- I read an article speculating around the relationship between Crown Princess Martha and President Roosevelt.
I never heard about this, and I was baffled actually, because it felt almost too incredible to be true.
And this fascinating story started to surface from the research.
As a storyteller, I realized that I think I struck gold here.
This is an amazing story.
- About the people.
My first instinct, when I read the script, my first response was, "Wow, this is a wonderful story about the people in extraordinary situations, and how they respond, and the sacrifices that they have to make".
The series is told from a certain point of view.
This is a Norwegian Scandinavian perspective.
That said, I still feel like there's a great deal of truth in what we told.
- Writing fictional drama inspired by true events is always a delicate balancing act between staying true to history, and at the same time, creating a compelling dramatization and being respectful to the subjects.
- Always, when I take on a part, I want to figure out what's her main struggle she's fighting against inside of her every day.
That's the question that I asked the script writers early on.
And in Martha's case, it is to use her voice, to dare to step up and use her voice, and say, "This is my opinion and I'm going to fight for it".
That was important that we could have that conversation early on in the process.
- It was a great challenge just to find enough material on Crown Princess Martha.
We could find lots of information on her husband, and of course, the King.
Martha was a woman, and we know for a fact that historians up until now, they haven't been really interested in looking at her or telling her story.
- You know, the intimate moments, we have to speculate.
And walking that line was very challenging.
- To us, it was pioneer work, really, to talk to survivors and to find primary sources.
We had to travel around in the Nordic countries and to America, of course.
- The writer did a tremendous amount of research of Roosevelt and the letters that he shared with he and the Crown Princess.
- The choices that these individuals made at the time affected the entire world.
And Crown Princess Martha grew to become a political figure, invisible, but still she had a role.
Even in Norway, people didn't know this story, and I'm glad that we were able to bring it to light and to share it with new generations, so that her name will not be forgotten.
