JOEL KINNAMAN
“If I could tel l my 16-year- old sel f how my life turned out, I’d never believe him,” says 39-year-old actor Joel Kinnaman. Having grown up on the south side of Stockholm to a Swedish mother and an American father, Kinnaman’s meteoric – but far from simplistic – rise to fame has seen the European actor helm leading roles in Emmy Award-winning series House of Cards, critical ly acclaimed crime drama The Killing and David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. Kinnaman’s mother, who was a therapist, is accountable for his “ability to self analyse”, while his father, who sought refuge in Sweden after having spent five years on the run in Laos after deserting the Vietnam War, serves as a constant source of inspiration. “I’m developing a script about my f ather’s story,” he says. Although Kinnaman attended an international s chool, he’s reluctant t o t hink of himsel f as having had a privi leged upbr inging. A small acting gig when he was 11-years-old would give Kinnaman a taste for the craft, but it wasn’t enough to keep his focus. He soon fel l in with a bad crowd of people he describes as “career criminals”, but fortunately Kinnaman’s thirst for discovery led him to study abroad. His location? Del Val le, in Austin, Texas. After a year spent with a host family in the deep southeastern suburb, Kinnaman returned to Sweden, but failed to graduate from high school. Heading to Norway, Kinnaman took on an abundance of odd jobs from sweeping snow of f of rooftops, construction and demolition to bartending. Heading back to Sweden once again, Kinnaman re-connected with acting and enrol led at a theatre school in Malmö. Kinnaman made his feature f ilm debut in 2002, in The Invisible, i n 2 009 he moved t o t he US and a year l ater, upon the release of Easy Money, Hol lywood began to take serious notice of him. Now based beachside in Los Angeles and co-signed by innumerable A-list actors and directors, Kinnaman’s values and approach to life are still d istinctly European.
You’re a dual citizen of both the US and Sweden, in 2019 that puts you in an interesting position. How does it feel?
I real ly feel both citizenships. It’s important for me to be Swedish and I can’t deny that I’m an American as well. I have an emotional connection to both countries. It’s easy to be a functional society in Sweden when you have ten mil lion people in a very homogenous population. The US has just under 330 million people and it’s more like a continent than a country so I still feel like the US is a beautiful mess, and it’s a country of contrast where you can have the most liberal progressive p eople a nd t he most r eactionary conservative people, with crazies on both sides and everything at once.
There’s a lot happening politically-speaking right now. Do you feel like you have a social responsibility when it comes to speaking out?
I used to have a much clearer idea of where I stood on the political spectrum, but now I’m much more fluid. I’ve become much more of a centrist in many ways. I grew up in Sweden in a very strong state where there’s much more opportunity for people who come from the lower classes to do a class migration, and of course I see the structure of a Swedish society with higher taxes, free education, free healthcare and those things of course play into that but at the same time I look at the entrepreneurial spirit of the US and see real value in that too. In any society where you can look in someone’s mouth and see if they’re rich or poor, the society has failed them.
What’s your earliest memory of engaging with fashion?
Probably sneakers. I’ve always loved a great pair of sneakers and as boys running around on the playground and comparing your stuff. That was always a big topic of conversation.
When you moved from Sweden to LA did your style change?
It was more a matter of practicality than a thoughtful shift. In Sweden I’m living a more city-oriented, seasonal lifestyle so that requires more pieces and layers. In LA, it’s sunny and warm most of the year and I live by a beach, so my wardrobe is reflective of that. I think of personal style as having the confidence to wear what feels true to you. That can change over time, but it’s authentic in the moment.
Who are your go-to designers?
For red carpet, I like Dior, Ferragamo, Valentino, Brioni. For more casualwear I like ACNE, APC and Common Projects. I’m involved with a Swedish watch brand called Carl Edmond that I love. Watches are something I’ll splurge on as they feel timeless and are a solid investment piece.
Tell me about your teenage years. I read that you used to get into a lot of trouble.
I hung out with people that became career criminals and luckily I got out before it got serious, but that was definitely an impactful time for me. I was drawn to them because I could see people were afraid of them, and I felt that power, and being around them I felt powerful too. And when people were afraid of me I felt that power directly and it was intoxicating and I think it compensated for some of the insecurities that I had.
What does being European mean to you?
In a wealthy society there are certain things that we absolutely should take for granted like free healthcare, free education and free dental care. These things should not be negotiable; they should be a human right, anything less is not dignified for a wealthy society.