Top 35 Sofia Helin Quotes

I am not a calm, happy person. I am complicated.

I went on holiday with my kids and I had to make the choice – a good vacation for me, or a good vacation for them. A good vacation for them is to be with other Swedish kids, so I chose that, but I had to say, you have to behave, because I can’t have a scene in the restaurant.

I haven’t seen ‘The Killing’.

Some of the roles I play are very demanding. My body and brain can’t separate what is real fear from what is played fear.

Tragedy struck the family when I was 10 days old. My eldest brother was killed in a car accident. He was six. My grandmother survived the incident, but the loss devastated my parents. I think they went into shock for a couple of years.

I don’t know much about British TV. Actually me, I’m looking more at American ones.

I talked to a brain specialist who told me when you think like someone else for such a long time, your brain actually changes.

My husband and I have been married for 15 years. He is a priest in the Church of Sweden. I have a faith, but it’s not so formal. We made our peace with that.

I’m almost completely ruled by my emotions.

When you make a change, it hurts a bit.

In Sweden, you’re not supposed to think you are someone.

So I sat down in my student room and thought, when did I have a lot of fun? I realised it was acting. I was 22. Then I slowly started to make small steps.

I was on a bridge going down; the bicycle broke and I smashed to the ground, face first. I broke my jaw and my teeth, and had to have plastic surgery.

In the 70s Sweden was innocent, but we’ve lost that. Society has become less idealistic and everything is about how much money you have in your wallet.

I had a talk with my older son a couple of days ago. I explained to him that I went to a therapist and I found out that I wanted two things very much: I wanted children and I wanted acting. My therapist said to combine this will be very hard. And being a parent is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

When you grow up around sadness, it affects the way you see the world.

Mystery Road’ hadn’t been shown in Scandinavia but I read the script and I just had to do it.

I spend most money on my garden.

And then my husband works every second weekend, sermons on Sunday, baptising on Saturdays, weddings.

It’s a myth that all Scandinavians are happy, healthy, outdoors people. It’s often more a matter of class whether you can afford to take time to take care of yourself.

I always knew I wanted to have children of my own. I met my husband Daniel when I was 23; we were married when I was pregnant with my first child, Ossian. We’ve had our ups and downs like every couple, especially when we were younger.

Then I had lunch with my cousin who works for WaterAid and she said yes, it’s a catastrophe. And another catastrophe is that every day 1,400 children die from poisoned water, so now I’m an ambassador for WaterAid.

It’s almost as if the Swedes have two different personalities: one for winter and one for summer. I am both a happy and a melancholic person. It’s complex as I get so much from life.

I just figured, ‘I don’t want to go to university anymore,’ so I went to Stockholm. I went into this teaching school and after one year I got a part in a soap opera in Stockholm. It’s called ‘Rederiet.’

I like going for walks in the western harbour, a newly-built area of Malmo where the old harbour used to be. It is surrounded by canals and waterways and the architecture is modern and innovative – the landmark Turning Torso skyscraper, designed by Santiago Calatrava, is the star of the show.

But watching characters that are awkward, overcoming their own obstacles and finding some of the hardest criminals in the world is interesting. We like watching losers win because we’re all basically losers.

Acting, when you don’t want to do it or you disagree with everything, is almost like having sex with someone you don’t like. I had one experience like that on stage, in a terrible version of The Cherry Orchard. I put on a wig, dark-coloured contacts and just hoped no one would recognise me.

When you are young you can be a bit nonchalant – it’s cool to be depressed, and maybe a bit dark.

My dad was the 10th of 11 children. My mother has three brothers. My dad was a salesman, my mum was a school nurse.

In fact I spent a lot of time in my childhood trying to figure out what other people wanted of me. That made me study other people very much. Then I actually started university and I got quite bored. This is when I found out I wanted to be an actor.

We tend to be responsible for others’ feelings all the time and that’s not always good.

I arrange it by working four days away from home, and three days at home with the family, so I work four long days rather than five shorter. But it’s hard because everything is on hold. We have to restore the family life during the weekends.

I was embarrassed this spring when corona came. Everything in life had been so fast and seemed so important and then I realised the kind of stress that I allowed myself to be under, and I was embarrassed.

My parents taught me broad Christian values. To be kind to one another, to be honest, not to just think about yourself.

I try to shop online. All my food, Christmas gifts, everything.