Danish Originals

From his home in the Bay Area, Hellerup-born, two-time Grammy-winner Danish-American violinist and composer MADS TOLLING shares highlights of his career playing with bands and leading his own groups, the Mads Tolling Quartet, and Mads Tolling & The Mads Men. At his core a jazz violinist, Mads credits his training at Boston's Berklee College of Music, and talks about blurring musical bounda...

From her home in the Santa Monica mountains, Aarhus-born, Los Angeles-based Danish-Swedish ceramicist, curator, and bookseller LENA TORSLOW HANSEN revisits her first passion with clay and her roles with some foundational exhibitions: "A Broad Spectrum" (1984), "Golden Age in Danish Painting" (1994) as well as the 28 for the cultural festival "Scandinavia Today" (1982–1983)....

From his home office in Gentofte, Sønderborg-born and Copenhagen- and New York-based Danish photographer JENS HONORÉ talks about his work with the Roger Federer Foundation and his books A Place to Dream (2018) with SOS Children's Village and The Right to Food (2021) with the nonprofit initiative JUNKFOOD. He discusses the importance of connecting to people, using his photography for social goo...

From his home in Israels Plads, Soviet Union-born, Copenhagen-based Danish American businessman and startup investor ILYA KATSNELSON recalls arriving in the US as a refugee at the age of ten, his formative years in Wisconsin, and moving to Denmark, later surviving a German maximum security jail when the Russian state issued a retaliatory Interpol red notice against him. Equally, he talks about his...

From her home in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, Copenhagen-born, New York-based Danish-Scottish documentary film producer and director MAIKEN BAIRD talks about her latest film on Palestinian American scholar Edward Said that is entirely archive-based. She revisits her iconic works, such as Client 9 (2010), Venus and Serena (2012), Oscar winner Icarus (2017), and Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich (2022...

From her home in Copenhagen, Fuglebjerg-born Danish arts and culture advisor FREDERIKKE MØLLER talks about her recent position with the Danish Embassy in Washington, D.C. facilitating Danish arts programming and dialogue in the US. Frederikke shares her thoughts on the changing US cultural scene under the Trump administration, and describes her current initiatives with Seattle's National Nordi...

From his home in Concord, Massachusetts, New England-born former US Ambassador to Denmark RUFUS GIFFORD recalls his start in politics, his ongoing connection to Denmark, and his work under Barack Obama and Joe Biden. He describes the current problematic chapter in transatlantic relationships, exemplified by the tensions with Denmark and Greenland, the MAGA movement in the US, and his passion to he...

From her home in Østerbro, Copenhagen- and Madison, Wisconsin-based Danish author PERNILLE IPSEN talks about her book and collective memoir My Seven Mothers: Making a Family in the Danish Women's Movement which is an English translation and adaptation of the 2020 Montana Prize Danish original. She describes her mothers' roles in the 1970s Red Stockings and Lesbian Movements, and traces the...

From her home in Mar Vista, Los Angeles, Ølstykke-born, Málaga, Spain-raised Danish photojournalist METTE LAMPCOV discusses her work in California documenting climate change and the work of undocumented agricultural workers. With expertise in water, forest, and fire ecology, she revisits her work on the Salton Sea and the Sequoia National Forest. Throughout, Mette shares her thoughts on the state...

From a recording studio in downtown Copenhagen, Siberian-born Danish journalist and author of I, Putin , SAMUEL RACHLIN recalls his parents' journey back to Denmark from exile, when he was ten. He talks about his natural urge to understand Russia, discovering the US in 1976, and his roles as the first news anchor for TV2 in 1988 and the first Washington Correspondent for TV2 in 1990. Returning...

From his home in Copenhagen, Gladsaxe-born Danish actor LARS MIKKELSEN talks about his role as Captain Anderson on Frankenstein (2025). He recalls his start as a street performer before Shakespeare sent him on his path to acting. Of his long career, Lars reflects on the TV series Sherlock, The Killing, and Borgen that brought him attention abroad and that led to the American series House of Cards....

In her West Hollywood family home, Germany-born, Southern California, Newport-Beach-based Danish-Brazilian entrepreneur NATASHA FISKER talks about her newest business venture, the science-backed skincare brand Checked Out that promises health and wellness that works overnight. Natasha further shares her thoughts on multiculturalism, her background in fashion technology, and the evolving trends of...

