10 minutes with Sofie Gråbøl

When did it dawn on you just how big you are in the UK?
Not till very late on. I was in Copenhagen and started getting calls from the BBC saying I should come and do some interviews. When they started flying journalists over to meet me, then I realised.
Why do you think The Killing has been so well received?
I think Scandinavia and Britain share a way of storytelling where everything is held back, in contrast to America where it's more superficial. Danes are self-repressed and you are, too, so you feel at home in the oppressed universe of The Killing.
Have you ever been tempted to let slip who the killer is?
Never. We have very high morals and everybody takes so much pride in it that we don't want to spoil anything.
Have you watched any of the American version of The Killing?
Only recently. It was like seeing distant relatives who are part of the same family but you don't really know them. It was hard for me to watch it with an open mind.
The main character also wears a jumper.
She wears a jumper but not the jumper.
The Killing has been part of your life for seven years now, what will you do without Sarah Lund?
It's going to be like a divorce, a mix of grief and relief. I'll just have to put on the jumper and walk around my apartment with a flashlight if I miss her too much.
Have you always liked whodunits?
Not really, but I've enjoyed The Killing because it's like one long seduction. You play a game with the audience. There are rules when you play an archetypal detective: they have to be lonely, dysfunctional and live outside society. The task is to make it your own.
Were you inspired by any other female detectives on TV?
Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect. It was so well acted.
There have been cast changes in the past two series, what was it like turning up for the third?
My boss and my family are there but that's it - new case, new cast. It's like standing with your band and your old bassist is there but everyone else is new; you know the music but it's being played differently.
You appeared in the new series of Absolutely Fabulous, how was that?
It was amazing because I used to watch the show. The cast are hilarious and brave and have absolutely no vanity. It was brilliant to put their universe, where everything is so extravagant, together with my universe where it's
the total opposite.
The Killing series one and two box sets are out now