Allas 2023-07-06
By: FRIDA FUNEMYR
She touches us in the television series Thunder in my heart and this autumn we will hear her sweet voice in the musical version of Änglagård (House of Angels).
For Allas, Helen Sjöholm talks about the new projects, but also about her relationship, the mother role and about the challenge of finding balance in life.
– I often push myself too hard.
It has almost been three years since the singer and actress Helen Sjöholm auditioned for her role in the hit series Thunder in my heart, created by Amy Deasismont. She plays an oppressed woman, a mother of two who is newly divorced from a power-abusing husband.
– The joy was great when I got the role, an exciting challenge. My character Annika has never been hurt physically, on the other hand, she is oppressed on a mental level which has characterized her entire existence, says Helen.
Helen herself has never lived in such a destructive relationship, but has to get her feelings in other ways.
– Instead, I have had to play with opposites. How would it be for me? I who am privileged with a large network of both relatives and friends in whom I find security? What would it be like not to have all these people around me in a difficult life situation? Terrible! It´s in these feelings that I had to dig in order to live into the role, says Helen.
To Helen, Amy was primarily a singer, although she knew she did some acting. But when she read her script, she was knocked out.
– What a primal force she is. The strength of the series lies in the way Amy has written it, the characters feel so real and unadulterated. What she has done, going from child pop star to acting, writing and directing is not an easy step to take at such a young age. I’m full of admiration, proud and happy to work with her. It’s so easy to get a stamp when you break through so young, says Helen.
She draws a parallel to herself when, as a 25-year-old, she became Kristina from Duvemåla with the entire Swedish people.
– That has been both wonderful and limiting. To a certain audience, I am still Kristina, she says.
Musical this fall
(…) But this autumn it’s time to enter the musical scene again. Then she plays in the newly written musical House of Angels.
– I’m very happy to work with this stage version of the story. It’s very much a brand new production where the music is newly written, which I love, exclaims Helen.
Fredrik Kempe is the composer and Edward af Sillén has written the script.
Helen plays Rut Flogfält, the matriarch of Yxared. On stage, she is also reunited with Tommy Körberg, who plays the old bachelor Gottfrid Pettersson.
– Working together with Tommy always feels good.
When House of Angels arrived in the mid-90s, Helen saw the film several times.
– The movie captured something in the clash between the modern and the old farming society, the fear of the strange, new and unexpected. But it’s at the same time a strong base story that has affected so many people, she says, adding:
– Colin Nutley saw Sweden from the outside and when he created this story it felt both new and fresh. People had also not seen the rainbow issue portrayed in a movie in this way, I think it contributed to new thinking for many.
– I hope to God that the audience will come back in full. The older audience have been some of our most loyal guests, I hope they will dare and afford to go to the theater and musicals again, says Helen.
Leaning more towards the drama
Perhaps many people think of Helen mainly as a singer, but in recent years it has become more and more acting.
– I have been clear about it, the acting in me has grown and I have leaned towards the drama in my musical roles. I got the chance to film in Simon and the oaks and then As it is i heaven, which was the start of more roles, says Helen.
She talks about her grandmorhers, two completely different women who influenced her deeply. Her father’s mother was a city dweller in an upper middle class family with her own business, while her mother’s mother came from a small village and had a farming background.
– I spent a lot of time with both and am probably a mix of them and mother, they are all in me. But my mother’s mother was Kristina for me, it was from her that I got the inspiration for the role in Kristina from Duvemåla.
Is a “mother hen”
A life on stage has obviously been rewarding and developing, but it can also be challenging in everyday life with many late nights and weekend jobs. Together with her husband David, she has a 16-year-old and a pair of 11-year-old twins.
– I love being with them and think it’s important that they get to try new things, learn to empathize and take an interest in others. Both my husband and I have worked a lot of evenings, but I would still say that we live close to our children. I am a present and concerned mother (…)
– I wish I was a little cooler and less worried. Maybe it’s the outside world that influences and makes me divided. The state of the world makes one think about what it will be like for our young people in the future, says Helen.
The biggest challenge in the role of mother, Helen thinks, is about the balance between holding on and at the same time letting go, and just daring to trust them in view of everything that can happen.
– Drugs, violence… all dangers are closer now. The challenge is to have confidence in the world they are going out into, she says.
