“Well, Alexander is a lovely guy and I’m not just saying that because you are his fans! We cast him because we lost another (absolutely excellent) actor very late in the day. I have to say, we were looking at a few and since I was already in Greenland, I said, ‘Sod it! Get me the guy who has been Mr. Sweden five times!’ I was purely thinking, ‘Does he look like an Olympian (yes – he’s 6ft 4); Has he got a gentleness to contrast with the other actor – yes; has he done comedy (yes, Zoolander) and who cares about the first 3, let’s have him because we know we can sell to Sweden!’

When Alexander arrived on the ice we had already been there for some time and I think it was very difficult for him to join so late. We all already knew each other and were a unit. He was very earnest and he wanted to know the motivation of the characters, everything about them, but to tell you the truth I didn’t really want to tell him very much at all. I thought it would be very useful for him to not know us very well. To not know much about the character apart from what was there. I think initially Alexander may have found this difficult, but if you look at the scene it’s very fresh. Their improvisation is wonderful. You only really get one go at improv – when it’s totally real; the first time anyone speaks really is the first time anyone speaks and reacts. It’s magic that is difficult for even the best actors to replicate. Alexander shines the moment he comes on because he just let go and didn’t think too much. He just was. On set it can be difficult sometimes, when so many things are in your head, to know clearly when you’ve got what you need or what you were after. All our actors were brilliant in this film, but when Alexander was on set I always knew I had it. He was gorgeous in every sense. His fans are right to love him. He’s lovely!”

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