Video Interview: Marco Ilsø on New Danish Biker Gang Drama

In the late 1970s and early ’80s, Denmark experienced its first major biker gang war, with Bullshit and Hells Angels going head to head. The story has been dramatized for Viaplay, based on the nonfiction book BULLSHIT: The Story of a Family by Camilla Stockmann and Janus Køster-Rasmussen.

Marco Ilsø (Vikings) stars as 18-year-old Henning, aka Mackerel, who turns his back on acceptable society and finds brotherhood and belonging in the biker gang Bullshit. When 16-year-old Pia, played by Alba August (The Congregation, The Rain), leaves her difficult family life behind with just 100 kroner, she meets Henning and subsequently finds a new family with him and the gang. Henning rises the ranks of Bullshit with Pia at his side, eventually becoming its president. When a bloody war with Hells Angels breaks out, however, everything changes forever.

The six-episode Danish-language series is now available in the U.S. on Viaplay with English subtitles.

Ilsø tells TV Drama Weekly about the research he did to get into character and the themes explored throughout the limited series. He also weighs in on why Danish storytelling has found global success and resonated so well with international viewers.