From KCRW, I'm Kim Masters, and this is The Business. You're hearing a special preview of our

conversation with sentimental value co-writer and director Joachim Trier. He was determined to cast

Stell in Scarsguard and a key role in the film, a decision that clearly paid off with the actor

fresh off a Golden Globe win.

I've read that you said that you've never begged anybody before.

No, it's true.

But you had to have him, which is also mirrored in the film.

No, it's true.

That whole process, Stellan, it's remarkable. He's done more than 150 films. And that's not even counting his amazing stage work in Sweden. You know, he worked with Inmer Bergman. I mean, he's a class. Where I come from, he's one of the greatest actors of all time. So obviously, you know, he's the one.

Yeah, no, I feel that.

I feel that in America, two people are really seeing and have seen for a long time

who Stalin is.

He's a remarkable actor.

And going between lead roles, drama roles, comedy, singing in Mamma Mia, but also playing

villains, you know, Denis Villeneuve, who's a wonderful directorma Mia, but also playing villains.

You know, Denis Wilnav, who's a wonderful director, caused him as Harconan in June.

So Stalin's done everything, and he does it with a smile and a precision that just is extraordinary.

So I went to Sweden while writing to say to him, listen, dude, I don't know how to do this film without you.

We're writing it for you. And he was in his own charming way, kind of giving me a hint that, yeah, well, he was pretty keen to do it. So, you know, we kept writing. And I owed it to him to show him the real script. And he made Gustav Borg come alive. You know, you're not afraid to use narrators. And some people see that as a sign of weakness, I think, in a story.

But you embrace it.

Yeah.

I look at it like this.

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