Two young Norwegian actors are setting the internet alight in a television series about the lives of teenagers in a small coastal town, surprisingly similar to their upbringing, without all the drama.
Benjamin Ebbesen plays Erik and Teo Tomczuk plays Mathias in the charming series Rumours (Rykter in Norwegian) which has the two of them embroiled in a coming-out love story that has garnered so much hype across the globe, that even the actors themselves are surprised and delighted.
“It’s insane how other countries love the show,” Ebbesen explained to Gay Nation.
“We knew it was on television in Italy but now Brazil has really taken to the show, all of a sudden I wake up and have 100 messages from Brazilian people. Now Australia, it’s insane.”
Rumours centres around Erik who needed to leave Bergen (City in Norway’s west) because he beat up one of his football teammates and was caught by the police. He moves to the fictional island Vesterøy to live with his mother where he tries to hide why he had to move, rumours begin circling and drama ensues.
Problems arise with Erik’s integration into the small community and his relationship with Mathias, Sara (played by Alisah Sussmann), and Thea (Sisilja Garen). In a cross between Gossip Girl, Dawsons Creek and more recently Heartstopper, each of the teenagers in the series deal with their own life issues, while also having to navigate rumours that circulate about them on social media.
In a coming out storyline, Erik and Mathias build an unlikely friendship during the first and second series which culminates in an emotional series two finale where Mathias kisses Erik at the end of one of their famous house parties.
For 18-year-old Ebbesen, the development of the storyline that allowed Mathias to show his feelings the way he did is a positive development in Norway television and the fact the series is gaining global attention is a bonus.
“I think it’s great that this show is blowing up because it’s important to talk about these issues,” Ebbesen said.
“It’s so good that we have gotten to this common understanding that people can be whatever they want to be. Finally, guys can kiss another guy at the end of a party and do the things they want to do.”
“The whole point of Rumours is to just take everything out of the city to this urban context and putting it in a small place where everyone knows each other, and how can that affect something like, for example, coming out of the closet or like experiencing that I don’t necessarily just like girls or just like boys if you’re a girl, like everything like that.
“I think it’s super important that we shed light on it.”
Both Ebbesen and Tomczuk grew up in small towns in Norway where they had very small school groups so everyone knew what everyone else was doing.
At school, Tomczuk, 18, had only seven children in his early school classes so he sees a lot of similarities between his real life and that depicted in Rumours.
“I see a lot of the things happening in the series that also went in my life, like how fast people get to know things because there’s not a lot of people,” Tomczuk explained to Gay Nation.
“I grew up on an island myself and people will always try to find problems because they don’t have so much to do on these islands, I see a lot of the things are similar with Rykter.”
Tomczuk was born in Norway after his parents and older sister emigrated from Poland. They were always a family that encouraged musicality and he was performing in musicals such as Les Misérables from the age of 12. His sister always used him in music videos that she would be making so he became very comfortable in front of a camera before getting the role in Rumours.
“I got to the audition[For Rumours] and I had to learn some lines before getting there. I had learned the wrong lines,” Tomczuk laughed.
“I learned for the role of Felix (Mathias’ best friend) but I improvised and I tried my best and then I got the Mathias role and it was fantastic. I was really happy.
“Originally, they actually wanted someone Asian in that role and with an Asian mother, but they switched it off to a Polish mother, which I have in the series.”
Felix, played by Martin Storebø Koh, has an Asian heritage so the character is swapped and works well in the series.
The change in the first two seasons of Rumours is centred around Mathias moving from having a long-term girlfriend to questioning everything about his life and his sexuality.
“Mathias was a cool guy with friends and a girlfriend and a wonderful family, a wonderful time living and just at the peak of his life,” Tomczuk explained. “Then he starts to think and starts to realise another side of himself and becomes more of the shy guy, then more of the guy with a lot of aggression in him and more sad stories and stuff.
“So he switches a lot from being like the peak guy at the island to become not knowing who he is.
“I don’t think many people expect the things that happen, it’s very interesting and really fun to see how fast things can switch, like moving away from the house and stuff like that.
“One year for a teenager is like 20 years for a 70-year-old man because so much happens between these months and days. So many new people around you and you learn from other people so it’s completely normal to change that fast, it’s like he’s changing in the series before our eyes.”
In one scene, Mathias gets stoned on a school camp and ends up slipping into bed with Erik, neither character flinches and it’s the first time the audience can see there is more to their relationship than just friends.
Tomczuk found the intimate scenes with Ebbesen very comfortable.
“It’s the part of being an actor, being comfortable with saying yes to things and being comfortable with the character you’re going to play,” Tomczuk said.
“It was completely normal and we’re good friends.
“It’s something you just need to do and I was all comfortable with everything and it’s also a strong and important message in the series.”
Although it was Ebbesen’s first major role, he also embraced the character and the scenes with Tomczuk.
“Well, to be honest, I didn’t have a problem with it at all, Teo and I are really good friends and we knew that we were going to do some scenes that are intimate,” Ebbesen said.
“We’re going to have to have this subtle, low-key romantic tension there. It’s not going to be over the top so everyone knows, but it’s going to be there in some way.
“But to me, all the scenes from that scene in the bed to the kissing scene and the scene where Erik opens up to Mattias and everything, I feel like, they went really well.
“We’re good friends and we have a good chemistry and that kind of translates on set so that we do stuff like that.”
Seasons one and two of Rumours were filmed in 2021 and broadcast across 2022 and 2023, Series three and four were filmed at the start of this year and the broadcast is currently halfway through series three in Norway.
The episodes are just 9 or 10 minutes long, great for bingeing and super easy to snack on at the end of a day.
Following the famous kiss at the end of season two, global fans were hoping that finally Erik and Mathias would get together, but alas storylines seem to be moving in a different direction.
We have already seen a change in Mathias as he continues to explore himself and battle with those coming out issues.
“Mathias will keep trying to find his inner self,” Tomczuk explained.
“He will keep on digging inside of him and trying to find out who he is going to be and I can’t tell you the results but it will be a long journey. It will be a lot of drama and some jealousy along the way.”
Ebbesen loves the way the writers have created the storylines to almost flip both his character and Tomczuk’s so it keeps audiences guessing from episode to episode.
“I think it’s really fun because it’s like Teo’s storyline is super interesting in the way that he’s the king,” Ebbesen said.
“He’s on the top of the world and then all of a sudden he goes through this, okay, but who am I really moment.
“Then he just crashes and burns, like socially, he just plunges to the ground and when Matthias falls down, to the point where Erik was when he arrived, then Erik just rises and takes his place in some way.
“So I think it’s like something about the power of balance and how they just switch it all around.”
We won’t spoil the rest of season three or four but it’s sure to keep audiences glued to their screens.
For the two actors, who don’t have English as their first language, their interviews with Gay Nation were a credit to them and we expect these to be the first of many more for them as their stars grow.
Stay tuned to Gay Nation in coming weeks as we profile both actors in more detail and look at what is next as their careers blossom.
Last Updated on Sep 16, 2024
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