‘The jumper made me a fashion icon’: how we made The Killing – by Sofie Gråbøl and Søren Sveistrup

Søren Sveistrup, series creator and head writer

I wanted to do the world’s best crime story in Danish. I approached DR, the Danish broadcasting corporation, with an idea. They said no chance, they had other guys writing crime stories. What they wanted was some kind of romantic comedy. So I did a series, starring Sofie Gråbøl, called Nikolaj and Julie. It was a success and won an International Emmy. After that, DR were eager to hear more about my crime idea. They were concerned when I said it would take 20 episodes to solve the case. But because of the Emmy, I was given carte blanche.

To me The Killing is like a Greek tragedy. There’s something that casts a spell on a city, in this case Copenhagen, and you cannot escape, you cannot breathe, until it’s gone. I did a lot of research into actual murder cases in Denmark, talking to politicians, police, relatives, priests. Some scenes were a depiction of my own life. I lost my mother when I was young: the story about a family losing something extremely valuable was really about me. It was catharsis, I guess.

Sarah Lund was created closely with Sofie, who is a very feminine and lovely person in real life. We imagined Sarah more as a man. I was very fond of spaghetti westerns with Clint Eastwood. We wanted the silent western hero, combined with Sofie’s natural sense of comedy and awkwardness. Socially inadequate, consumed by her work. No clues about her background. An enigma.

Nobody on set except for me and maybe one or two others knew who the killer was until the very end of shooting. I didn’t tell my friends or even my wife. I didn’t want the actor to play guilty, and I wanted to keep my options open with the story as we went. I was a perfectionist and eventually got so behind schedule with the writing that it was like laying the tracks for the train as it was approaching. But that meant I could stay close to the tension as it built.

The Killing was very successful in Denmark, but no Danish TV series had ever done well abroad back then – the language barrier was just too big. However, first the Swedes liked it, then the Germans, then the French. The biggest surprise was the Brits. For some reason, the timing was just right. The show helped open doors for not only Danish language TV, but Swedish and lots of other languages. Now it’s common to turn on Netflix and see something like Squid Game, in Korean.

I closed the door on The Killing a long time ago, but who knows what the future may hold. I still have strong feelings for Sarah Lund.

Sofie Gråbøl, played Sarah Lund

Birger Larsen, the director, wanted Sarah Lund in braids and a poncho. I’m a practical woman and I remember saying to him: “Birger, it’s ridiculous – how would you shoot a gun wearing a poncho?” But that’s the beautiful thing about the creative process, because it got us talking. We thought: maybe she could wear something knitted instead, to contrast with her tough line of work? I’ve always hated the whole costume part of being an actor, but I totally surrendered to the jumper. I thought it was the most perfect costume ever. Never did I imagine myself becoming some kind of fashion icon.

I felt as if I was putting on armour when I put that jumper on. As soft as it was, it was also an expression of extreme self-confidence – not giving a fuck about what’s expected. That people really love Sarah Lund as a character surprises me. She’s a loner, she’s a bad mother. She’s not lovable at all. But in some ways that is her superpower. She has such a strong centre, an uncompromising dedication to truth.

I was at a low point in my personal life when we started shooting. I had two young kids, I was getting divorced. But to enter this little world with Søren and other people I knew very well, and to play a character who was very minimalist and didn’t require me to expose all my emotions, felt like this dark, soothing bubble. Søren’s way of writing while shooting was very intense, but it made for a creative and fun atmosphere. When we got the final script, with the reveal, the atmosphere in the room was like Christmas Eve.

When the first season hit the UK in 2011, I was taken by surprise as my phone was suddenly flooded with calls from the British press. The moment it sank in how big it had become was at the Baftas. We were in this big London venue, star spotting. When a clip from The Killing was shown next to other international nominees like Boardwalk Empire, I felt embarrassed. It was clear that our show didn’t have the same budget or production values. We felt like the peasant family members. And then it won. On the walk up to the stage, so many people leaned out from their tables and said: “We loved your show!”

I didn’t keep the jumpers – they were auctioned off. But I’m sure they could knit me a new one if I ever needed it.