Noomi Rapace on Leaving The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Behind

If Star Wars taught us anything, it is the fact that no one wants the end to come to something they love. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise when more books were eventually written in the world of the Millennium Series (aka The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo/Lisbeth Salander novels) by Stieg Larsson—even though the author passed away in 2004. It’s nothing new in the world of publishing, and even Larsson’s death came before the original books were officially released. However, it is not every day you get to speak with the person who embodied the main character of such an iconic series.

Noomi Rapace kicked off the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film (though I still assert its Swedish title, Men Who Hate Women, is a million times better) for what became a full trilogy of movies, filmed and released in the author’s native Sweden. Rapace—who many are now familiar with from her roles in Sherlock Holmes, Prometheus, and The Drop—portrayed the films’ heroine, Lisbeth Salander. During our interview with Noomi about her new film, What Happened to Monday, we wondered if she would be interested in continuing the role of Salander since new novels are being written by David Lagercrantz.

“No. I’m done,” Rapace said with certainty. “With everything I’ve done, when I’m done, I’m done. I move on and I don’t like to repeat myself. You know, when I did Stieg Larsson, I did the books he wrote himself. I was very close to it, and it took a big chunk out of my life and my heart. I lived that character for a couple of years and when I left her, it was kind of traumatic. I was puking and for two weeks; I was walking around like a zombie, feeling caught between Lisbeth Salander and Noomi. So when I left her, I left her for good.”

And when it comes to the actor’s thoughts on the continuation of the series as a whole, the same sentiment was felt. “I haven’t read any of the new ones. For me, his voice was so strong and he was the one I connected with. It’s up to others if they want to keep it alive, but I’m done, I’m over it.”

Personally, I’m glad that door is closed in Noomi’s mind. It only leaves open the opportunity for newer, exciting things form her in the future. We will have the rest of our interview with Noomi in regards to What Happened to Monday up soon. The film will be distributed by Netflix in the on Aug. 18, so keep your eyes open.

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