Renate Reinsve's ascent in international cinema has been nothing short of meteoric. After captivating audiences and critics alike with her nuanced performance in Joachim Trier’s 2021 hit, The Worst Person in the World, which earned her the Best Actress award at Cannes, she reunited with Trier for Sentimental Value and has now starred in Cristian Mungiu's critically acclaimed Fjord. The film, which also features American star Sebastian Stan, clinched the prestigious Palme d’Or at Cannes and is Romania's official submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar.

For Reinsve, the transition to Mungiu's set felt like entering a new artistic realm. She humorously recounted a dream she had, featuring a 'Romanian bear' guiding her from Trier's familiar world to Mungiu's. "I knew that this movie would mean a lot, going into these huge themes, and playing a character that I knew was gonna be very challenging to do," she told Deadline, acknowledging the stark differences between the two directors while noting their shared conviction in their filmmaking process.

In Fjord, Reinsve portrays Lisbet, a Norwegian mother whose five children are controversially taken into state care due to her family's Romanian Christian evangelism clashing with local norms. Mungiu's directorial vision for the film demanded a radical departure from conventional acting. He favored a distant camera and sought to strip away overt emotional manipulation, asking Reinsve to convey Lisbet's profound suffering through subtle gestures rather than explicit emotional displays. "How can you see what she’s going through?" Reinsve initially wondered, admitting the prospect was daunting for a classically trained actress accustomed to guiding the audience's connection.

To prepare for the role, Reinsve immersed herself in theological research, studying the rituals and community of the Pentecostal Church. This deep dive allowed her to find compassion for Lisbet's values, even when they diverged from her own. She reflected on the challenge of portraying a character whose husband often spoke on her behalf, working to convey Lisbet's inner world through minute, specific actions. Mungiu's method of shooting many takes, slowly building the 'poetry of the image' through movement within the frame, further refined her performance, teaching her to observe and adapt.

Fjord is designed to provoke thought and discussion, a goal Reinsve notes is being achieved as the film sparks heated conversations across different cultures. She also shared amusing anecdotes from the remote Norwegian village where the film was shot, including avalanches, boat travel, and a hotel rumored to be haunted. "Ghosts definitely haunted that hotel," she declared, recounting sleepless nights filled with unexplained knocks.

Looking ahead, Reinsve's diverse slate of projects includes Alexander Payne’s Somewhere Out There and Mia Hansen-Løve’s If Love Should Die, where she will embody the visionary feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. Her extensive theater background has instilled in her a deep love for tackling varied roles and embracing different directorial styles, a quality that continues to define her exciting career trajectory.