When picturing Peter Stormareaudiences might imagine the cold-blooded hitman of Fargo feeding Steve Buscemi into a wood chipper, or perhaps the angry wrench-wielding Russian cosmonaut in Armageddon (alongside a panicked Steve Buscemi), or even the nihilist who drops a ferret in a bathtub The Big Lebowski (again, with Steve Buscemi). Apart from apparently being Buscemi’s best wing man, the Swedish Stormare has become an iconic character actor especially known for his unsavory, often comically angry or intimidating characters. From his work as a Russian gangster in John Wick 2to the Viking vampire Godbrand in Castlevaniato play the devil himself in ConstantineStormare can be intense.
That’s why it’s so surprising to see him playing the love interest in a downward sweet romantic comedy, the new Swedish film Food and Romance. What’s even more incongruous is just how optimistic, kind, and ebullient Stormare himself is when talking about the film and his life. The 69-year-old actor (and creator of the hilarious little series Swedish Dicks) is inspiring enough to give motivational speaker Tony Robbins a run for his money, something which runs perfectly parallel to his new film. Food and Romance is, in many ways, an inspirational rom-com about how it’s never too late to pursue your dreams and chase after the love you want. Stormare spoke to MovieWeb about the film and how its themes relate to his own life.
Food and Romance is a Sweet Swedish Rom-Com
Food and Romance (also known as Tuesday Clubor Tisdagsklubben, in Swedish) follows Karin as she’s forced to evaluate her seemingly perfect bourgeois life. Karin had different plans for this life, though — “I dreamed of working with food, but then I got pregnant early,” she says. Despite being an excellent home cook, Karin never pursued her passion; it’s hard and time-consuming enough to be a professional chef, but growing that career as a woman with a family is extremely difficult. Decades later, though, and with a cheating husband and adult progeny, Karin decides to give herself a second chance at food and romance.
The film feels very knowledgeable about the experiences of women, having been written and directed by different women who focus much on Food and Romance on the nourishing female relationships Karin has. Stormare enters the scene as Henrik, the international chef who leads the highbrow cooking class (with a focus on Asian cuisine) that Karin and her friends join. Henrik initially seems like the kind of intense character Stormare has mastered, but as he falls in love with Karin, he’s gradually revealed to be a sweet, lonely man who ultimately doesn’t want to lose out on the new lease on love and life that Karin offers.
It was surprisingly organic for Stormare and Marie Richardson, who played Karin, to create a chemistry of kindness in Food and Romance. “It was pretty easy,” said Stormare, “because Marie, the lead actress, and I were from the same region up in northern Sweden, and I got into the acting academy in Stockholm, and she got in like two years after me. Of course, we became friends, being from the same area. This is like 100 years ago now, but I got into the National Theatre, and she got in too, and I vouched for her. Not only was she very beautiful, she was extremely talented.”
“We became friends, and we worked together,” continued Stormare. “Not much, but we did some things on stage, but then I left the National Theatre, but we stayed sort of friends. And she called me a couple of years ago and said, ‘There’s this project about three women and the love interest , Are you open?’ I said, ‘That sounds fantastic, Marie. You and I, playing lovers? Yes!'”
Peter Stormare Was the Perfect Fit for Food and Romance
The closer Stormare got to Food and Romance, the more he realized how compatible he was for the film, and not just because of his long friendship with Richardson. “I talked to the director, and she talked about the backstory of my character Henrik,” said Stormare. “She said that he’s been all over the world, but he was in Japan for a long time, and he really loves the Japanese. And I said, ‘I’m married to a Japanese woman. I worked in Japan.’ She hadn’t known that, so it was like all these circles were coming together.”
“I thought the character was lovely, a guy who is lost and finds love by the age of 65. Movies like this are done by Hollywood,” Stormare explained, “they’re all guys, and all the guys are doing a heist or robbing banks or something.They’re