Alexander Kardelo from MovieZine met three young actors who play three band members of Gyllene Tider, the band that got whole Sweden rocking and singing along to some of the biggest pop hits of the ’80s. Lancelot Hedman Graaf plays Anders Herrlin (who was named the country’s most handsome pop star), Xawier Kulas is Göran Fritzon (whose Farfisa gave the songs a unique sound), and Phoenix Parnevik appears as the legendary drummer Micke Syd Andersson.
In this long interview, they talk about dialects, Halmstad hits and nervousness before the shooting, and you also get a bunch of film tips.
First of all, MovieZine asks the guys how their relationship with the band and their music was when they grew up, because they weren’t even born when GT was at their peak.
Lancelot says:
If you’ve lived in Sweden, you have a relationship with Gyllene Tider, whether you like them or not. You always dance to “Sommartider” at all summer parties over the years. Now that I know more about their history, I regret not having followed them earlier.
Xawier says:
I’m from Halmstad, where you can’t miss Gyllene Tider anywhere. You hear about them everywhere. They are somewhere in the heart, kind of.
Phoenix says:
I didn’t have a very strong relationship with them either. But before the shooting, when I was preparing, I realized that I had heard most of the songs. All their hits. So it was fun to investigate how they were created.
Phoenix has studied film in the US, and mostly made short films and music videos. But this is by far the biggest thing he has done. He thinks it feels great fun.
To the question how they got their roles Lancelot replies:
It was by accident. I sat with a friend who works in film. He was scrolling through Instagram and it came up that they were looking for someone for a film. “Damn, this is you!” He sent my name in, and suddenly I was going to have a casting. That’s how it happened. Suddenly, I got a role in the movie.
It was very nerve-racking. It felt very strange. You don’t really know what to expect. This is a big production, so everything turns into an incredible circus. There were many impressions. I barely had time to think during the shooting. Everything just flowed at full speed. Now that I look back on it, I am very proud.
Xawier was in Halmstad city, and then Per Gessle had just posted info about a casting that day. “I’ll go over there and check,” he thought. It went great. They got in touch after just two days and said he was going up to Stockholm. From there it went really fast.
In Phoenix’s case it was actually his aunt who told him that they are doing an open casting call for the movie. Phoenix had never done an audition in Swedish, so he saw it as a fun challenge. As soon as he did his first audition, he really liked the whole story. Then it took almost two years until he actually got the role. He thought they had already shot the movie, but they got in touch and wanted him back in. It took time, but he is very glad he tried.
Alexander saw on IMDb that Phoenix is in an American movie. He is listed as “Partygoer” in “Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead” with Nicole Richie.
Phoenix explains:
It was actually during this shoot that I got it. It’s the smallest role in the whole movie… But I got a line! And in the US it means that you get your SAG Card (from the Screen Actors Guild), then it becomes much easier to get bigger auditions. So I flew back to LA for four days, recorded my line and went home. I’m doing a lot of things in LA, I have a manager there and he was the one who fixed it.
The guys play real characters that at least a certain generation knows quite well. Alexander is curious how much they got to hang out with the real band members and how much they got to create their own interpretations of who they are.
Lancelot says:
At first I thought I would study Anders, almost stalking him. That was my plan. But after a while I felt that I should just go by the first impression. And I did. I didn’t want to study him too much, because then I start thinking too much. And when I think too much, it doesn’t turn out well, haha.
The guys play the band members’ 20-year-old selves, now the original band members are 60+ and not the same people. Lancelot says that at least there was some material from the past to look at.
Phoenix says:
I felt very lucky with Micke. He wanted to be involved as much as possible, so I went to his house and played the drums. He was on set the whole time. He thought it was as much fun as we did. I was very happy that he helped so much.
Xawier remembers meeting Göran Fritzon and MP together with Ville Löfgren in a café. He thought he would analyze Göran for the role and see what he is like, but Göran was only 16 at the time, so he has obviously changed since then.
Alexander wants to know what felt the scariest, what was the biggest challenge when the guys not only had to act in a film for the first time, but also sing, play instruments and portray real people.
