Rickard Claeson is a Swedish actor working in NYC, who is known for Prelude (2022), Phragmites (2023), and A Body in the Basement (2023). He talks about his work on his recent collaboration on PRELUDE with Director Jordan Urgin. The two filmmakers share their insight, ideas, and performances on PRELUDE. He also hints on his next project.
indieactivity: Congratulations on the success of Prelude. Could you please share some insights about the film and the character you portrayed?
Rickard Claeson (RC): The movie revolves around Leo, a celebrated writer dealing with mental health issues, pushed by his agent to deliver a story. His foggy mind blurs the boundary between his writing and his pursuit of happiness, resulting in a complex narrative on both levels.
How was it like working with Jordan Urgin as your director?
Rickard Claeson (RC): Jordan’s an exceptional director and a meticulous storyteller, a quality I deeply admire. Once you grasp his vision, a distinctive and profoundly but very authentic psychological drama takes shape. I think the bulk of the work happens when you align with his perspective and can participate in realizing that vision. From that point, it became a very collaborative effort as we shaped the character and his perspective of the world around him.
Can you elaborate on your acting process, including your preparations and how you immerse yourself into your characters?
Rickard Claeson (RC): As an actor, my approach to preparation varies for each role, as no two are the same. For this role, since Leo was partially based on Jordan, I closely observed and studied him. My focus was primarily on identifying commonalities between us, such as values, motivations, and especially motivations. Another thing I did was to try and find out his secrets. I’ve often found that people’s secrets can reveal a lot about their personality and their actions.
How did Prelude come to fruition?
Jordan Urgin (JU): Like many bright things, the creation of Prelude came from a dark place. At the time, I had just left a whole life behind me in France to start over fresh in a completely foreign country. I moved during the winter to a small town. Such isolation tends to enhance some feeling of helplessness making it about going through the day. Working on a new project was a necessity to take a grasp back.
Prelude came quite naturally over a month of writing on a Tolstoian reflection: “Why keep on going when it feels so unreasonable?”. In other words, and as the name borrowed from the musical field suggests, this film was meant to be an introducing piece. To life, theoretically, and to a new industry, practically
Could you outline the concrete operation behind the making of Prelude?
Jordan Urgin (JU): My initial plan was to shoot something as soon as possible after moving. Unfortunately, local productions were just out of the COVID crisis and pretty much booked out with their own agendas. I was, back then, living on my savings. Time was ticking and I had to plan a way out of my situation, so I decided to go all in with what was left on my bank account to self-produce Prelude’s project.
Many great professional actors were interested and answered the casting call. Eventually, I had around fifty people to pick a cast from. That’s when I met Rickard for the first time. The shooting took place in early summer during two weeks time and Prelude was completed as meticulously planned.
Post though, could not have been more intense with empty pockets, but a crowdfunding campaign helped and brought a lot of awareness. With the bar set very high, creation of the film was very intense and at that point all eyes were on the team wondering if we could make it or not. That’s when a producer from NYC, Laura Barbato, stepped in. “There is no way a countdown on a campaign should determine whether this gets made or not”, she said. We literally made it to the finish line on these words.
Why did you choose Rickard Claeson for the lead role, and what was your experience working with him like?
Jordan Urgin (JU): With Prelude I was talking from a very intimate perspective about depression and suicidal ideation. It was difficult to imagine someone else embodying what then seemed so real to me, although the idea of playing it myself embarrassed me on many levels. But when I met Rickard, everything quickly aligned in my mind. He was opening a door to a way deeper complexity that Leo needed.
Rickard has a remarkable presence from the spot. He is a pure actor in the classical way of a Marcello Mastroianni. He always delivers, achieving profound performances with minimalism. That’s how I knew not only he could understand the depths of this character but also, making it his story, and by this process, making it everyone else’s story. He made it universal.
Shooting a feature length movie on a tight budget can be challenging. Key takeaways?
Jordan Urgin (JU): It’s mainly about maintaining a craftsman quality all along the course of the process to me. Perfect organization is a cornerstone. It’s a form of respect for what you are doing and everyone’s multitasking. Everything should be thought through, communicated, explained and validated by the team beforehand. Being strict on that aspect from the start gives more room to adapt to unexpected realities and stay open once on set.
Otherwise, I can’t emphasize enough about the team management as an essential element. Give freedom and gain added value from everyone. Having someone like Rickard was a treat in that matter, always eager to make everyone’s task easier despite the difficulties of his own acting duty
Rickard Claeson (RC): I embraced and truly relished the experience. It made me feel like an integral part of the team, not just an actor. I had the opportunity to assist in various aspects, including costumes, scouting locations, handling props, camera angles, and logistics. It’s safe to say that we all pitched in, taking on both production and assistant director duties.
What are your principles on a production set?
