Found TRAPPED on Netflix a last week, and have been so enjoying the setting, the amazing actors, the script, and the language! I don't speak Icelandic, but I do appreciate hearing and attending to the new sound structures of a language I'm just not used to hearing. I refuse to watch any of the Nordic TV series with the "English dubbing" - just hate how flat it all sounds. But part of the attraction of this particular series, has been the pacing....the long silences where the actors are using their faces and body language to communicate...and not rushing to fill the air with sound. It's very refreshing. I'm just starting the follow up series ENTRAPPED looking forward to it. And finally, I've enjoyed the other foreign language mystery series and continue to enjoy hearing the original languages. Thank you for the conversation with a truly great actor - and a bit of gentle giant!
I stumbled across Trapped by chance on Netflix. It is soooo good, and easy to follow the story with subtitles. Darri seems like such a humble and down-to-earth fellow. Thank you for sharing this interview :)
Great interview. I once met an Icelandic person who wasn't talented.... only kidding :-) I liked his use of the word 'fancy'. Such an appropriate word. That is the kind of use of English which many native speakers would not use. He speaks better English than many English people.
I am a trainee teacher at an Icelandic upper secondary level school and I cannot confirm what this Canadian guy was telling you. Granted, every now and then, you will hear the teenagers use an English word or even a sentence or two, but I have never witnessed a conversation between two native Icelandic speakers which was predominately in English outside from English classes or programmes which are taught in English (like IB Studies). The only exception I have heard about (but never witnessed myself) is that some autistic kids apparently prefer to speak English (manly those who are completely ingrained in video games), but that is about it. A much bigger issue in my opinion is that most Icelanders tend switch over to English as soon as they hear someone speaking with a foreign accent. This makes learning Icelandic extremely challenging for non-native speakers as they often have to remind native speakers to keep speaking Icelandic to them.
Regarding your comment about Icelandic teens switching to English, I have the same problem here when attempting to practice my Spanish. I am surrounded by native Spanish speakers, but they will immediately switch to English because my Spanish is so bad. One time I went to a Latino butcher shop as an exercise in my Spanish class and ended up having to wait 15 minutes while they ran to find the English speaker completely defeating my purpose! Haha! Maybe someday my Spanish will be good enough they will just continue to talk to me in Spanish. My daughter doesn't have the same problem because her Spanish is really good.
This was extremely good, Lamont. I'm sure Darri has been interviewed a great many times, but probably never with such a focus on linguistic matters. His comment about the cognitive difficulty of acting in a foreign language, even though you are fluent in it, was very interesting. It would be so interesting to hear what other performers who frequently act in their second language - like Stellan Skarsgård, Joel Kinnaman (whose father was American), or even Kristin Scott Thomas (who has lived in France for 40 years) - have to say about it.
I really want to get Alliette Oppheim on - she speaks Swedish mostly but I've heard her speak English in a few roles, but her acting in any language is INTENSE. Like when I see her upload pictures of her cat and stuff on Instagram I'm like "How do you just go back to being a normal person after acting like that?"
I've never seen "Trapped" but one of my favorite movies of all time is "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." And Ólafur plays the drunk helicopter pilot in that film. The entire film is populated by small roles with little screen time, but each of these characters feels so rich. Ólafur's character is easily the most memorable of these small roles. He has a little arc of grief that starts with him singing "don't you want me baby" and ends with him giving the main character a ride to a nearby ship. I'm honestly interested in watching "Trapped" now. He seems like a chill guy, and an incredible actor!
On a tangential note, you mention that not many people watch The Reyjyavik Review. I think that might be because it is currently set as "content for kids", which disables the ability for us to be notified when you post new content there. If you change that setting, I think your subscribers will see notifications.
@@daysandwords Okay, well maybe it's both 😂 But without notifications, we never know when you post something new there unless you mention it in this channel, and I forget to check it.
