art with a private life. It didn\u2019t take much imagination to do him, but the hard thing is always to find the life in him, to find the nuances, and to find the irrational moments that you can\u2019t plan that bring him to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJoachim Trier and Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd. Baz Bamigboye\/Deadline<\/p>\n

\n\tCranston\u2019s currently starring in a critically acclaimed revival of Arthur Miller\u2019s drama\u00a0All My Sons\u00a0at Wyndham\u2019s Theatre with an ensemble that features Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Paapa Essiedu, Tom Glynn-Carney, and Hayley Squires, all on top form.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the topic of live theater, Cranston had \u201ca bone to pick\u201d with Trier about Gustav Borg\u2019s disdain for the stage. He wanted to know if that was Trier\u2019s \u201cown personal feeling?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTrier admitted that \u201cI\u2019m a film guy 100%,\u201d but said that he attended theater shows regularly with his wife, who is an architect who sometimes works as a stage production designer. \u201cSo I know that world quite well and adore it. I wouldn\u2019t know how to direct anything without a camera being present. So I\u2019m very restricted. Forgive me. But I\u2019m also the person that weeps at the end even of a bad play because I love actors getting on stage,\u201d Trier told Cranston in mitigation.<\/p>\n

\n\tA bemused Skarsg\u00e5rd said that he \u201cloves\u201d theater but admits that it can \u201cbe difficult.\u201d Then he added: \u201cTheater\u2026when it\u2019s good, it\u2019s the best thing in the world. It\u2019s amazing, and it so rarely is. It\u2019s very hard to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring a conversation I had with the actor after the Q&A, he clarified that he\u2019s a supporter of the stage, having spent 18 years early on in his career playing all the classics from \u201cShakespeare to Strindberg and all the plays in between.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tStellan Skarsg\u00e5rd. Baz Bamigboye\/Deadline<\/p>\n

\n\tBack on stage at the Soho Hotel, Cranston asked whether Skarsg\u00e5rd\u2019s own personal life, as the father of eight children, had shaped his performance as Gustav Borg in any way?<\/p>\n

\n\tSkarsg\u00e5rd said it had no bearing on how he played Borg. In fact, he noted that since 1989, he has cut down the number of months he works in a year to spend time helping to raise his children. \u201cSo I\u2019ve been changing diapers and wiping asses,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBut the thing is, I also brought my family on locations, if I could, and I took the kids and somebody to teach them school or whatever, put them in school when I was traveling. So they saw a lot of places and missed a lot of school,\u201d Skarsg\u00e5rd added.<\/p>\n

\n\tCranston asked Skarsgard for his thoughts about awards season and what it has meant for\u00a0Sentimental Value\u00a0and himself.<\/p>\n

\n\tSkarsg\u00e5rd said: \u201cIt has two sides of it. I mean, on one hand you appreciate the love of your peers and of the audiences and everything, and especially when you\u2019re with a film like this, because it gets very warm response and it gets interesting discussions. But on one side, as an actor, you\u2019re a whore. You sell yourself to a director and you go all the way in and you go, \u2018Yeah, yeah, exactly. I\u2019m down. I\u2019m that guy.\u2019 But you\u2019re more whore than ever when you\u2019re doing publicity and that is a little painful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThere was much nodding of agreement onstage and off with at least one of Skarsg\u00e5rd\u2019s sentiments.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe three men on stage then engaged in a conversation about the film\u2019s \u201cbeautifully delicate ending,\u201d as Cranston put it, that offers a sense of reconciliation. No spoilers from me because the film\u2019s still out there in theaters \u2013 Neon released it in the U.S., while MUBI, who hosted the screening with DDA Global, has the film in\u00a0UK cinemas.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0\u00a0Wrapping up the Q&A, Cranston borrowed a line that Elle Fanning\u2019s character, a Hollywood star, utters. \u201cAfter she saw Gustav\u2019s film she says, \u2018Oh, they just don\u2019t make movies like this anymore.\u2019 And the same could be said for\u00a0Sentimental Value. They don\u2019t make movies like this anymore, but yet they do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sentimental Value\u00a0filmmaker Joachim Trier, fresh from the film\u2019s triumph at the European Film Awards, told Deadline that a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,222989,57644,201176,447,134,86036,86038,86039],"class_list":{"0":"post-424236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-awards-news","11":"tag-awardsdialogue","12":"tag-bryan-cranston","13":"tag-celebrities","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-joachim-trier","16":"tag-sentimental-value","17":"tag-stellan-skarsgu00e5rd"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}