Lisbeth Salander returns in The Girl in the Spider's Web, this time played by Claire Foy (The Crown), and as she struggles to unravel the latest cyber-conspiracy she'll also be on the run from a ruthless killer. Claes Bang (The Bridge) plays Jan Holtser, a shadowy and mysterious figure stalking Lisbeth, but to say much more about him would give away the twists and turns of this thriller. Screen Rant got to see some of Holtser's handiwork earlier this year when we visited the set of The Girl in the Spider's Web, and we also got a chance to speak to the man himself.
During our visit we saw footage from a scene in which Lisbeth dives away from a devastating explosion into a bathtub - a sequence that Bang was excited to see, and with good reason. "This is me!" he declared enthusiastically, pointing to the explosion. "I did that. That is my work. That looks amazing! I haven't seen it. Wonderful! Can we run it again?"
Related: The Girl in the Spider's Web: Claire Foy Interview
You can catch a glimpse of the scene in question featured in the first trailer for The Girl in the Spider's Web, which also introduces Lisbeth's sister, Camilla (Sylvia Hoeks), who returns to Lisbeth's life and brings a whole lot of childhood trauma with her. Check out the trailer, and our interview with Claes Bang, below.
We've been told that this movie has some horror elements. Is Holtser kind of like a boogieman figure?
Claes Bang: Yeah, well I'm not sure if there is a boogieman. I hardly have any lines but I shoot a lot. So that's sort of what I do. Fix things.
By shooting people?
CB: Yeah, and getting problems out of the way, mainly by shooting people.
Is it fun to have a largely non-verbal role?
CB: Right, I mean, I've never done anything like this before. I've never done any action ever, so this is super good fun to do all this, because it's so different... I love it, I think it's great.
Did you have to do any significant weapons training?
CB: Yes. I've done a lot. I've shot tons of- all kinds of machine guns. They trained me hard. I've done a little stunt training as well.
Is Fede [Alvarez - director] largely hands-off when it comes to the performance? Or is he very involved?
CB: I mean he's super cool, I think. He allows you a lot of space, but also I definitely have a feeling that he knows exactly what he wants and if he's not getting it, we'll just keep going until he has it. I think he has cast these people in the film for a reason and he sort of senses what you have there, is something that he wants to work with. So, it's not like he's there to change you... He works with what is there.
We've seen two on-screen Lisbeth Salanders already. Can you talk a little bit about what Claire Foy is bringing to the role of Lisbeth?
CB: I think she's going to be amazing for this part. She's just a brilliant actress and she's just so fun and easy to work with... The fun thing about Claire - when you shoot, when you train with her, she does all the sound effects for you. I'm not sure she's gonna love me for saying that, but it's really entertaining.
I wonder if she'd ever have a moment where she forgets and start doing that during a take.
CB: I'm not sure- we're going to shoot this fight that we have, we're gonna shoot that next Monday, I think. A week from now. So it's going interesting to see if she loses the sound effects or if we can just skip the entire sound department.
What is Lisbeth's relationship like with her sister?
CB: Terrible! It's the worst. That is sort of the base of the whole story is that- well in a way I think that Camilla is like "Why'd you run off and leave me?" and- because the relationship with the father is terrible.
Can you talk more about working with Fede, in your experience?
CB: Well I think he's amazing, he's like, so cool. What do you sense on the days that he's prepared very, very well. Everything is laid out for you. It's not like you have to stand there and invent everything on the day. He's very well prepared so when you go there, it's like putting on a glove. Slipping right into it. Then you do these tiny adjustments and then he has what he wants in mind. He's quite precise and specific in what he wants, I think. I think it's absolutely a pleasure to be with him.