So, I just updated that setting. I had it set to "I want to review this setting for every video", but I think that would disallow notifications because it can't know that I am going to mark every video as "not made for children". The whole thing is a complete mess as it always is when governments intefere with things they know nothing about. Basically every TH-cam info channel has pointed out that it doesn't make things safer because it just means that with almost nothing being marked as appropriate for kids, kids will just BS about their age. I checked my 10 year old's account the other day and found that he was able to watch anything because he had set his age to 1999. There really needs to be a whole separate TH-cam for kids, somehow.
So many good points he/you made regarding the nordic aspects of speaking Swedish/Danish/Norwegian/Icelandic, language evolution, etc. I'll watch the full video in your other channel now. Amazing, thanks.
This interview was very interesting. I will only stop to react to a few aspects, other than that Darri's English and his arguments and observations are all great, and the interviewer did the his job perfectly. When I still lived in Finland, i.e. Helsingfors and Åbo, we used to discuss films, both the content and languages - quarreling about if an English movie had the correctly subtitled translations in both Finnish and Swedish, or not. Only later I learned that the translators had the problem of a very limited space for their translations, so their job was also about editing. However we could get very upset about translations that didn't get this or that right. Then, when I lived in Germany and all foreign films were dubbed, and no US actors sounded as they should, in their real voices familiar to me, only then I realized how much it means to the artistic value of a film to hear the real voices and see the actual sync between lips and facial movements, inflections, and the script. Subtitles are no doubt the way to handle movies for an adult audience, IMHO! In conversations in your second language (or third or fourth...) there is not only the problem that you might not yourself be so pleased, or sure, or rapid in giving your input or repartee, as in your first language, you might need to ask about an expression, too, but you feel it is also a problem that the listener doesn't hear you as the person you are to another person who shares your mother tongue and of the same level of verbal expression. In some instances it is awkward to sound less nuanced, educated, grown-up, intelligent (?) than you are used to be perceived. You also are up against all the language prejudice the listener has. It is hard on the ego. Well, I guess similar things limit acting in second languages. The more sublime the script, the worse.
Du måste definitivt se på Exit! Otroligt underhållande serie. Oerhört överdriven som han säger men det är också poängen, så om du gillar den typen av humor så rekommenderar jag den starkt.
Nice to hear that he feels at home in Scotland. Living in Sweden, I do think that, culturally, Scotland could fit quite well into the nordic group of nations.
Bahahaha I edited it and even I didn't notice how suddenly he switched. I think the connection lagged for like 2 frames that were perfectly timed so that you didn't see any transition whatsoever.
The Icelandic language is very different sounding to DA/SW/NO, but absolutely beautiful nonetheless. I have great love and admiration for my Icelandic brothers and believe their amazing culture, language and people deserve preservation and all the attention.
There is a sort of family feeling among Scandinavians, definitely. But I feel it both has to do with our position in the world when it comes to religion, economy, politics, climate, and culture, aswell as the fact that we simply come from small places and must therefore relate to bigger countries in our surroundings. I sort of feel the same sort of connection to some other "peripheral" small country in the world.
I watch everything, including stuff in English, with subtitles on it I can. My hearing isn't the best, plus shows have gotten horrible at equalization and you have to constantly change the volume after action scenes to hear the dialogue. Even if I could hear it better, you can't beat accurate subtitles when it comes to story comprehension. It's easier to remember even the smallest characters and events of you read them. I still can't pronounce Lögreglan despite watching multiple Icelandic shows.
I understand Norwegians when I am speaking TO them in person, but that's because there's a lot of context. I can read both Norwegian and Danish to an extent but I can't understand a series in either. Again, in both of them, if I have Swedish subtitles on, I can totally "understand" what they're saying, but it's like driving on a dark road with your lights on and saying that you can see in the dark: It turns out that when I turn the subtitles off, I can't actually understand very much. But if I spent a lot of time listening to them (especially with Swedish subtitles on), I think I'd be fine.
I also think it's weird but it's completely possible in English speaking countries to go your entire life without seeing anything with subtitles, so if you're 30 and something comes along with subtitles you find you have to build up a rhythm of reading them etc. I have read them since I was a kid but yeah, most poeple didn't do that.
