In this year's big Christmas film The Rain Man Is it about relationships, about the weather and about roses. Will the rain ever come...
PHOTO PETER CEDERLING/ZAP PR MAKEUP, HAIR & STYLING SHADA GHARIB
I only have sons myself, and there are hardly any girls in my family either. When I dream about grandchildren, I wish for it to be a girl. It's something that's missing in my life.
Playing a family on film isn't always easy; the actors need to find the right chemistry to make it work. For Robert Gustafsson and the new rising star Emelia Sallhag, who play father and daughter in the upcoming dramedy Regnmannen, it was a walk in the park.
"I was incredibly taken with Emelia the first time we auditioned," says Robert Gustafsson, when INRIKES meets him and Emelia at the venerable Grand Hotel Stockholm. Emelia and Robert sit next to each other on a stylish old-fashioned sofa, in one of the grand ballrooms. Coffee, luxurious chocolates, and beautifully sliced fruit have been laid out on the round table between us. Robert eats a slice of melon and continues:
– I only have sons myself, and there are hardly any girls in my family at all. When I dream of grandchildren, I wish it will be a girl. It's something my life is missing. Emelia smiles and comments:
– Oh, how lovely that you say that. It was great fun to be in this film, and it was an honour to work with you. Robert adds that during the filming, he wondered what he would have been like if Emelia were his daughter in real life.
I think I'd be quite difficult and a bit overprotective.
– I think I’d be quite difficult and a bit too protective, he laughs. The Rain Man is a warm drama with a lot of humour. We meet the grumpy Ingmar (Robert Gustafsson), who is a creative soul and lives in a small village on Öland. He is a former county theatre director and director who moved from Stockholm as a young cultural hippie to Kalmar in the 80s with his family to revolutionise theatre and its expression. His wife passed away a few years ago, and he has begun to lose his relationship with his daughter Erika (Emelia Sallhag). All he has left is the annoying, divorced neighbour Burman (Jonas Karlsson) and his wife's roses, which are really the only thing he cares about looking after. To make matters worse, it is the hottest and driest summer in living memory. Everyone is waiting for the rain that never seems to come. But through what may be a miracle, perhaps just pure chance, Ingmar finally gets to play the lead role in something that will change not only his life but the existence of the entire village, or, well, perhaps even the whole world. The film is directed by Hannes Holm (A Man Called Ove). The story The Rain Man is based on Jonas Karlsson's novel of the same name. Jonas, whom we know from, among others, the Beck films, plays the role of Burman in the film.
Hannes is a superb director. All the actors and the film crew were great to work with, says Emelia. We were really lucky with the weather during filming. It only rained one day, and it was on a day when the script said it would rain! Apart from that, it was extremely hot.
In a film like this, it felt important that it's genuine.
Did you get a new relationship with rain after this film? Do you look up at the sky more often?
Robert: – We both spend our summers on Öland, and the lack of rain is commonplace. It often looks like it does in the film, actually. Have you ever watered your plants secretly?
– Yes, it has happened that I've hidden behind the corner and watered a bit with the hosepipe.
Filming in the Kalmar area, where the film is set, was a wonderful experience. The location itself provided a stunning backdrop, with its beautiful coastal scenery and historic architecture. The local community was incredibly welcoming and supportive, which made the entire process much smoother. We were able to capture some truly breathtaking shots that really brought the story to life.
– Yes. It was a decision from the start that we would film where the story takes place. We wanted to show where we are in the film. Films that take place ‘somewhere in Sweden’ aren't really believable.
Emelia: – In a film like this, it felt important that it's genuine. I'm from Småland. I work in Varberg, have an apartment in Malmö, grew up in Växjö and have a country house on Öland. I speak with a Småland dialect, but not as pronounced as in the film.
The Rain Man gets a nationwide cinema premiere on Christmas Day. What are you doing after that?
