Exclusive Interview: Freddie Wise Discusses Cell 8, Preparing for His Character’s Emotional Journey, and More

Freddie Wise is an up-and-coming actor who is delivering one of the most nuanced performances of the year in the Nordic Noir thriller, Cell 8.

The drama follows detectives Mariana Hermansson (Mimosa Willamo) and Ewert Grens (Leonard Terfelt) as they get into a mysterious and increasingly dark series of events. In Sweden, John Schwarz (Freddie Wise), a man presumed dead, is arrested for assault on a ferry to Finland. The case soon reveals a personal connection not only to Hermansson herself, but to a Death Row prisoner in the U.S. and a grieving parent, Edward Finnigan (Richard Lintern), consumed by the quest for revenge.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Freddie about Cell 8, how he approached his character’s emotional journey, and more.

PC: You’re one of the stars of Cell 8, and this miniseries is being adapted from a popular crime novel. When you’re working on a project that’s existed in another medium, how much do you use the source material in your preparation and as a frame of reference—or do you approach this script as its own body of work?
Freddie: That’s a really good question. Thank you. I read the book because it felt important to me. You want to try to pay as much respect to the original creators as you can. It was so helpful. Even though John in the book is quite different from John in the TV series. In the book, he’s a bit older. He’s a father. He’s a slightly darker figure. He’s got a few more demons.

But what I really found helpful in the book is that throughout the whole thing, he’s completely traumatized. He’s in a state of trauma the whole time. I thought that was really interesting. I thought that would be a really interesting and challenging thing to try to take on and bring to the show: a person who’s constantly in a state of trauma without it being exhausting or boring for an audience. I had to try to sort that out. That’s the place where he’s coming from. I found that really helpful from the book.

PC: Throughout your career, you’ve played such a wide range of characters. What was it about John and this script that resonated with you? There are also so many twists and turns. What was your initial reaction when you read it?
Freddie: I felt very privileged and lucky to get to play a part like John. I was glad that they wanted me. That was amazing. Because the character feels so different from me, so the indulgent actor in me wanted to try to take that on. Then I got to meet with Johan Brisinger (the director) who was so excited. He’s a film nerd. He was making really exciting references about the character and the direction of the show. That got me really excited. Then I saw that Mimosa [Willamo] (who plays Mariana) was part of it. I saw her act, and I think she’s one of the best actors I’ve ever seen. The chance to get to work with her was a huge, huge selling point for me. She is amazing.

PC: There are so many stellar performances across the board. There’s a community of people who come together to support John when he doesn’t have the strength for himself. Who are the people in your own life who supported you on this journey as a storyteller? Did you channel any of those relationships into the dynamics that we see in the series?
Freddie: That’s a really good question. I had a really special relationship with Victor [McGuire], who plays my dad. He reminds me a lot of my uncle, and that was easy to step into. I felt that immediate connection with him. It’s a completely different stratosphere of experiences. But when you go into acting, it’s incredibly challenging. There are low moments, so it’s hard not to say my parents have been my main supporters. There are some scenes, particularly towards the end, that I’ve luckily never experienced anything close to. You have those scenarios where you have to say goodbye to a loved one, which might be for the last time. Everyone has experienced that in their lives. Those moments by osmosis fed into those later scenes.

PC: John also has such a transformative journey. What are some of the character choices and decisions that you made to show that contrast and this evolution before and after prison?
Freddie: My big overarching theme/idea for John is that he’s never felt free. He’s never had ownership of his life. In the beginning, he was rebelling against that and overcompensating and projecting an idea of himself. He was projecting an idea of toughness. Because he felt viewed in a certain way, like a lot of us do, he was living up to and betraying those expectations.

I think because of the trauma of prison and death row, he’s almost like someone who’s had shell shock. There’s a part of him that slightly died when he went to prison. He’s a better person, but he’s more repressed. That was the main overarching theme.

