Pilou Asbæk swears he’s not a bad guy, but speaking over Zoom from his tranquil, minimalist home in Copenhagen, the Danish actor amiably runs through nearly a decade of his villainous behavior. As the unrepentant sadist Euron Greyjoy on Game of Thrones, he had the tongues of his ship’s crew ripped out. As an SS officer in Overlord, he chugged serum to make himself a forever Nazi. As Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom antagonist Kordax, also known as The Devil, he wields dark energy with the best of em.
It has something to do with Pilou’s physicality. He’s a tall, burly, bearded guy with a gruff voice. He has the good looks of a hockey player but can transform his face into a mask of eerily charismatic menace. In the tight, tense space thriller I.S.S. (out in theaters now), the 41-year-old Dane plays a character who doesn’t seek conflict, but finds it anyway—a Russian astronaut working alongside his American counterparts on the International Space Station when nuclear war breaks out on Earth. He’s a reluctant combatant, which is pretty much Asbæk’s whole vibe. (As the mild-mannered Scandinavian confesses, he’s much more into eating and partying than scheming.)
Asbæk considers himself deeply lucky to have reached a certain international fame that allows him to splurge on luxury items—he’s got the standard Rolexes and IWC Schaffhausen watches—while remaining somewhat under the radar (he flies commercial, because, as he says, “I like people” he). His true passion, however, is influenced by his family’s background as successful art gallery owners in Denmark. As his Hollywood stock has risen, he’s been able to collect pieces from around the world, with an artwork for each big-budget paycheck. He talked to SPY about his hobby and his home life.
SPY: You kind of look like a teddy bear right now, with your scruff and furry chair.
Pilou Asbæk: It’s giving me a little cuddle. If you see my Danish work, I’m the hero. I’m never the villain!
Honestly, it’s just funny because I’m used to seeing you as a murderous monster. Like, Euron Greyjoy prides himself on his torture skills.
No one’s ever the villain in their own story.
You’re Danish, but since Borgen, you’ve become an international star known for your accents and mean streak on camera. How’s that adjustment going?
After seven years working in Denmark, I was like, Oh shit, I got all the awards, I’ve got all the movies, I got all the TV shows. To continue developing as a human being slash actor, I need to work with other nationalities to keep pushing me.
And I’ll be honest: The bigger the audience, the bigger the market, the bigger the paycheck. I became a father and I wanted to make sure that my wife and daughter have a great life.
Nothing wrong with making money. What are the more expensive purchases you’ve made since coming up in Hollywood? Things you wouldn’t have been able to afford before?
I got my IWC watch. I got my Rolexes. I got all that kind of shit. I got the tuxes. But I really picked up my real passion because I was raised with it: Art. My parents have a gallery. And my brothers are in the art world. I’ve really started collecting art. And it gives me such pleasure. I love people who can create something out of nothing. That’s an astonishing gift. So yeah… I’ve been buying a lot of art.
Any particular favorite artists you’ve collected?
An American artist called Koak. I think she’s absolutely incredible. Sanford Biggers. He’s American as well. Nova Jiang, incredible. Will Thompson, a British artist [whose work] I bought last week. Matzu [Tomokazu Matsuyama], a Japanese-American artist.
There’s so many incredible people out there, but it’s mostly the next generation of American artists.
Asbæk starts touring his house with phone in hand. He picks up a colorful circular painting.
We were just talking about Ghost in the Shell, right? So this is the Matsuyama I bought when I got my first paycheck from Ghost in the Shell. Every time I get a job, I take a small amount of that fee, and I buy something. Because it’s a memory of what I did and why I did it.
And the piece has a bit of an anime look.
Exactly. This will always be the Ghost in the Shell art. So that’s my hobby. I’m walking in the footsteps of my parents and my brothers.
What are some other simpler pleasures you’ve picked up on the job?
I love food. I love alcohol. I love to drink and party and eat…. I gotta say, the Danish cuisine right now with Noma, Alchemist, those are amazing. And you can go to a shitty place that doesn’t look like anything and still get astonishing food.
Rene Redzepi is the man.
He’s super cool. We actually work out at the same gym every morning. I really love to come home and feel the safe environment in Copenhagen. Because Copenhagen is a very safe city. It’s a very small city, and a nice city.
I might start considering taking small breaks from international films and focus more on my national market.
Sure, but you’ve got something else first, right?
I can’t say because it hasn’t been announced yet. To be announced next month. But it’s a big ass show, man.
