Kristine Froseth on ‘Her Private Hell,’ Cannes, and Working with Auteurs

Words: Ione Gamble | Creative Direction and Photography: Samantha King | Photo assist: Benjo Leggett | Stylist: Yuri Nosho | Makeup: Grace Ellington | Hair: Francesc Cardona

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Not a week before her arrival at the Polyester studio in south London, Kristine Froseth was dancing up and down the red carpet at Cannes with her Her Private Hell co-stars - Sophie Thatcher, Havana Rose Liu, and Charles Melton - for the first screening of what became one of the most divisive titles of the festival. A few days later, Kristine appears just as at home walking towards our studio door during the first heatwave of the year. She’s wearing running shoes and carrying a backpack, but it’s still one of the most glamorous arrivals I’ve witnessed. 

This may have been her first appearance at Cannes but Kristine has been working solidly for over a decade, building a reputation as an actor who refuses to be typecast. After being scouted by IMG Models at the mall, the 30 year old quickly became a mainstay across television: from her introduction as the manic pixie dream girl to end all manic pixie dream girls in the adaptation of Looking For Alaska, to starring as a gilded age heroine in The Buccaneers. Her most recent parts, the ones that see her move from TV into film, introduce darker characters into her oeuvre - starting with the role of Hunter in Nicolas Winding Refn’s return to film, Her Private Hell.

Hunter seems almost the polar opposite of Kristine herself: an over-confident, fame-hungry influencer who’s been dropped into a Gialloesque fairytale-slash-nightmare (by contrast, a quick scroll of Kristine’s Instagram will garner numerous posts highlighting the importance of mental health support and showing her training for marathons). Hunter, however, is not exactly bad - Kristine brings elements of depth to the performance that had me rooting for her to make it out of the neon soaked, surrealist blood bath alive. As well as her upcoming projects, Her Private Hell hints at a desire to work with directors singular in their vision - with a leading role in Anna Biller’s next project The Face of Horror upcoming.

On set for our cover shoot, we’re sitting eating a buffet of picky bits over lunch break and chatting about what it was like to make the film. It’s a stark contrast to the moments of tenseness between the characters in Her Private Hell, trapped in a hotel waiting to film a movie of their own. But juxtapositions have long been a part of life for Kristine: whether it’s growing up between Norway and the States, to jumping from major television productions to indie movie sets, or walking the red carpet and then spending the weekend running around London catching up with friends.

All items: Photographer’s own

Hi Kristine! Tell me about Cannes.

Where do I begin? It was just so exciting to have my first Cannes experience with a film that I love, with people I love. Press actually being super fun and challenging and interesting, getting to wear the dress on the carpet was so fun. They were blasting Rihanna.

What song?

“Umbrella.”

Oh, love. That's so funny.

I had no idea. I thought it was going to be super serious, but the second I got there, there was so much energy and it started to rain. It all just felt like a very main character moment.

It feels like an extension of the film in a weird way. Like this heightened glamour and opulence.

Yeah, that's actually so true. And then it was kind of interesting also how we all posed on that carpet was like how our characters would do it. I was kind of running around. I don't know what happened to me. Running around dancing to Rihanna, which is something Hunter, my character, would do. Kristine? No. And then the film’s pace is very stoic and slow. Everyone else was moving very slowly, like their characters. It was very fascinating.

Neck accessory, tops, skirt: Photographer’s own | Other items: Stylist’s own

Pants: Katya Zelentsova | Tops, neck accessory: Photographer’s own | Other items: Stylist’s own

“Nicolas would have all these dreams - there's no real foundation, everything is just intuitive. He very much forces you to not think with your head, but think with your gut and think with your heart.”

So, I watched Her Private Hell a couple of weeks ago. I loved it. On our cover shoot, you said that filming was unlike anything else you've worked on. I was wondering if you could expand on that.

Yeah, for sure. I'm also so curious to hear your interpretation of it because that's kind of the most exciting part, hearing everyone's different take on things like who the characters are, what they represent, what the film is about. The ending was constantly changing, but it was like an outline. And then we would just keep rewriting. Pretty quickly we just ditched the script altogether and we would work based off of each scene and what each scene inspired us to do for the next scene. Nicolas would have all these dreams - there's no real foundation, everything is just intuitive. He very much forces you to not think with your head, but think with your gut and think with your heart. 

That was really exciting because usually on set it’s very strategic. It's all very planned. There's a lot of background talk and analysis of the script together, but this was all kind of like we were in this collective dream, just flowing from scene to scene. That was just an incredibly unique experience. A lot was communicated through sound. He would play a lot of music and be like, “This is what the scene should feel like.” So even that was just really trippy.

Was it contemporary music or more like the soundtrack?

A bit of both. Nothing that's in the film, but the composer of the film score’s older work. And then Nicolas had a playlist that he would just go through with all the with all these different moods. 

Would you say it was more collaborative than other sets you’ve worked on, or would you say it was just different?

I mean, everyone works differently. Her Private Hell was definitely the most like: “I trust you. I brought you onto the job because of what you could bring and we all have something to bring and let's all do this together.” There's no hierarchy. I mean, even getting the job felt like a personality quiz. It wasn't a normal character script. Nicolas was like, “What are you into? Who are you?” And it was all very personal.

Did you find it hard when production finished to let it go?

I did. But then a week later I jumped into The Face of Horror so I didn't have that much time to process it - and those characters are very different. But I'm feeling it more so now. I feel like I'm starting to process these characters that have been with me since last year. That might sound weird, but usually there's like a decompression phase. I have to go through wrap by wrap and I haven't been able to do that with any of the characters from last year yet.

