Malin Åkerman and David Hellenius play the lead roles in the film The Last Race. The film takes us on a hair-raising car chase through Sweden. INRIKES meets up with Malin and David to get a feel for their passion for cars.

Malin Akerman 

Occupation Actor 
Age: 45 
Bor Los Angeles 
Family Husband Jack Donnelly, actor and screenwriter, and son Sebastian, 10, from a previous marriage. 
Background in brief: Malin started working as a model at a young age. She broke through as an actress in 2007 in The Heartbreak Kid opposite Ben Stiller. She has played notable roles in films such as 27 Dresses, Rock of Ages and Part of My Heart. 
Currently In the Swedish action comedy The Last Race

The year's big action comedy will premiere in theaters on Christmas Day. Last Race is a fast-paced, exciting action comedy starring Malin Åkerman and the multi-award-winning TV presenter David Hellenius, along with a bunch of other top actors including Elsa Öhrn, Jonas Karlsson, Johan Glans, Johan Ulveson, Peter Dalle, Sara Soulié, Ola Forssmed, Sissela Kyle, and Malte Gardinger.

David Hellenius wrote the screenplay together with Lars Johansson and Edward af Sillén, who also directed the film. Edward is already known as a screenwriter for films such as A wonderful fucking Christmas Oh The medicine, and debuted as a film director with the musical film A part of my heart where Malin Åkerman played the female lead. It was her first role in Swedish.

– Both Malin and I have worked with Edward before. He is a fantastically skilled director and he is a master at making it really fun. Our hope is that the whole family will like this film, there is something for everyone. The interest in cars in Sweden is enormous, so if everyone who drives a car and listens to dunk dunk comes and sees this film, it will be a huge success, says David Hellenius.

One last race tells the story of street racing legend Dennis (David Hellenius), who has lived his entire life on the wrong side of the law. After neglecting his marriage and being absent from his 16-year-old daughter Hanna's (Elsa Örhn) life for most of it, Dennis has decided to start living a responsible and quiet life. Something that is soon shattered when Dennis finds out that his daughter Hanna is going to participate in a race with her new boyfriend Charlie (Malte Gardinger). To stop Hanna, Dennis and his ex-wife Tove (Malin Åkerman) set out on a journey to bring their daughter home. It is the beginning of a breathtaking final race of speed, excitement and high rpms through Sweden.

When INRIKES meets Malin and David via Zoom, they are sitting close to each other and looking happily into the camera from a hotel room in Stockholm. It is obvious that they get along very well. They laugh a lot, tease and joke throughout the conversation.

Your upcoming film, The Last Race, is incredibly fun and fast-paced. How much of the driving did you get to do yourself? Were there many hair-raising stunts?

Malin: – I would have liked to do some stunt scenes, but I didn't get to. I got to drive an old Volkswagen bus, which was the worst of all, although not in a cool way. It certainly wasn't the best-looking car in the movie.

David: – At the beginning of the filming it was cool because then we had help from some stuntmen who worked with, among other things Mission Impossible movies, so they did most of the stunt scenes.

They probably gained more trust in me over time and then I got to drive more.

Malin laughs and interrupts: – Yes, because by then we were done with the film so we didn't need David anymore, so that if something happened...

Are you car enthusiasts in private?

David: – I come from the suburbs and there the car was priority number one, and it still is for me that way.

Malin: – I love cars. I don't know all the brands, but I know I want an old Corvette Stingray. I love old cars. The weather in LA is so good and there's no salt on the streets in the winter, so you see a lot of fancy cars over there.

What is your dream car David?

David: – I would probably like to have a Porsche Targa, an old one. Jennifer Aniston has one in The Morning Show. It's a good show and a good car. It's not a super dream to have a car like that, but I would love to have one. But you can also feel a bit lazy in Sweden to drive around town in a cab, it suits you better in LA. In LA, no one cares if you drive around in cars with the roof down. Here, people get mad if you drive around in a flashy Volvo.

At the beginning of filming it was cool because we had help from some stuntmen who had worked on the Mission Impossible movies, among other things, so they did most of the stunt scenes. They probably gained more trust in me over time and then I got to drive more.

