Danish Originals

From his home office in Nordhavn, Brønshoj-born Danish tech entrepreneur, author, podcaster, investor, and racing driver DAVID HEINEMEIER HANSSON talks about his recent move back home after the fires in Los Angeles. David recalls his start of 37 Signals, his company that developed Ruby on Rails and Basecamp, and he shares his pursuit of flow, his life philosophy in Stoicism, and his thoughts on en...

On a visit to Los Angeles, Skagen-born, Silicon Valley-based Danish designer and creative consultant LOUISE "LULU" ESCHELMAN recalls arriving in LA on a one-way ticket. She shares the vision of her company Lumilla, founded on Danish minimalism with a laidback California sensibility, that has evolved from a luxury leather to a lifestyle brand. Louise talks about giving back, how she found o...

From his home in Winchester, Massachusetts, Odense-born Danish astrophysicist, former soccer player, and artist SØREN MEIBOM came to the US in 1999 for his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison after a career in professional soccer, and recalls his work on NASA's Kepler mission at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He talks about his role with the Global Curiosity Inst...

From her home in Healdsburg, California, Hørsholm-born Danish gallerist ANNE-KATHRINE SCHJERBECK talks about the beginnings as well as latest collaborations at Gallery Lulo that merges craft with art and design with a Danish minimalist sensibility. She recalls growing up in Kenya and Zambia where her parents were diplomats, how she felt affinity with the African-American community when she lived i...

From the research facilities of Novo Nordisk, Copenhagen-born, Lexington, Massachusetts-based Danish scientist and senior vice president JACOB STEN PETERSEN talks about his 35-year career working in developing drugs to support patients with serious chronic diseases, and his 25-year long work and personal investment in finding a cure for diabetes. Jacob further shares his thoughts on the cultures b...

Fredensborg-born, West Hollywood, Los Angeles-based Danish actress, voiceover artist, and writer MARIE BROCK talks about a creative life in the entertainment industry that is characteristically self-motivating. Marie recalls her path to LA via New York and London, and shares her deep experience in voice work and her passion for developing dimensional characters. And she introduces her latest writi...

From her new apartment in Miami, Florida, Sønderborg-born and recent New Yorker Danish scientist and gynecologist MARIE FOEGH shares her research findings on hormone replacement therapy for women experiencing perimenopause and menopause. With clinics in both New York and Copenhagen, Marie talks about her six-decade-long path in medicine, most of which based in the US, and the different attitudes o...

Vesterbro-born and Beachwood Canyon, Los Angeles-based Danish tv and film colorist FREDERIK BOKKENHEUSER recalls his path from Denmark to LA as a drummer in 2007. He talks about the creative and technical aspects of his work at Picture Shop, the diversity of projects he encounters, the evolving post-production technological landscape, and the thrill in working alongside directors, directors of pho...

From the renovated Gensler offices in Downtown Los Angeles, Århus-born Danish architect MICHAEL MØLLER PEDERSEN recalls his plan to move to LA with his wife in 2005 for a ten-year trial period. 20 years later, as project architect and technical director, he discusses architecture as a focus on the human experience, the role of sustainability, what makes a good architect, his appetite for large, co...

From Bloomberg Originals in Midtown Manhattan, Horsens-born, Brooklyn-based Emmy-nominated Danish documentary director and producer SARAH HOLM JOHANSEN describes Season 4 of her series Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller that garnered 29 Emmy nominations and 4 wins. Sarah recalls the start of her career in investigative journalism in New York on 60 Minutes, and traveling the world as a freelancer....

From his Nørlum office in Viborg, South Korea-born Danish animation producer and studio CEO CLAUS TOKSVIG KJÆR recalls how the trajectory of his company changed upon the Oscar nomination of his hand-drawn, animated feature film Song of the Sea (2014). Claus has traveled to Los Angeles for over 50 times, and talks about the US mindset necessary in his work. He describes his latest project Dante, th...

Gentofte-born and Santa Monica, Los Angeles-based Danish creative coach and dream tender LOUISE ROSAGER describes her multilayered approach working with writers, actors, and artists using their own dreams as a new language for their storytelling and creative expression. Louise also talks about how her love for Shakespeare brought her to the US over 20 years ago, and revisits the tv series about yo...