– I'm in Varberg performing in a play called Tonya Nancy and continues to do so. The performance is based on the Tonya Harding tragedy during the 1994 US Figure Skating Championships. When I was preparing for the role, I met figure skaters and spent time with them to learn about how they train and to listen to how they talk to each other.
Some people think that you can just take a drama course and then you're an actor. But I think you have to live a little first, learn a bit about what it's like to live, then you'll become a better actor after a few years.
It must be fun to get to try different things and learn new roles, like playing an ice-skater or like in The Rain Man where you play the doctor.
– Yes, that's really fun. My mum works at a hospital, so when I was preparing for The Rain Man I accompanied her to the hospital to try and get an idea of what it would be like to work in that environment.
Robert: – That's good. If you want to become an actor, you have to live a little and learn different things. Some people think you can just take a drama course and then you're an actor. But I think you have to live a little first, learn a bit about what it's like to live, then you'll become a better actor after a few years. A large part of my job is about observing my surroundings. I look at everything and everyone, all the time, to gather impressions and inspiration.
3 QUICK QUESTIONS EMELIA SALLHAG
Laughing at: Albert and Herbert.
Childhood idol Dad Rudolf.
Reading: “Nothing right now, but I'm planning to read the book ”The Phenomenal Mrs. Riley at the Grand Hotel'. My mum has read it and says it's really good.”
EMELIA SALLHAG'S FAVOURITE PLACES IN SWEDEN
“My childhood home in Växjö is my absolute favourite place in Sweden.” “I like Piteå. My boyfriend's family comes from there. There's snow, it's cold, you eat reindeer meat. It's dreamy to be in Piteå in winter.”
“The Isgärde nature reserve on Öland. It's incredibly beautiful there; that place is truly summer for me.”
Emelia Sallhagh
Age: 32.
Family Mamma Carina, Dad Peder, Little Sister Hilde, Big Brother Hampus, Boyfriend Albin and the dog Otto.
Bor Varberg.
Make: Actor. Background in brief: Grew up in Växjö. Studied at Malmö Theatre Academy, graduating in 2024. This autumn and winter, she is playing one of the main roles in Tonya Nancy at Teater Halland in Varberg.
Currently Makes his feature film debut in the cinema film The Rain Man premiering på juldagen.
3 QUICK ROBERT GUSTAFSSON
Laughing at: “When things don't go as planned.”
Childhood idols: “In my boyhood room, Elvis Presley and Winston Churchill sat on the walls.”
Reading: “I read a lot of scripts, so I get tired of reading easily. When I start reading a book, I devour it and read it in one go. I really enjoy reading autobiographies, preferably about interesting people who are no longer alive.”
Robert Gustafsson's Favourite Places in Sweden
“I’ve always been interested in geography. My dad used to race bikes when I was little, so I travelled around Sweden a lot with him. I found it interesting to learn about the different places we visited. For example, it’s interesting to read the history of old industrial towns. I love Hagskogsvägen on Öland. It’s a road that runs along the sea. Walking there and seeing the cows grazing by the water at sunset, it’s magical. Stockholm on a sunny autumn day. Or winter when there’s snow in Stockholm. It should be clean dry asphalt and minus 4 degrees.”
ROBERT GUSTAFSSON
Age: 60.
Family Wife Lotta, sons Valentin and John.
Bor Stockholm, Kalmar and Öland.
Make: Actor, producer, entrepreneur. Background in brief: Started with revue as a teenager in his hometown of Skövde. Appeared in the children's programme Björnes magasin in the late 1980s. Over the years, he has performed in a wide range of successful revue shows. Popular TV shows include Killinggänget, Parlamentet, among others. On the big and small screen, he has been seen in, among others, Fyra nyanser av brunt, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, Ture Sventon, The Emigrants, The Unlikely Murderer, and Jönssonligan kommer tillbaka.
Currently Biofilm The Rain Man premiere on Christmas Day
