Q&A with Inger Nilsson Movie & TV’s Pippi Longstocking

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen
Photo Credit Bibbi Fogelqvist

Inger Nilsson was only 8 years old when she starred as Pippi Longstocking in the 1969 television series and four movies after that. As an adult she was a property master at Östgötateatern. Since 2007, Inger Nilsson played a pathologist in the German TV-series “Der Kommissar und das Meer” (The Inspector and the Sea). The series ran for 14 seasons until 2020. She currently has a new movie coming out: Opening night will be in September.

KB: Did you always want to be an actress or a singer growing up?

I wanted to be an actress, not a singer. It started when I did my movies as a young child.

KB: How old were you when you played Pippi and how did you get the role?

I was 8 years old when we started to shoot the Pippi movie. They were asking on television and at that time Sweden only had one television channel. So everybody was watching the same program. They asked for some children who could play these 3 roles. My father said to me: ” You want to do this?” and I said “Yes Of Course!”. He send a photo of me and after that it was a lot of auditions. Then they chose me.

KB: Was it fun on the set doing all these crazy things as Pippi?

Well, what I remember: It was rather fun but to do a movie, you are doing part by part. So you are not doing it all the time. You take breaks. It is very technical. Maybe you don’t have this experience that is fun all the time . You have to stop and do it again and again. But yes, from what I remember it was rather fun doing all this.

KB: You worked as a property master at Östgötateatern. What is a property master?

I was working as a property master with props in the theatre. It is to take care of all the things you need on stage. If you need glasses or bottles or newspaper or what ever it is for a play, then there is someone who will get that and help all the actors. I was doing that for almost 1 year.

KB: Do you have a dream role? Maybe directing? You have favorite co-stars?

I don’t have any dream roles or dream parts. On stage I want to play Shakespeare, but not any special part. Just Shakespeare. I will not direct because I’m not a director. I don’t have any favorite co-stars. But I hope to be playing Shakespeare one day.

KB: Since 2007 you are playing in a German TV show called “The Inspector and The Sea”. What is your role and is the series still running?

Since 2007 I have been playing in a German television series “The Inspector and The Sea”. I play the pathologist. We stopped after 14 years in 2020. And I think maybe they will show it again on German television. I don’t know. But we have done 29 episodes. So, well now it is the end of the pathologist part for me.

KB: What are you currently up to?

I just finished doing a new movie. I have been working to do some afterwork for this. The opening night will be in September.

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