When I was trying to let ideas hit me, it was that feeling of never feeling free. He never felt any sense of freedom or choice. But towards the end, he starts to go, “These are the only choices that I can make, but I will make them.” There’s a certain liberation in that for him. That’s where he can try to find his freedom.

PC: You’re also sporting an American accent for this project. How challenging was it to adapt to that dialect?
Freddie: I stressed about it so much. From the beginning, I stressed about that as much as any of those intense scenes. I find it really pulls me out if I know that’s not someone’s voice. Luckily, my sister’s boyfriend, Caleb, is a very sweet Midwest boy. I got him to record all my lines. I took advantage of his generosity. Then we had an amazing accent coach, Rebecca, on set. She was the coolest person in the world. She was unbelievably helpful. I felt like my voice dropped a few octaves by doing the accent. She was really helpful with finding where this voice sits, which is far lower than a Londoner’s might be.

I don’t know if you guys disagree, but I think Americans are far less gatekeepery about the American accent than I think English people are about theirs. You’re much kinder to English people doing American accents than we are to you. Even though I think Americans can do brilliant English accents. You’re a lot nicer to us. You’re much kinder than we are. We’re more of gatekeepers.

PC: There’s so much vulnerability that you need to tap into for a role like this, which you brought so much nuance to. How did you create the space for yourself to dive into those more emotional moments?
Freddie: It’s weird because I believe quite strongly that when you’re working, you have to try to make everyone else’s job as easy as possible. I don’t want to be like, “I need to feel terrible therefore I’m going to impose that atmosphere onto everyone else.” But luckily the incredibly intense scenes were all at the end. Hopefully, I’d established that I wasn’t a complete douche so that I could take off when those scenes were coming up to get into that headspace. I don’t think I’m a good enough actor to be chatting and then when they say action I can turn it on. [laughs] I wanted to try to be as much in that headspace as possible.

They did such an incredible job with the sets that when you’re in that environment and you’re being chained up and you see that death chamber, it’s quite easy for your imagination to take over and be like, “Oh my God, this actually happens to people.” It’s quite easy to just feel it.

Then you’re around all these amazing actors who are giving you so much that you’re able to be present with them and not put pressure on yourself. I didn’t want to put any pressure on myself, like that I had to feel a certain way or that I had to convey something. I thought about it. But then when you’re in the scene with the other amazing actors, you let whatever comes happen. That’s when I think you get the best film acting. It’s when the actors surprise themselves. I was lucky enough to be in an environment where I felt like that could happen.

PC: This role seems like such an exercise in stamina where there are moments that hit audiences in the gut. For you as an actor responsible for bringing that to life, was that ever a daunting task? What was that decompression like after a day of filming?
Freddie: That’s a really good question. It was definitely daunting because this was the first time where I was filming pretty much every scene and doing all these intense, dark scenes. You have to try to look after yourself as best you can because you don’t want to be completely drained after one day.

After the last few weeks of filming, I felt like I didn’t look great. [laughs] When I first started I was looking quite healthy, and then by the end, I looked pretty sallow. I was in need of a little bit of a holiday afterwards.

PC: As the miniseries makes its way to American audiences, is there a scene or episode that you’re particularly excited for them to see?
Freddie: I would say the end because it sticks the landing, in my opinion. It commits to the idea of what the show’s about. It really stays true to the idea it sets up and doesn’t end the way that other shows would. It’s not that type of show. Hopefully, by the end, people will go, “It really stuck to its guns.”

PC: Outside of this project, what’s next for you? You’re such a dynamic storyteller, what’s left on your bucket list?
Freddie: There’s still so much that I want to do. Maybe something slightly lighter would be nice next time. But it’s one of those things where I feel so lucky with the jobs that I’ve been able to work on. I’m not trying to strategize too much. If you’re like, “Well, this would be good for me,” it never works out like that. I will wait to see what comes, and I’ll always be grateful.

To keep up with Freddie, follow him on Instagram. Watch Cell 8 on Viaplay today.

Photo Credit: Benjam Orre