How Far Would Hedda Stiernstedt go For Love?
By: xxx Published: d/m/Y
Words, Fanny Ekstrand
Set design & styling, Hobnob
Hair, Robert Preston
Photo, Linn Eklund
Retouch, Åsa Eriksson
Love has been the forever topic throughout all of history. We are all on a constant search for love – we crave it, we demand it. However, love is not something that can be forced. Unfortunately, it’s not something that can be delivered on-demand either, even if we’d like to think so. It is kind of a mystery really, and it can begin just as quickly and unnoticed as it ends.
There are two sides to the coin that is modern love. On the one side, it has never been so easy to look for love. Everyone is out there, so to speak. But on the other side, there has never been so much politics or games involved. People have never (ever) been so hard to get. True love’s biggest blessing, and curse today is the dating app. It has, from what I’ve heard, made more than a few people go literally insane. Because, there is always another swipe to be made, another super like to receive. The grass is always greener on the other side, and you know what? It’s exhausting. The question is, in this day and age, how far is one supposed to go for love?
Swedish actress Hedda Stiernstedt is one of the greatest names of the Scandinavian film industry right now. She became everyone’s darling with her character Nina in the TV- series The Restaurant (original title, Vår Tid Är Nu) where Nina’s outrageously dramatic love life, for the time being, was a big part of the storyline. The following roles Hedda has played have too circulated around love in different ways. Hobnob had an exclusive interview with Hedda during her campaign shoot with Cartier earlier this fall and got to talk about her biggest force in live: love.
Fabric, by Svenskt Tenn
Chair, by Pierre Jeanneret for Cassina via Nordiska Galleriet
How far would you go for love Hedda?
”I honestly think I could do pretty much anything for love. I know how that sounds, but it’s… true.”
”All my life the word Love has always been a sort of lead motto for me. My first and only professional tattoo was the word love in Swedish, and even if I’ve had periods where I think that tattoo is cheesy or childish, I always sort of come back to that simple word: Love. Over the years I’ve made sure to surround myself with people I truly love and who loves me back the same. And I work with what I love! So really everything I have in my life is based on Love”
How far is too far, when it comes to love?
”I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that!” She breaks out singing.
”That in this case is hurting myself. These days I only let people really close if I know that their love for me is as true as my love for them. I love quite intensely and with full force, and I expect the feeling to be reciprocated. Otherwise, it’s not for me. Unconditional love, I save for babies and dogs. It might sound harsh, but I honestly don’t accept others half- assing it when it comes to love and relationships, because I never do anything half-arsed myself.”
You starred as Nina in the popular TV show The Restaurant where the Romeo and Juliet love story between upper-class girl Nina and working-class boy Calle was a very central plot, how did their love change over three the seasons?
”At the beginning, their love is so pure. As you said, it is really one of those Romeo-and- Juliet-we can-overcome-anything kind of loves. But I think they really start to lose each other somewhere in the middle of season two. Love in any relationship needs fuel and attention to evolve and grow and Nina and Calle stop paying attention to each other and stop seeing one another for who they really are and what they need. So they have to lose each other.”
”But then at the very end of season three all ends sort of meet at the beginning, and they both forgive each other. Full circle. Then they can really get back to that initial love again, youthful and pure.”
How do you think our generation love in comparison to previous generations?
”Good question! In a way now more then ever we are so much freer to love whoever we want. And that gives us so much, which is amazing of course.”
”But at the same time, I think it is a very weird time for love because of the internet and dating apps. It’s like you send someone your CV, and off that list of skills, you should decide if its a perfect match? We are back at the arranged marriage in a sense, all we see is a look and money. And we don’t take any risks, we want to know for certain that the other person likes you before we even open our mouths.”
”I mean my boyfriend is super sexy, but he doesn’t photograph that well” She laugh and add ”Sorry baby” and continues ”I’m not sure we were each other’s type on paper when we first met. But he walked into the room and my heart stopped. I started to like everything about him, everything he does. Even if it all was unexpected I started to like things that others might find annoying because I was and still am so in love. I think It’s dangerous to have a list of demands you expect to be met. It makes us miss a lot. It’s important to be able to fall in love with the unexpected.”
When in character, is love or hate the easiest to act on?
”Every actor is different, but I have the feeling many prefer hate because it’s more explosive. But for me love really comes so much easier. Anger is purely a reaction, but love is something I can remember and sort of experience again. Those memories of love, I can feel them in every fiber of my being. I simply connect easier with memories of love than ones of anger.”
“Anger is purely a reaction, but love is something I can remember and sort of experience again.”
Hedda Stiernstedt
In the movie My Dad Marianne you play the part of a daughter to a man who no longer want to live in the body of a male and change sex to become a woman. How has their dad and daughter love story touched you?
”Even if we have a very long way to go still, I think it’s a sign that we have come at least a bit on our way when one of Sweden’s most legendary actors (a man who is famous for his masculinity) plays a transexual in a major box-office movie. I’ve had so many people, especially from the older generation, tell me it inspired them to live more freely. And that is so precious.”
”Also, I thought it was so sweet to get the opportunity to play a father/daughter relationship because we don’t get to see many of those onscreen.”
In times when love gets political, how can one be an ally?
”Not being racist or homophobic isn’t enough. Being an ally isn’t passive, because it requires action. To be a real ally, I think we need to challenge ourselves and our behaviors. And of course, we need to challenge the behavior of those around us. Not just post stories on Instagram.”
What is uncomplicated love?
”First of all; it isn’t supposed to be complicated. I always knew love requires time and nurture, but it took a long time for me to realize that it isn’t supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to give and fill you up. Otherwise, it isn’t love.”
”I am an actress after all so I am a quite emotional person (surprise surprise) so I do love intensely, I let the feeling overflow me and… consume me. Maybe sometimes too much. Let me tell you, I freakin love love.”
Hedda’s List of Love
I truly and obsessively love my work, I just want to work all the time basically.
I have a newfound love for parties with only girls. Damn, it is sooo much fun to hang out with only ladies. I love love love all my friends, but I’ve been loving my girlfriendsa little bit extra lately.
During quarantine I started to babysit a dog and let me tell you i LOVE to hang outwith that stupid doggo <3 she uses my head as a sofa every morning, sits on it likethe best hat you’ll ever see.
The ocean. The saltier the better.
Movies. They were my fist love.