Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen - Actor of the Month for January 2026
Actor: Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen | Interviewed by: Sien Josephine Teijssen, CSA
1) Has there been a Casting Director who has really championed or supported you in your career journey?
Absolutely. Anja Phillip—she’s the one who got me my first acting job ever, and most of the jobs that followed. Not only is she a wonderful human being, but she’s also an excellent director in the audition room, and I owe a lot to her.
2) What is the project you’re most proud of, and why?
I think it’s going to be a mix between 1899, which was a really special project for me—the cast, the creators, and the friends I made on that project were truly special—and ”The Patron” (a Swedish film coming out in March), because I’ve never had so much freedom with a character before. It was a pure joy.
3) What or who inspired you to pursue acting as a career?
It wasn’t a movie I saw or an actor I looked up to that made me want to pursue acting. I remember so clearly being a ten-year-old, standing on stage during my first gig and looking out at the audience. It was that feeling - the magic of that moment - that made me never want to stop doing this.
4) What was your first IMDbPro credit and how did you feel when you saw it?
It was Cirkus Summarum (2012). I remember discovering IMDb quite late; it was my dad who told me about it. He said that it’s the film industry’s LinkedIn. Since then, it has become a great way to connect with people you’ve worked with and to follow filmmakers I look up to, to see what they’re working on.
5) Any funny or memorable casting room stories you can share?
Yeah, for the casting process of the Danish show BORGEN, I was in the room with Sidse Babett Knudsen (who plays Birgitte Nyborg) and the CD Anja Phillip. I was auditioning for the son, Magnus, and I remember that a few days beforehand, I decided to come in with as many political arguments ready and as many possibilities to improvise with Sidse as I could. It might have been my favorite audition. After that day, I knew that the work you put in really pays off.
6) If you could play any character in any movie, past or present, who would it be and why?
Maybe Hans Christian Andersen someday.
7) Tell us a fun fact about you outside of acting.
When I was younger, I loved to do 3D animated Intros for other people. Was quite fun.
Actor of the Month is a monthly collaboration between IMDbPro and Casting Society that celebrates the casting community and spotlights its members through a series of interviews between casting directors and actors about their acting journey, the casting process, and how IMDbPro helps them advance their careers.