How was it playing a character that was also an actor?

I've always wanted to do that. And it was so weird to be on set, on set. And then I kept being like, “What kind of actor is this actor?” And I think she's in it for different reasons than I am. I think she's very much an influencer and wants to be a star and focussed more on that than the work. I mean, some of those scenes have been cut now, but the film that we shot within the film, there was more context around it and more scenes that were played out. It was just kind of fun to play someone who's a little bit about the fame and the glory and has this idea of what it is to be an actor.

Yeah, she feels quite far away from you. I loved her, though. 

Yeah, I love, she lives it up. I aspire to be more like that.

The film, and I feel like Nicolas Winding Refn’s work in general, is divisive. There's a kind of ‘the girls who get it, get it’ element. Why do you think this is? And how does it feel to be part of a project that is divisive in that way?

I think it's really exciting, because no matter what the result of that conversation is, at least it’s a conversation. And at least there's feelings involved. I don't feel like you leave his films thinking “Oh, whatever.” There's always something bubbling - whether that's hatred or love. That's like the best part of art: talking about it and nerding out and processing why you feel the way that you feel. He likes to poke at things and I think he wants to cause a reaction, consciously or subconsciously.

I remember seeing so many pictures of the cast just hanging out in Copenhagen when you were shooting, how was it?

Oh, great. It's the best place, one of the best places on planet Earth.

It's also a Scandinavian country, so you must be quite familiar with the culture

Yeah, that was definitely a big part. The cultures of Denmark and Norway are very similar. And we were staying in this little apartment complex together by the water. Oh, it was incredible. And the working hours in Scandinavia are strict, you know, we came at 5, left at 5, people wanted to be with their families.

It must be good to have some boundaries in that respect if the work you're doing is quite free form.

Yeah, which isn't normal. But there was some balance here with that where it was a very small crew. I knew Havana from before. I always loved Charles and met him there and, like outside of work, it was super chill, chill, Scandi vibes. And then at work, it's like a very focussed mode. Like we could shoot like a scene, maybe a scene or two a day.

All items: Stylist’s own

“I think it's really exciting, because no matter what the result of that conversation is, at least it’s a conversation. And at least there's feelings involved.”

That seems great. Did you get in your head about how long it was running?

Yeah. The first day - they cut this scene - but I was up first and I had heard rumours that he did many, many takes. But, you know, we never really talked about it. We did like 60 takes. And I was like, bro. This is crazy meditation, I've never done that many takes. I like to go like maybe three. And so you really lock in in a different way.

Was there like any other films, TV, even like, I guess, for your character influencers or famous people that you looked into when preparing for Hunter?

I watched All About Eve. That was a big inspiration, and I was on TikTok a lot. I am not on TikTok, but I was listening to a lot of Addison Rae. I was listening to a lot of pop and just scrolling a lot. Because she's kind of a modern girl, so I was seeing how the kids are talking and what they're doing these days.

“I'm very interested in the nuances of human behaviour and the different ways that can be expressed. I have a few directors I really want to work with, but then I read the script and if it resonates, then I love to have a meeting if I can.”

I loved the makeup and costuming as well. What was your favourite?

Oh, I know. I mean, she just wears the best shit. My final outfit is a really short skirt. Everything is exposed, but it's glitter. Hunter just really helped me explore my body in a different way. All of our outfits were very daring. That I would never wear, but it changes you as a person. And then I was blonde for the film, which was exciting. I hadn't been blonde. That added to the character.

It sounds like you haven't stopped for a while. Is that coincidence or were you just like, “I want to go at it?”

I was just blessed to do a lot of projects I really wanted to do. So I wasn't questioning it. And then now I'm like, “Wait. Who am I?”

I also read in an interview that you were directing a short. 

I am going to do that. That is hopefully going to happen next January, February. I want to shoot it in Norway. It's gonna be in Norwegian. And it's basically like a chapter of this girl's home life with her mom. 12 pages. It'll be just like a little slice of life. And I know where I want to shoot it. So it's exciting. I'm very excited. I'm very nervous.

I'm really interested in the way that you pick your projects because it feels like on the film side, you pick very auteur-led, indie projects and on the TV side it's a bit more broad in appeal. So I was wondering if you could speak to those choices?

Yeah, to some degree, I definitely think it is trying to trust my gut more and what I'm interested in exploring. I'm very interested in the nuances of human behaviour and the different ways that can be expressed. I have a few directors I really want to work with, but then I read the script and if it resonates, then I love to have a meeting if I can. Sometimes it just really clicks, but usually it's all around these themes that I'm really desperate to explore.

Who are the directors you would love to work with?

Well, Joachim Trier. I don't know if you're a fan of his. But, Norway shoutout, obviously. Andrea Arnold, love her, Lynn Ramsey, would kill, would kill. Paul Thomas Anderson and Ruben Östlund, I think, do incredible analyses of human behaviour.

Yeah, they're all very character-driven directors.

Yeah. It's not really about the plot. It's about how people cope through these different circumstances.

Finally, I’m interested in what draws you to kind of be working with these directors that have such a clear point of view, because obviously Nicolas is known for that, and then also Anna Biller [director of The Face of Horror] - these are people that are quite singular in vision.

It just kind of awakens you in a different way. It changes your perspective on life and that's so exciting to experience. The way that I would tell the story of Her Private Hell would just be like supernaturalism - it would just be a completely different story. It was just so exciting to see the worlds that these directors create, but the themes are so powerful.

Thanks Kristine!