I got used to subtitles when I started watching korean dramas & movies like 5/6 years ago. And also now that I'm learning Spanish. But prior to that I would read subs once in a while when watching english movies. That was because sometimes the actors would mumble or the music would over ride the voices so you couldn't really hear anything.
I find it unbelievable that the younger generation in Iceland will suddenly start speaking English to each other--and jettison Icelandic completely--if that is what is really being suggested! 😵
I think that teenagers will think English is cool, but as they grow up they'll realize it's extremely cringy to even phathome speaking English to another Icelander ^^
Check out the full interview here:
th-cam.com/video/eFimUCN2vsU/w-d-xo.html
Ólafur Darri is loved here in Iceland. One of the best actors and most likable person.
Found TRAPPED on Netflix a last week, and have been so enjoying the setting, the amazing actors, the script, and the language! I don't speak Icelandic, but I do appreciate hearing and attending to the new sound structures of a language I'm just not used to hearing. I refuse to watch any of the Nordic TV series with the "English dubbing" - just hate how flat it all sounds. But part of the attraction of this particular series, has been the pacing....the long silences where the actors are using their faces and body language to communicate...and not rushing to fill the air with sound. It's very refreshing. I'm just starting the follow up series ENTRAPPED looking forward to it. And finally, I've enjoyed the other foreign language mystery series and continue to enjoy hearing the original languages. Thank you for the conversation with a truly great actor - and a bit of gentle giant!
I stumbled across Trapped by chance on Netflix. It is soooo good, and easy to follow the story with subtitles. Darri seems like such a humble and down-to-earth fellow. Thank you for sharing this interview :)
Great interview. I once met an Icelandic person who wasn't talented.... only kidding :-)
I liked his use of the word 'fancy'. Such an appropriate word. That is the kind of use of English which many native speakers would not use. He speaks better English than many English people.
Yeah well most English natives wouldn't be able to record an audiobook worth your time.
I am a trainee teacher at an Icelandic upper secondary level school and I cannot confirm what this Canadian guy was telling you. Granted, every now and then, you will hear the teenagers use an English word or even a sentence or two, but I have never witnessed a conversation between two native Icelandic speakers which was predominately in English outside from English classes or programmes which are taught in English (like IB Studies). The only exception I have heard about (but never witnessed myself) is that some autistic kids apparently prefer to speak English (manly those who are completely ingrained in video games), but that is about it. A much bigger issue in my opinion is that most Icelanders tend switch over to English as soon as they hear someone speaking with a foreign accent. This makes learning Icelandic extremely challenging for non-native speakers as they often have to remind native speakers to keep speaking Icelandic to them.
Regarding your comment about Icelandic teens switching to English, I have the same problem here when attempting to practice my Spanish. I am surrounded by native Spanish speakers, but they will immediately switch to English because my Spanish is so bad. One time I went to a Latino butcher shop as an exercise in my Spanish class and ended up having to wait 15 minutes while they ran to find the English speaker completely defeating my purpose! Haha! Maybe someday my Spanish will be good enough they will just continue to talk to me in Spanish. My daughter doesn't have the same problem because her Spanish is really good.
@@mellymel8157 the only solution is to lie and say you dont speak english!
More Scandinavian geekery please!!! Good stuff Lamont!
His English is incredible
He can also do an American accent he just doesn't when he's not in a role. So he gets the best of both worlds.
I think with the rise of anime, k-dramas, etc that anglophone subtitle literacy is skyrocketing among younger people
This was extremely good, Lamont. I'm sure Darri has been interviewed a great many times, but probably never with such a focus on linguistic matters. His comment about the cognitive difficulty of acting in a foreign language, even though you are fluent in it, was very interesting. It would be so interesting to hear what other performers who frequently act in their second language - like Stellan Skarsgård, Joel Kinnaman (whose father was American), or even Kristin Scott Thomas (who has lived in France for 40 years) - have to say about it.