Jordan Urgin (JU): Always have plan B, whatever you are doing. It won’t lower the efforts you put into plan A but it turns out a second chance is often needed. This kind of precaution tends to make a whole team more serene. This goes with the idea of respect. A Director can be quite demanding to a team, even reaching from time to time some pushy limits to get the best out of people.
But that should always be in a context of understanding and appreciation of everyone’s work. At the end of the day Cinema is a small miracle of bunch of people willingly deciding to stop the course of normal life to go on set and turn a fantasy into reality. That can be cherished and remembered, even when everyone’s tired and stressed.
Rickard Claeson (RC): Other than the usual stuff, being well prepared, a good listener and helpful teammate, I try to always keep energy levels high, especially when shooting late in the evening or during the night which was often the case with Prelude. When people start getting tired it can easily affect the willingness to perfect a take, redo sets, lighting, staging, which is often required to achieve the best result possible.
For instance, picture it’s 5 AM, we’ve been shooting for over 15 hours, and all you can think about is getting some rest. Then, someone raises an issue with a minor detail in a take that felt perfect to you. My guiding principle in such situations is to respond with a smile and say, “Okay, great! Let’s do it again and make it perfect.”
The Official Trailer for Prelude Directed by Jordan Urgin and Rickard Claeson
Now that Prelude is complete and already getting recognition in festivals over the world, what’s next?
Jordan Urgin (JU): This unexpected success made us realize this could be a new beginning for Prelude to meet its audience on a wider level thanks to a distribution partner. We are looking forward to this! On a more creative scope, this strong and intimate experience made me want to come back to my previous love for more spectacular stories. I remain a Phillip K. Dick fan from my early age readings I’m afraid.
My feverish visions for a new project are quite concrete though. With a small team I’m currently working on a new feature named “Structure”. This incredible story treats our dysfunctional capacity to relate with one another on a monumental scale, delivering never seen before depths of beauty and intensity.
Rickard Claeson (RC): I’m back in the grind, really. Before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes began I did a lot of auditions for film and TV, as well as shot a True Crime show for Discovery called ”A body in the basement”. Then during the summer, I was in two plays and a pilot for Jordan’s new project called “Structure” which was very exciting. Based on the pitch deck and excerpts I’ve seen; I believe his next project will be even more impressive. Additionally, I’m also in the process of working on my own script, with the goal of having it ready for shooting in early 2024.
Are you able to tell us a bit more about Structure?
Jordan Urgin (JU): It came from a need to go back to what rooted my imaginary. Antonioni’s work reminded me how intimacy malfunction, as in a relationship crisis – when two people fail to share basic emotions, can be applied to wider scale social systems, and accurately describe, in a very minimal way, the whole structural failure of a society. It’s almost as if from a subatomic level we could suddenly unveil all the rules that powers the mechanics of the universe. That is what Structure is about.
We are currently in the writing process of this intricate story about Mary, Mirel and Leo, going through the downfall of their personal and social life among world leading corporations. Because of their fight to survive, the background irremediably starts falling apart, revealing a whole system behind the cosmic curtain:
“Through the fate of these three characters, entangled by chance or design, a tremendously larger structure emerges from the depths. One that may be defied, damaged, or replaced, but never escaped.”
Where are you in the process?
Jordan Urgin (JU): We are just getting started but already knee deep in it! After the creation of a detailed pitch deck, including scenes from the film. I reached out to Rickard and he was interested in the project and since I wanted to work with my previous team, we shot the opening scene of Structure in late August, to be used as a pilot. The first scene seemed the best option to introduce the bigger story. The result will look like a short film to be added to the immersive pitch experience mentioned before and presented to potential producers and execs. I’m currently dedicating my time to complete the script as well as looking for new partners to help me produce and finance this ambitious project.
Why did you choose to work with Rickard again?
Jordan Urgin (JU): On top of my natural inclination I have to work with talents I already know and feel close to artistically, something else made it almost necessary to ask Rickard to work with me again. I like the idea of maintaining a link between all my films, as if everything was part of a common persistent universe that keeps existing off screen. Leo from Prelude is related to Leo in Structure. And I’m eager to reveal how once the film is released!
Congratulations on your role in Structure! What can you say about your character and how it compares to other roles you’ve played?
Rickard Claeson (RC): Thank you! He’s a man who once held a high position in every social hierarchy but one day lost it all, except for hope. He had no remaining secure connections—his house, wife, and job, all gone in an instant. Personally, I believe that when you have nothing, your determination and desire to succeed can become even more resilient.
The world of the characters can be described as an invisible structure where people relentlessly strive upwards rather than merely accepting the human experience on Earth. Leo in Structure will certainly prove to be a quite complex being which is a commonality amongst characters I usually play, why? I’m not sure maybe because I myself am quite like a puzzle. Hard to solve, but interesting to work with!
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