Even if you’ve got loads of experience, auditioning for one of the biggest franchises in the industry has got to be a high-pressure, nerve-racking situation. But can you imagine your very first acting audition ever being for a project as big as Star Wars: The Force Awakens? That’s exactly what happened to Vikings: Valhalla star Frida Gustavsson.
With Vikings: Valhalla Season 1 available to watch on Netflix, Gustavsson joined us for an episode of Collider Ladies Night to recap her one-of-a-kind journey to headlining the Vikings sequel series. Even though she’s always been drawn to acting, Gustavsson wound up sparking a hugely successful modeling career first. However, the time came when she couldn’t ignore the itch to act any longer and opted to leave modeling behind at the top of her career to pursue her greatest passion. Her very first audition after making that decision? One for the role of Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
How exactly does one book an audition like that right out the gate? Gustavsson recalled how her modeling agent helped make it happen:
“That was kind of in the death part of my modeling career. [Laughs] I was still living in New York. I had a modeling agent who was amazing at IMG Models, and she knew that I was kind of on the way out and I think she wanted to help me facilitate the bridge and, of course, the first audition she comes up with is Star Wars.”
Given Daisy Ridley is our Rey, clearly, Gustavsson didn’t get the part, but she’s actually grateful things panned out that way.
“I think I did a decent enough job, but I was not prepared to do something of that scale and I’m incredibly glad that I didn’t end up getting it now because I would have absolutely tanked it. But it’s double, you know? In a way, I was like, wow, it’s incredible to get to read text of that quality and to work at that level, or to try to work at that level so soon. But also, it’s quite interesting when you approach it totally green and totally fresh, and you don’t really realize how big it is to get to do something like that and who the people on the other side of the self-tape are.”
Gustavsson may have gone into that Force Awakens audition “green and totally fresh,” but she walked away from it with an experience that would heavily influence her approach to the audition process moving forward. She explained:
“I learned so much just about initially doing self-tapes and then coming and meeting someone, about how much time it takes, how much I actually really enjoy doing self-tapes, and how far you can [go] and how people actually want to see your perspective. I mean, that’s why you’re doing a self-tape. That’s why you’re not in the room.”
So yes, Gustavsson is able to look back on the audition and appreciate what she took from it, but what about in the moment? Her first big audition and she didn’t book the role. What was the key to hearing “no" and being able to forge forward?
“A no is a no and I’ve had a million noes in my career. I think that’s something that helps that I’ve worked since I was 12 because I’ve had noes, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, and at some point, you realize, ‘Oh, well it’s not because I suck. It’s not because I’m not good enough,’ or, ‘It’s not because I don’t have any self-worth or because I don’t deserve to be here.’ You’re not right for everything. I can honestly say so many of the projects that I’ve read for and then I end up seeing someone else go get it and you’re like, ‘Yeah, she’s probably gonna do a better job than me.’ But then there are some jobs where you just read it and you’re like, ‘No. No one else is gonna do this. This is my part.’ Like with Freydis I was like, ‘Oh, great. Well, you don’t even have to look at anyone else because it’s my part, so thank you!’”
If you’ve seen Vikings: Valhalla, you’re likely well aware that Gustavsson is a true force in the role of Freydis, proving her point -- that was her part and no one else's. And if you haven’t seen the show yet, what are you waiting for? Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix and it’s a stellar start to the series which scored a three-season commitment right out the gate.
If you’d like to hear more from Gustavsson on her journey to the series, we’ve got the uncut version of her 40-minute Collider Ladies Night interview for you in podcast form below.