E ON HOW HE WAS INSPIRED BY HIS ROOTS

paper pa and we got the worst reviews of anywhere an in Svalbard.

“But it’s great. We first went in the dark months mo – 24 hours of midnight darkness – and we thought people were going to be gloomy and an miserable. Not in the slightest, it was like lik party time. The people are friendly and happy ha and there’s lots of snow, reindeer hunting hu and dog sleds.

“It’s a fantastic, crazy place and it’s very sociable. so There are lots of pubs and bars and music. mu I’ve been there five or six times and filming film there this last time was really special.”

Simon’s enthusiasm for the Arctic was echoed ec by the cast, not least Quaid. The Hollywood Ho actor, 64, whose films include Far From Fr Heaven, The Big Easy and Innerspace, plays pla crab fisherman Michael Lennox – and not no even the cold could dull his enthusiasm.

Simon said: “We had Dennis in minus-30 degrees de in the Arctic running about outside bare-chested ba wearing a ball gag for two days. The Th snow was so hard and cold, it was like running ru in cement – and he was loving it.