FORTITUDE: Ken Stott Q&A

31st March 2017

FORTITUDE: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON AND THE COMPLETE FIRST AND SECOND SEASON IS AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL HD FROM 31ST MARCH AND ON BLU-RAY™ AND DVD FROM 1ST MAY 2017.

So here’s a Q&A with Ken Stott, who plays Erling Munk.

Who is Munk?

He’s a government official. I think he’s probably got delusions of grandeur, or he’s certainly a man who had ambition, but he’s here in Fortitude and I think he’s in danger of letting his ambition run ahead of him.

What was it about the character that really chimed for you?

I’m always attracted to the story of a character that is conflicting; when he is not what he seems. When a character is powerful and angry, I look for the opposite in order to give it a balance, because we’re all capable of anything. The girl or boy in the office all year round spends their time being very mild mannered and only at the office party at the end of the year, suddenly, she’s dancing on the table, he’s picking a fight with the rest of the office, but these are the things you don’t see for 364 days of the year. It’s that sort of thing that interests me in characters and Erling Munk has strange little foibles.

Where do you draw inspiration for Munk?

We always draw on what we know. A writer writes what they know, if they don’t they really are in danger of showing themselves up to be not particularly good at what they do, and the same applies to acting. Over years you collect glimpses, stories that you can go back to. I used to live in the City of London and you can see characters who are like Erling Munk, who think they’re really successful, who are very ugly, they have a very ugly personality. They are only out for themselves, a very unattractive quality, and that suits me because I think an actor should never be afraid. If you’re going to be a good actor, you should never be afraid of appearing ugly – even if you’re as handsome as I am… that’s a joke.

Have you enjoyed being part of the series?

Yes, I’ve had a great time doing this, I really have. It would be perfectly possible to lie and say it’s been great, absolutely marvellous, but it’s been really enjoyable because there’s a very earnest approach, which I adhere to, and I like frivolity.

FORTITUDE: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON AND THE COMPLETE FIRST AND SECOND SEASON IS AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL HD FROM 31ST MARCH AND ON BLU-RAY™ AND DVD FROM 1ST MAY 2017.

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