I really want to get Alliette Oppheim on - she speaks Swedish mostly but I've heard her speak English in a few roles, but her acting in any language is INTENSE. Like when I see her upload pictures of her cat and stuff on Instagram I'm like "How do you just go back to being a normal person after acting like that?"
This guy's voice is out of this world.
Yeah Icelanders have the coolest accent.
I've watched Trapped 3 times. Love Olafur's acting!
Incredible interview!!!!! thank you for posting it!
I've never seen "Trapped" but one of my favorite movies of all time is "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." And Ólafur plays the drunk helicopter pilot in that film.
The entire film is populated by small roles with little screen time, but each of these characters feels so rich. Ólafur's character is easily the most memorable of these small roles. He has a little arc of grief that starts with him singing "don't you want me baby" and ends with him giving the main character a ride to a nearby ship.
I'm honestly interested in watching "Trapped" now. He seems like a chill guy, and an incredible actor!
One of the nicest people - I couldn't believe he said yes to just chatting to some nobody from Australia. 🤣
I would love to learn Icelandic ♥♥
On a tangential note, you mention that not many people watch The Reyjyavik Review. I think that might be because it is currently set as "content for kids", which disables the ability for us to be notified when you post new content there. If you change that setting, I think your subscribers will see notifications.
Really? Weird.
I mean it's actually because I rarely upload but yeah I'll look into that.
@@daysandwords Okay, well maybe it's both 😂 But without notifications, we never know when you post something new there unless you mention it in this channel, and I forget to check it.
So, I just updated that setting. I had it set to "I want to review this setting for every video", but I think that would disallow notifications because it can't know that I am going to mark every video as "not made for children".
The whole thing is a complete mess as it always is when governments intefere with things they know nothing about. Basically every TH-cam info channel has pointed out that it doesn't make things safer because it just means that with almost nothing being marked as appropriate for kids, kids will just BS about their age. I checked my 10 year old's account the other day and found that he was able to watch anything because he had set his age to 1999.
There really needs to be a whole separate TH-cam for kids, somehow.
Cool stuff Lamont, going to check out the full interview and hopefully something that he has acted in.
Very very big actor's Ólafur Darri Ólafsson......the best❤❤
Thanks Lamont. This was an interesting clip, and now I have a new series to watch.
His voice is soothing for the soul
There's an Irish language film called Arracht I would recommend watching
That's an incredible film!
Just binge watched the Entrapped series. Another awesome experience.
So many good points he/you made regarding the nordic aspects of speaking Swedish/Danish/Norwegian/Icelandic, language evolution, etc.
I'll watch the full video in your other channel now. Amazing, thanks.
This interview was very interesting. I will only stop to react to a few aspects, other than that Darri's English and his arguments and observations are all great, and the interviewer did the his job perfectly.
When I still lived in Finland, i.e. Helsingfors and Åbo, we used to discuss films, both the content and languages - quarreling about if an English movie had the correctly subtitled translations in both Finnish and Swedish, or not. Only later I learned that the translators had the problem of a very limited space for their translations, so their job was also about editing.
However we could get very upset about translations that didn't get this or that right.
Then, when I lived in Germany and all foreign films were dubbed, and no US actors sounded as they should, in their real voices familiar to me, only then I realized how much it means to the artistic value of a film to hear the real voices and see the actual sync between lips and facial movements, inflections, and the script. Subtitles are no doubt the way to handle movies for an adult audience, IMHO!
In conversations in your second language (or third or fourth...) there is not only the problem that you might not yourself be so pleased, or sure, or rapid in giving your input or repartee, as in your first language, you might need to ask about an expression, too, but you feel it is also a problem that the listener doesn't hear you as the person you are to another person who shares your mother tongue and of the same level of verbal expression. In some instances it is awkward to sound less nuanced, educated, grown-up, intelligent (?) than you are used to be perceived. You also are up against all the language prejudice the listener has. It is hard on the ego. Well, I guess similar things limit acting in second languages. The more sublime the script, the worse.