For Phoenix it was the drums and the dialect. He shouldn’t have been so nervous about the drums, but he was. And of course they didn’t want those from Halmstad to criticize the dialect. They fought very hard and Phoenix thinks they succeeded. He is proud.
Xawier was most stressed about learning to play a new instrument in such a short time. He is glad he didn’t get the drums. And then Göran is a person who is jumping and is so present on stage. Xawier thought it would be difficult to get that energy.
Xawier thinks that both Lancelot and Phoenix solved the Halmstad dialect with flying colors. He was completely shocked.
Lancelot says:
When I sat with the dialect coach I almost panicked. “How the hell am I going to handle this…?” And it was quite close to the shooting. So the dialect gave me many sleepless nights, but we did our best.
Phoenix says Lance is actually the one who got the most praise from Halmstad when the trailer came out, for his dialect.
Alexander thinks the guys all have fantastic energy and personal chemistry, they feel like a real band. He is wondering if it came naturally.
Phoenix says:
One of the first things we did was Lance and I flew to Halmstad and visited Valdemar (Wahlbeck) before the shooting. The point of the trip was that they wanted us to go there and hang out for three days, and be able to create chemistry and become real friends. After that, everything became much easier. And as soon as Ville and Xawier came in, we all got so tight.
Lance adds laughing:
Five young guys who go on a trip to Halmstad on company card. Can you imagine what a trip it was?
Lancelot has released music himself, so Alexander is curious what he would most like to focus on in the future.
Lancelot replies:
My goal in life is peace of mind. I get peace of mind from doing things that I find fun and things that challenge me. I compete in Thai boxing, I make music and I act. I do what feels good for the day. I don’t want to regret anything on my deathbed.
Xawier about his future:
I want to put all my efforts into acting. It has always been a dream.
For Phoenix, it has always been a dream to become an actor, since he was little. He was just very shy as a child, so it was hard to bring it out. But that’s what he is doing full-time now in Sweden and in LA, so it feels great.
Now that they know everything about Gyllene Tider and their music, Alexander asks the guys how they would describe what GT meant to Sweden in the ’80s, what a new generation that may not have a clue should know about them.
Lancelot’s thoughts:
I would say that they were sort of a foundation for Swedish pop. Everything you hear today comes somewhere from that era. It was something new. A new sound. They created something magical, those old guys.
Phoenix thinks:
Lance is right! It was a breaking point. Everyone played rock and the same shit. Then they came and just stirred things up.
Phoenix’s favourite song is “Min tjej och jag”, because that’s the only song that Micke sings on.
Xawier thinks it’s really hard to choose a favourite, because Gyllene Tider has a lot of really good songs. But if he has to pick one, it’s “Kung av sand”. He was lying there on Tylösand beach a few weeks ago and listened to it.
Lancelot about his favourite:
What’s the name of the one we played at Liseberg…? “När alla vännerna gått hem”. I like it, it’s one of their darkest songs.
Alexander asks the guys what the funniest memory is that they carry with themselves from the shooting.
Phoenix replies:
It all has been an amazing journey. You can’t say one day that has been better than another. All the days have been amazing. The first day set the bar. We were at Tylösand, everyone was swimming and having fun. It was a good start. Then we felt that this was going to be fun.
Alexander’s last question is about movies the guys prefer to see when they go to the cinema.
Phoenix goes to the movies all the time. He has to check what he saw last. Lancelot laughs and says, talking about movies with Phoenix is not possible. He is artistic and watches French, homemade movies… Lancelot would rather watch a Kevin Hart reel. He likes “Rocky Balboa” though. He has seen it 150 times. He thinks “Green Street Hooligans” is also one of the better movies ever made. Xawier loves all Tarantino movies. He thinks they are just amazing. But he also likes classics, e.g. “Scarface” or “The Wolf of Wall Street”. A bit of everything. Phoenix adds, “The Banshees of Inisherin” was very good.

Photo by Nordisk Film Sverige