In her home in Nørrebro, Germany-born, Kolding-raised, Danish-German film and TV editor OLIVIA NEERGAARD-HOLM talks about her process pre-, during, and post-production with her arthouse projects in various languages. She discusses creative ownership and revisits projects such as her 2015 one-take Berlin-set film Victoria, her 2025 US feature The Chronology of Water, and discusses the challenges wi...

Back in Denmark on business, Viborg-born, San Francisco-based Danish former soccer player and market manager for Joe & The Juice CHRISTIAN MATHIASEN shares his thoughts on working in the Danish people-centric food and beverage company, where juicers are hosts and customers are guests. Christian talks about arriving in 2023 as the youngest person ever to be sent to the US by the company, and hi...

In Los Angeles completing his upcoming film about Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, north of Viborg-born Danish film and television director JANUS METZ talks about being drawn to characters that look into darkness. From his documentary Armadillo (2010) about Danish soldiers in the war in Afghanistan to his big budget tv series Star Wars: Andor (2025) to the miniseries ZeroZeroZero (2020) about the global c...

From Gehl Studio on Powell Street, Gjern-born, San Francisco-based Danish architect, urban strategist and designer SOFIE KVIST recalls moving to the US when Danish firm Gehl People opened its west coast office. She describes her people-centric and data-driven work focused on public spaces as more social science than design. And she shares conceptual design projects in North American cities that ha...

From Copenhagen for a short stopover during awards season, Herning-born, Copenhagen-based Danish documentary film producer HELLE FABER talks about her film Mr Nobody Against Putin, currently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Helle discusses how she got involved in the secret film, how the subject and filmmakers had to trust each other, and how the team got the subject ou...

From her home in Burbank, Aarhus-born, Peabody Award-winning Danish podcast host, director, and producer LEA THAU retraces her journey from New York to Los Angeles, first leading The Moth, the live platform for storytellers, to creating the podcast Strangers. Lea describes the gradual insertion of own self at the center of her storytelling, exemplified by the "Love Hurts" and "Lea in T...

From his home in Healdsburg in Northern California, Taulov-born Danish winemaker LEO STEEN HANSEN recalls his journey in 1999 from sommelier at famed Copenhagen restaurant Kong Hans to natural winemaking in Sonoma County. Leo shares insights on his approach to his food-friendly wines at Leo Steen Wines, especially his signature Chenin Blanc, and his relationships with vineyard partners along the C...

From his studio in Vesterbro, Sønderborg-born Danish photographer SØREN SOLKÆR is home in Copenhagen after an exhibition opening in London. Søren talks about the evolving role of his camera over his three-decade long oeuvre of long-term global projects such as Surface, Photographs Posed, Passage, Souls, Black Sun, and One, focused on people, nature, and spirituality, and his relationship to patien...

From his home in Portugal, suburban Copenhagen-born Danish serial entrepreneur HENRIK ZILLMER talks about AirHelp, one of many disruptive tech companies he founded that brought him to Silicon Valley and New York. He describes the concept of Justice-as-a-Service, his background in comedy and the military, and the cultural nuances in entrepreneurship in Europe, the US, and Asia. And he shares his ne...

From The Royal Danish Theatre, Dallas-born, Detroit-raised, and Copenhagen-based American-Danish ballet dancer HOLLY DORGER recalls arriving in Denmark 18 years ago at age 18 to join The Royal Danish Ballet, where she subsequently was promoted from corps de ballet to soloist and principal dancer. Holly explains her at times bumpy and lonely road as an American creative in Denmark, her connection t...

From his home in Washington DC, Ravnsnæs-born Danish counselor of science and innovation TORBEN ORLA NIELSEN explains his new role with the Danish Embassy tracking the political framework of the US research environment as it impacts Danish research. Following seven years in Boston's Innovation Centre Denmark, Torben, a diplomat, navigates the evolving US research priorities and funding in orde...

From her home in Valby, Copenhagen, Elsinore-born Danish denim and jeans designer CHRISTINE DETLEFSEN finds her inspiration from the vintage world while combining sustainable and responsible innovations in fiber, fabric, and washing. Trained at Levi's, Christine recalls the years working in New York and Los Angeles, and executive producing a documentary about the unique cultural history of jea...

From her home in Klampenborg, Copenhagen, Central Zealand-born Danish curator, art advisor, and founder / director of ART 2030 LUISE FAURSCHOU talks about the non-profit's projects in New York City and at the UN Headquarters. With a strong belief that art changes people and people change the world, she describes a 40-year career in art that culminates in collaborations with artists, galleries,...