From his home studio in Copenhagen, Copenhagen-born Danish architect and urban planner JAN GEHL recalls the start of his 65-year-long career focused on people and public life in cities, beginning with Copenhagen. Jan highlights his writings that changed mindsets and his transformation of international cities that became people-centered, and credits like-minded city planners and politicians. In par...

From his apartment in Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, New York, Gentofte-born Danish-Spanish-Brazilian restaurateur SEBASTIAN PEREZ recalls growing up in Copenhagen until he was six, and moving to New York at 13. Having opened his fourth location in East Williamsburg, Sebastian reflects on the early bootstrapping days of Smør, created with his partner and fellow Dane, Sebastian Bangsgaard, and his...

On the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, from his home in the Garden District of New Orleans, Holbæk-born Danish tenor saxophonist and composer CHRISTIAN WINTHER recalls moving to "The Big Easy" in 1997 to play with and learn from some of his jazz idols. Staying true to the birthplace of American jazz and also continually innovating, Christian talks about performing on the stages of t...

From her home studio in the West Village in Manhattan, New York-born American-Danish theater and voice actress VANESSA JOHANSSON reflects on growing up American with a Danish architect-father from Copenhagen. Vanessa talks about her work with the Scandinavian American Theater Company, with its mission to bring cutting edge work by contemporary Scandinavian playwrights to American audiences. And sh...

From his home in Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks, Hobro-born Danish professional rider and horse trainer and abstract painter KENNETH VINTHER reflects on moving to California via Germany in his 20s, and on his career competing with and educating show jumping horses. He highlights his best horse, a Holsteiner named Colicchio, once the best in class on the US west coast, and the difference of riding bet...

From his home in Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks, Hobro-born Danish professional rider and horse trainer and abstract painter KENNETH VINTHER reflects on moving to California via Germany in his 20s, and on his career competing with and educating show jumping horses. He highlights his best horse, a Holsteiner named Colicchio, once the best in class on the US west coast, and the difference of riding bet...

​From her home in London, Funen-born, Danish screenwriter LINE LANGEBEK talks about her widely celebrated Oscar-nominated film The Girl with the Needle (2025), a historical psychological horror film based on the true story of Danish serial killer Dagmar Overbye. Line talks about Raising Films, a UK-based organization she helped create that advocates for parents and carers in the screen sector, and...

From his home in Thousand Oaks, California, Nivå-born Danish craft brewer JEPPE JARNIT-BJERGSØ recalls his start as a schoolteacher to kids with special needs and as a beer expert, brewer, and entrepreneur. He talks about his 2012 move to New York with his wife and young children that resulted in years of explosive growth, of his company Evil Twin Brewing, and a Michelin Starred restaurant. And he...

On a visit to Los Angeles to meet with Twentieth Gallery about her new creations, Bonderup-born, London-trained, New York-based Danish designer CAMILLE STÆRK talks about her work, anchored against a strong foundation of her Danish heritage combined with her fascination with Old Hollywood and film noir, and expressed in what she describes as the whole universe: of fashion, furniture, lighting, rugs...

From his apartment in Greenwich Village, New York, Odense-born Danish creative marketer KRISTIAN THOMASSEN recalls leaving home immediately after high school, and experiencing a deep feeling of belonging in New York City. Kristian pays homage to his mentor in his new city, a fellow Dane, or two, and describes his fast-paced work developing campaigns for brands to reach a young demographic with a G...

From his Michelin-Starred restaurant Elske he co-owns with his wife Anna Posey in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood, California-born Danish-American chef and restaurateur DAVID POSEY talks about his path in American fine dining that's always incorporated a Danish or Scandinavian profile. He reflects on his and his restaurant's recent roles on the popular tv series The Bear, the joy of e...

​From her home in Bel-Air, London-born British-Danish interior designer and stylist KRISTINA HASLUND talks about her namesake Studio Haslund that blends Danish modernist style with Los Angeles' indoor-outdoor living. She retraces her roots with her Danish mother, her first career in the music industry, and how mid-century design and architecture are top reasons she calls LA home. And she expla...

From Dumbo, Brooklyn, Frederiksberg-born, Vejle-raised, Copenhagen- and New York-based Danish pianist and composer NIKOLAJ HESS gets ready for his upcoming concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Nikolaj talks about how he translates visual art to music in his project Transformative Reflections, film scoring, and his many jazz adventures, highlighting New York as a jazz capital. And he t...