Nikolaj Coster Waldau

Nikolaj: (his thoughts on immortality) I think immortality is if there's one thing that unites all of us, it's the fact that we're dying, and, for a lot of us, I think myself included, you look at he idea of death with some anxiety and fear. Of course, immortality, I guess, it's always been part of literature.

Nikolaj: (about what attracted him to accept the role on "New Amsterdam") I liked the script. I heard the concept first and I was a little, "does this mean I have to have false teeth and all," but then I read the script and I really liked it. You know that feeling. I went up in the attic the other day and I found old notebooks that I wrote when I was in my teens and, it was funny, because I kind of recognized the guy, but still, he was someone else.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau: In Denmark we get sent into war. We don't like to talk about it. We have soldiers in Iraq. I don't think that these men were ready to kill or get killed. But it's their job - the circumstances have changed.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau: Acting school is okay, but one simply doesn't learn certain things. You get an awareness of yourself, but, I think as an actor, you can only learn through experience. That's the way I see it.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau: Experience is the only way to learn as an actor.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau: One gets older and changes. I think that you get experienced in what you're doing, because you know how to do it. Nightwatch was my first real job as an actor. I didn't really know what I did - well, somehow I did know...but then I went on to explore acting. I mean I love to make films - it's my passion. It's getting more and more complicated once you understand the technical aspects - what the light is doing or the different camera lenses, just all the technical stuff. That knowledge makes it possible for me to be much more precise in my job.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau: It's about life or death, but in smaller proportions everyone has experienced it. You ask yourself 'Why do I do that?' and then you say yourself 'Because I have to pay a mortgage!' or 'I have to pay money for school!' And then you start thinking 'Is that all? Is that all what's life about?'

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau: (talking about the differences between working for Hollywood and Europe) Well, of course the budget for once. It's a big difference: You have to construct everything. You have to build everything yourself. In Hollywood, a film like this would take 70 days. But the story would have been black and white. In a Hollywood-movie there wouldn't be a character like mine: he's an executioner and kills a good guy. It was his friend, but nonetheless he has to kill him. A typical Hollywood actor wouldn't dare tackling such a role. He'd say 'I can't do this, I can't stand by this character.' That's the interesting thing which hopefully makes us think about our own lives. There are things in life which are not black or white, but gray. We don't want to do them, but we have to. We grow up, we have kids - suddenly life changes. That's exactly what happens with Martin: all of sudden he has a family. He has to feed them and the only job he gets is that of the executioner. He has to do it or his kids would starve. Of course this is a critical issue: How far you can act against your own principles.