Anne Marie Ottersen against the strict measures of the crown: –

– We have all been very well and we must all try to avoid getting infected, at the same time there must be some stomach measure of the restrictions in this country where the corona pandemic after all is not so bad. Please open where possible. People need to have a little fun!

Anne Marie Ottersen (75) throws torches on a piece of hot apple pie at Frogirseteren in Oslo. The traditional café is full of visitors. But people keep their distance from each other and everyone has a mask on their face. Ottersen was just scolded by a passerby when she was slow to approach her on the way to the door, but the response was lax: “Take care, you.”

– We should lean towards measurements, and so do I. But I reserve the right to think for myself and make decisions within the given framework. Wearing a mask is not mandatory if you can keep your distance. I believe in distance and in washing my hands. I’ve always believed it.

I’ve always been committed

The 75-year-old actor has always been engaged. Brilliantly engaged. And don’t be afraid to speak out against them. When she started at the National Theater in 1970, she was considered one of the young, red and radical. He was particularly successful as one of the leading roles in Anja Breien’s groundbreaking films “Wives.” Since then she has acted in countless plays, various movies and television series such as “Fredriksson’s Factory”, “Bot og bedring” and on TV 2’s “Holms” with her husband, Lasse Lindtner.

Today she can be seen in “Brillebjørn Celebrates Christmas”, and she happily praises playing against children and teddy bears, but first she has to get rid of a little “grown-up talk” about crown measures.

– The easiest thing in the world is to ban things, and we are such an educated population that we do what they tell us. But I believe that politicians should adopt specific provisions that hit and are not so bad for the economy or for the most vulnerable in society. Politicians belong to the salary section in Norway, and with a good salary, they should work a little harder to nuance the instruments!

“Brillebjørn Celebrates Christmas” has received good reviews and Ottersen should have seen the premiere with his family in Oslo. But after the cinemas in the capital closed, he had to go to Kongsberg to see it.

– I saw him in my beloved hometown, of which I am an honorary citizen. I think it was so warm and friendly, so it wasn’t that bad, he says, but adds that he is strongly opposed to restrictions in restaurants, movie theaters and gyms.

Critic of alcohol bans

– I’m very sorry for the restaurants in town. I don’t understand that they are allowed to serve food, but not alcohol. Is it because of alcohol that we wear a crown? She asks rhetorically, before answering herself.

– Yes, some can get drunk. But restaurants are used to dealing with it and they do everything right. But people don’t bother going out alone to eat. And the restaurant owners are completely restless.

Otters, as they have called her since her red-hot days, shakes her head.

– In gyms, people were very good and washed all the equipment before and after use. I was so drunk there they could have taken you under control of alcohol on your way out. I don’t understand why they had to close.

Not your typical grandmother

The 75-year-old misses regular gym sessions and has a beer at his local restaurant, but is otherwise not as affected by the pandemic.

– I’m not afraid. But I have talked to people who have had it and who have been very ill, so I know it is not alone. But I am careful.

She is very outraged that the strict measures affect children.

– The fact that vulnerable children have suffered during school closings is the worst. Or that the children are not allowed to meet the family. We have always visited our grandchildren. It should be fine as long as we are healthy. It is not forbidden to meet.

Together with her husband, the experienced actress has a total of five children and nine grandchildren. In “Brillebjørn Celebrates Christmas,” she plays a classic grandmother who lives in a wooden house with patched-up walls, not unlike the walls of Frogirseteren. Praise the director, 5-year-old main character Johannes, and the actor who cheers for Quilted Brillebjørn. The latter was out in all kinds of weather in January this year, he reveals.

– It was a very special and beautiful recording. And we had no idea what corona existed at the time. Life was wonderful, we have to go back there!

Ottersen felt comfortable in the role of the film aimed at younger children, but believes that she does not look like the grandmother of the cinema in private.

– I’m not such a typical grandmother. I work a lot and have worked all the time since I retired. But we visit the grandchildren as often as we can and I try to stand in line when my children ask. Above all I try to be a kind of magical wall, for better or for worse, on which they can lean and talk.

I went to Greece during the crown

The 75-year-old has had an active retirement life after resigned from the National Theater five years ago. Between acting roles, she and her husband try to spend as much time as possible at their vacation home in Greece. They also took the first flight there when crown restrictions were eased this summer.

– I’m a bit naughty, so we take a chance and go down. We got to be there for three weeks and had a great time.

Ottersen smiles childishly.

– Antiparos is the place to go! Tom Hanks has a place there. We have seen Matthew McConaughey in a little tavern, and Hugh Jackman was in the store that we usually buy. I am so dazzled. I completely get off the shaft and it seems that I am 13 years old, he reveals laughing.

Ottersen hasn’t had the guts to speak to any of the island’s Hollywood celebrities yet, but he has a plan in place in case the opportunity arises.

– Tom Hanks always sits in the same cafe as us. One day I have to go up to him and tell him that we are colleagues. I should probably push Henrik Ibsen forward, and that I worked in Ibsen’s own theater. We’ll see, smile wisely.

Gained a new perspective on life

At Christmas, Ottersen will be appearing on a couple of TV shows, after which she will dub a few movies and maybe play a game with her husband this summer. Otherwise, the 75-year-old tries to enjoy life as much as possible, especially after she fell and had to undergo emergency surgery to remove a brain tumor in 2007.

– Everything you experience of important things affects you. If you’ve been in a situation where you think you’re going to die, the usual things become more important, like sitting on a bench and drinking coffee or seeing a leaf fluttering in the wind. To be alive.

The 75-year-old thinks.

– I feel like my core is the same as always. But you know that you have less time left as you get older. Time becomes more valuable. But it’s okay to take it in, because now I’m delighted to be fit to race around Sognsvann. At best, I have 25 good years ahead of me.

She also tries to avoid shooting herself as often as before.

– I’ve become a little rounder around the edges. It is contagious to get angry. If one is angry, so is the other, and you don’t achieve anything. Better to be a little diplomatic, he says.

– But I am not afraid of the authorities, and it could well be a counter-vote against all these crown measures. We have to meet, especially at Christmas.