>“I wasn’t supposed to be [an executive producer] at first, but I said: ‘I’d never film in Norway without having a special contract.’ After ‘Insomnia’ [Erik Skjoldbjærg’s 1997 thriller later remade by Christopher Nolan], I gathered the whole crew and said, ‘I’ll never film in this country again – unless we get a good lunch,’” he tells Variety at Karlovy Vary Film Festival, where he received the Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema. “I lost eight kilos on ‘Insomnia.’ We would usually get a loaf of bread, that’s pre-sliced, and a plastic salami. That’s it!” he says. “I’ve made other films in Norway since then, but it has always said in my contract that everybody should get lunches of the highest European standard. And that’s expensive. Norway, they’re the richest country, but they don’t want to spend money on food.”

>Skarsgård adds: “I went down, I think, half a million kroner in my salary to pay for this, for the food for everybody. And the producer said, ‘You’ll get credit for that.’ Also, the food has to be served on real china – no plastic, paper bags or whatever. And you’re not standing in line, you sit down and eat. It makes everybody happier and makes the film much better. I haven’t made one bad film in Norway since.”

https://variety.com/2025/film/global/stellan-skarsgard-lower-salary-sentimental-value-feed-crew-1236459105/