Where in Sweden did you film?

David: – We mostly played in the areas around Luleå and Boden. They were so kind because they could close roads so that we could be in that area. But at the same time it was a bit like that that we came there as a bunch of Stockholmers and closed a lot of roads. There was a bit of trouble sometimes when they closed a road so that there was a traffic jam and someone suddenly had a quarter of an hour longer travel time to go to work.

Malin: – There were a lot of country roads where there wasn't much traffic, so it was easier. We also filmed on a runway at an old airport, and there we could drive around without any traffic whatsoever.

What do you listen to when you're out driving?

David: – If I'm driving long distances, I'll probably listen to some podcasts. I like listening to music while I drive, but it can be a bit dangerous, because if the music is good, there's a risk that you'll drive a little too fast.

Malin: – In LA there is a lot of traffic, so you spend a lot of time in traffic jams, and then I listen to podcasts. I love listening to True Crime podcasts and then I sit in the car and scare myself. In my next life I'll probably be a detective. When my son is in the car, it kind of gets a little crazy, I don't even know if you can call it music but he's 10 years old and he likes some kind of rave music. And then there's a little rock n' roll too. I usually drive in the desert outside LA and then it's a great time to listen to country music. It's really wonderful, a bit of a Thelma & Louise feel to it all.

I've done it with my mom – put on the cowboy hat and we drive through the desert.

What do you eat in the car? Any snacks that are always on hand on a long car ride?

David: – When the kids were younger, the car was more like a restaurant cart, so you had to ignore how messy it was. I'm a bit of an old man, so if I get hungry, I have some nuts and stuff. I think it's boring when you're going somewhere and stop to eat and drive through a drive-thru.

Malin: – I love drive-thru. I buy burgers and eat with one hand while I drive – it's fast food!

What are the best car or road movies of all time?

David: – I like all the cool car scenes in old movies like Now We Blow the Whistle, The Big Race and A Pear for Dad. And The Italian Job of course, where they drive around in a Mini Cooper.

Malin: – I mentioned Thelma & Louise earlier. I love how cool they are when they drive through the desert. Even though the ending is sad, I love that movie.

David: – In Sweden, boat films like Göta Canal have been made, but car racing films have not been made in Sweden before. Our film Ett sista race is inspired by the Norwegian film series Börning, they are very good.

David Hellenius 

Occupation Host, comedian, screenwriter, producer. 
Age: 49 
Bor Stockholm 
Family Wife Renée Nyberg, presenter and son Leo, 17. Background in brief: David is one of Sweden's most popular and award-winning presenters, including in Let's Dance, The Masked Singer and his own talk show on TV4 Hellenius hörna. David has appeared in feature films such as Summer with Göran and Once in Phuket. 
Currently In the Swedish action comedy The Last Race.

Where is the strangest place you've been recognized while traveling?

Malin: – When you're at a spa and you're standing in just a towel after you've showered and someone says 'Hey, can we take a picture?' and you get uncomfortable and say 'can I get dressed first and leave the changing room'? One time that was pretty funny was when I was in England with my husband who is British, a teenage girl came up and wanted to take a picture. So I prepared myself a little to be photographed, but it wasn't me she wanted to be photographed with but my husband because she recognized him from a TV series he was in a long time ago. So I acted as the photographer and took the photo of her together with my husband.

David: – My wife does a TV show called Renée's Bridge where our dog Charlie is in it and it happens very often that we are out walking the dog and people ask 'can I take a picture with Charlie?'‘

How do you celebrate Christmas?

Malin: – I will be at home in Sweden with my family and will probably be in Skåne with my dad. He is remarried but he gets along well with my mom so she is also invited. So it will be the whole family this year. Before that we will be here in Stockholm and celebrate a bit with the film premiere and such.

David interrupts, looks at Malin and says in a joking tone:

– If the atmosphere is really good, I and the whole family will probably go to Skåne and visit Malin's family. We haven't decided anything or anything, but we hope to get an invitation. Or we'll just come! We have a car. Oh, no, we'll probably be at home in the country. It's the old cliché that it can be nice to be home for Christmas and then maybe we'll go to the warmth after Christmas instead.