Many young adults are having a tough time today and as a parent it can sometimes be difficult to convey hope and faith in the future. Helen believes that the most important thing for the well-being of our young people is to affirm what their interests are.
– It has always been my salvation, to find strength in the song when I felt vulnerable. But for others it can be in sports or in writing, I think you support your children best by letting them do what they think is fun, where you can see that passion in their eyes. I think it is important to let them feel that they have something of their own where they can blossom and feel self-worth.
– School is very tough for many young people today, I have several in my area where it is a challenge just to get their children to want to go to school. We need to enthuse our children to make them feel curious but at the same time have faith, both in themselves and in the world around them.
Fell for David’s nose
For almost 20 years, Helen and her husband David have been a couple. He wasn’t really the type of guy she usually fell for at all, but they’ve obviously made a good team. Because that’s how they see themselves, a couple who together form a “family business” (…)
– None of us have felt the need for it to be fantastic all the time. Sometimes babysitting schedules and shuttles to various activities are the top priority and then the relationship as a couple has come last, but we haven’t gotten nervous about it. Those wars are ending. We have moments when it’s just him and me.
– Of course, I can’t swear that it will be us forever, but right now none of us wants to be anywhere else. Right from the beginning, we have had great respect for each other’s professional lives. No one has considered that one’s job is more important than the other’s and both are aware that our job is difficult to take sick leave from.
Helen says that she fell for David’s “very handsome nose”. She’s had a soft spot for characterful noses ever since she saw Dustin Hoffman in the movie Tootsie.
– I also felt that David was fun to talk to, then I just fell more and more as time went on. To this day I can be surprised by him.
A bundle of energy
As a person, Helen describes herself as very energetic.
– I work, drive and cook most of the time. I don’t have a direct hobby as I am so passionate about what I do. But I read a lot and love watching movies. I also like being in the Jämtland mountains where we have a cabin. And by the sea in Alnön. Both of those places are a source of recovery for me and I like to go up there myself.
– I’m off or on, all or nothing. Sometimes I have my bed days when the office is under the covers. I need to switch off completely sometimes to cope with the energetic days.
Resting has always been a big challenge for Helen. The energy isn’t quite a hundred anymore and she’s been on the verge of going into the wall several times.
– Once I did it seriously. It was the year 2008, we had small children, a lot of work and at the same time renovation was going on. It was my worst time ever. At the same time, it almost feels like a luxury problem. I have had sickness and death all around me, but the absolute self has been rudely well.
– My energy is my challenge, I don’t notice when I have to say no and often push myself too hard. After that period of burnout, I learned to back off. I need to rest more to cope with challenges both at work and at home (…)
– I’ve had such a good time and have been able to experience so many wonderful things – things that I could never dream of as a teenager. Often I am struck with great gratitude. Life has not been a bed of roses, but many ingredients have been very good.
5 quick questions with Helen Sjöholm
What makes you happy?
– My family and my relatives. I appreciate that we see each other at regular intervals, our meetings and the closeness we have to each other keeps my childhood alive. My beloved friend Anna Stadling is also a huge joy for me. We have known each other since we were 12 years old. She and I have always been able to relate and draw strength from each other. It is also a great joy to continue going to work and being on stage.
How do you feel about aging?
– The appearance changes and the body feels different. I think it’s bloody sad and I can’t say I welcome these changes. But I have seen far too many who have been affected by diseases. Then you get a greater perspective on how quickly life can change. As long as I get to be healthy and get to watch my children grow up, I am humble about the blemishes that come with aging.
What’s the last thing you do before you go to bed?
– Then I make a large cup of tea, put it by the bedside table and read, but rarely drink the tea. Much to my husband’s chagrin, I make tea and pour it into cups that he collects from all over the house. Some cups I have drunk from, but many are standing there untouched.
Do you believe in a higher power?
– I believe in empathy and love, which in themselves can work wonders. We have to understand that there are forces, but I don’t believe in any calculated ones.
What are your future dreams?
– The dream is to be able to grow old, wartch the children grow up and continue to work in parallel. That David and I will get to grow old together. Continue as now, that is my wish.
(The entire interview is not reproduced for copyright reasons)
Original article in Allas:
Helen Sjöholm: ”My energy is my challenge”