Danish Actress on Working with Directors: Creative Lessons from Set

As a Danish actress working across independent film, voice work, and illustration, I’ve found that building quiet, meaningful creative relationships with directors is one of the most rewarding parts of this path. Collaboration shapes everything about how a performance comes together, and I think it’s something we don’t talk about enough.

Here are a few reflections from my experience so far:

On set, where collaboration and quiet moments shape the performance.

🎬 It’s about trust

The best work happens when director and actor build trust in the process. When you work with a director who truly sees the character you’re trying to build, there’s a kind of unspoken trust that develops. The best creative relationships I’ve had on set — whether in independent films like Born Evil or A Universe Apart — have been with directors who create space for you to try things, to listen, and to respond in the moment.

🎥 The work happens between takes

Those quiet moments shape the scene’s mood more than anything else.Some of the most valuable insights I’ve received from directors have come during those in-between moments — adjusting the framing, testing the light, or quietly talking through a scene’s mood. Those conversations, brief as they are, often shape the entire tone of what ends up on screen.

🎭 Character is a shared creation

Character comes alive in the space between actor, director, and the rest of the team.I’ve come to think of character as something that lives between the actor, the director, and the rest of the cast. Every note, every small adjustment in how a scene is approached, becomes part of that shared language.

🌿 Creative collaboration stays with you

It’s the process of building something together that stays with me the longest. What I carry with me from one project to the next isn’t just the work itself — it’s the way it felt to build something alongside a director and a team who cared about the details as much as I did. That’s what makes me want to keep going in this industry.

🔗 Discover more:

Liv Hansen’s IMDb | Acting Portfolio | Art & Illustration