Sofie Gråbøl interview: ‘I was like: "That's my jumper! Give me my jumper!"’

Sofie Gråbøl had 20 years of success in Denmark before shooting to international fame in 2011 as sweater-wearing sleuth Sarah Lund in Danish crime thriller ‘The Killing’. Making good on her UK success, Gråbøl has just finished filming new British TV series ‘Fortitude’ and now makes her London stage debut at the National Theatre. She plays Queen Margaret in ‘James III: The True Mirror’, the final part of Rona Munro’s acclaimed trilogy ‘The James Plays’ about the Stewart kings of Caledonia.

Your character is basically the lead in ‘James III’ – shouldn’t the play be called ‘Queen Margaret’?
‘I’ll suggest that! She’s a brilliant role and I love the journey that she makes. She knows she is Queen of Scotland but struggles to find herself within that, which is partly because she came [to Scotland from Denmark] when she was 12. The first half of the play she just runs after her husband, King James III. Rona could have written her as someone who knows what she wants, but instead it’s about a woman discovering her role.’

In one speech she essentially tells Scotland she’s ruling them. Was that historically likely?
‘Obviously she didn’t do it like we do it, but [James III] side-tracked himself so destructively that she took control. But I was also amazed to learn that [Queen Margaret and James III] separated. She was a very strong character. My image of medieval women was so stereotyped – women even owned land!’

Having spent time in Scotland and with the Scots, should they have said ‘yes’?
‘I’m a foreigner, so really my opinion on it isn’t relevant, but I followed the referendum very closely this summer. For small nations like Denmark it’s been inspirational to watch a country trying to define its identity.’

You’re famous in the UK for ‘The Killing’. Were you surprised at how much we loved it? ‘Yes! The BBC didn’t expect it to be anything. It just grew and you still haven’t forgotten it. It’s a bit like being adopted by a strange British family.’

You were in the US version. Was that weird? ‘I had a very small cameo, and it was fine until their Sarah Lund – who was called Sarah Linden – walked up to me with that jumper. I actually felt really offended! It was a really childish feeling. I was like: that’s my jumper, give me my jumper! But that was only for a moment.’

Would you ever consider doing a fourth series?
‘Definitely not now, because it would be milking it. But maybe when I’m the age of Miss Marple, when I’m an old woman, knitting my own sweaters and solving crimes. That would be fun.’

Sofie Gråbøl stars in ‘The James Plays’ at The National Theatre, Olivier until Oct 29