Watching Lamont’s videos is always an event in my week.
Oh man i loved him in Walter Mitty I didn't realize he was actually really popular!
He is such a very smart and clever Icelandic actor ever.
Great interview. Thanks.
Du måste definitivt se på Exit! Otroligt underhållande serie. Oerhört överdriven som han säger men det är också poängen, så om du gillar den typen av humor så rekommenderar jag den starkt.
Jag brukade hänga med alla nordiska serierna men nu för tiden finna det massor som jag inte har sett!
That was a great interview
Awesome stuff
Nice to hear that he feels at home in Scotland. Living in Sweden, I do think that, culturally, Scotland could fit quite well into the nordic group of nations.
Jag glömde att säga att jag bor i Sverige nu, men jag foddes och växte upp i Skottland.
The Shetlands and the Orkneys are way north.....
Wonderful interview.
18:22 this is by far my favorite part of the video, olafur's face just fricking switched emotions like: 😠to 🙂LOLOL
Bahahaha I edited it and even I didn't notice how suddenly he switched. I think the connection lagged for like 2 frames that were perfectly timed so that you didn't see any transition whatsoever.
@@daysandwords yeah hahshaha its one of those happy mistakes
The Icelandic language is very different sounding to DA/SW/NO, but absolutely beautiful nonetheless.
I have great love and admiration for my Icelandic brothers and believe their amazing culture, language and people deserve preservation and all the attention.
There is a sort of family feeling among Scandinavians, definitely. But I feel it both has to do with our position in the world when it comes to religion, economy, politics, climate, and culture, aswell as the fact that we simply come from small places and must therefore relate to bigger countries in our surroundings. I sort of feel the same sort of connection to some other "peripheral" small country in the world.
Trapped was brilliant and so is the sequel Entrapped
Darri is a wonderful actor, and quite an attractive man ❤️
this is great thanks
Fine actor ..
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson is such a cuddly teddy bear (^_^)
I watch everything, including stuff in English, with subtitles on it I can. My hearing isn't the best, plus shows have gotten horrible at equalization and you have to constantly change the volume after action scenes to hear the dialogue.
Even if I could hear it better, you can't beat accurate subtitles when it comes to story comprehension. It's easier to remember even the smallest characters and events of you read them.
I still can't pronounce Lögreglan despite watching multiple Icelandic shows.
👑✨👌
Do you understand Norwegian or Danish, Lamont?
I understand Norwegians when I am speaking TO them in person, but that's because there's a lot of context. I can read both Norwegian and Danish to an extent but I can't understand a series in either.
Again, in both of them, if I have Swedish subtitles on, I can totally "understand" what they're saying, but it's like driving on a dark road with your lights on and saying that you can see in the dark: It turns out that when I turn the subtitles off, I can't actually understand very much. But if I spent a lot of time listening to them (especially with Swedish subtitles on), I think I'd be fine.
wow im quite early this time
TWSS
It is very weird for me, a not native English, speaker when someone does like a show or movie just because it has subtitles
I also think it's weird but it's completely possible in English speaking countries to go your entire life without seeing anything with subtitles, so if you're 30 and something comes along with subtitles you find you have to build up a rhythm of reading them etc. I have read them since I was a kid but yeah, most poeple didn't do that.
I got used to subtitles when I started watching korean dramas & movies like 5/6 years ago.
And also now that I'm learning Spanish.
But prior to that I would read subs once in a while when watching english movies. That was because sometimes the actors would mumble or the music would over ride the voices so you couldn't really hear anything.
DUNMAGLASS
I find it unbelievable that the younger generation in Iceland will suddenly start speaking English to each other--and jettison Icelandic completely--if that is what is really being suggested! 😵
dunmaglass!
huh
First!
DUMAGLASS!
I think that teenagers will think English is cool, but as they grow up they'll realize it's extremely cringy to even phathome speaking English to another Icelander ^^
Love this guy.