Musician Silu Seppälä accidentally became an actor on the big screen. A career in films started at the top. Now he is starring in the latest film The Mindsaver.
– Actually, it’s quite exciting. I can’t really explain what and why it excites me, but it always excites me when I see a movie for the first time, says Seppälä.
The man flatly denies that the excitement comes from seeing his own acting performance.
– No, I don’t look at my own performance at all. It’s not the excitement.
On the screen of the Lappeenranta movie theater, the golden shimmering grain fields, the carefree summer of childhood and the dirt road appear, which start to carry the story of the latest _Mielensäpahoittada_ movie forward.
From the bar flap to the big screen
In addition to Leffaro roles, Silu Seppälä is a familiar sight as a musician, both bassist and composer. Seppälä, rocking a tousled hairstyle, has played gigs in the ranks of the Leningrad Cowboys.
In addition, the man has also played bass in Sleepy Sleepers and Lapinlahti Linnui, among others.
Silu Seppälä ended up in movies a bit by accident.
The request was made more than 30 years ago in a shop in Helsinki.
– That’s when we got punched in the Korona bar. And then Kaurismäki said that filming will start then and there. It was a bit like bar stuff that I didn’t believe in myself. But it quickly became clear that the guys are serious, says Seppälä.
The best actor in Europe
The actor’s work, which started with bar talks, did not go unnoticed by professional councils. Seppälä was awarded as the best actor in Europe for his role in Mika Kaurismäki’s film _Zombie and Ghost Train_. The film released in 1991 also earned Seppälä the Jussi award for best actor.
– I don’t know how it felt to be chosen as the best actor in Europe. I didn’t even go to pick it up. Kaurismäki applied, Seppälä laughs.
He didn’t apply for the Jussi statue either. Kaurismäki applied for that too.
Seppälä has no acting training of any kind. According to Seppälä, the most difficult part of acting is remembering the lines. The man doesn’t have any kind of method for that, it’s mechanical rote learning.
Professional actors’ attitude towards Seppälä has been divided. After moving to Lappeenranta, the director of the city theater and the Actors welcomed him with open arms.
– They were excited. Silu plays and acts – they thought they could kill two birds with one stone. Other professional actors were of the opinion, especially in the early days, that this kind of thing should not be allowed on the stage or in the movies at all.
Silu Seppälä has acted in just under ten films in total, and the films have mainly been directed by Mika or Aki Kaurismäki.
\”Satan’s Heavy\”
The movie _Mielensäpahoittä Eskorttii estimäsä_, which I have just seen, makes Seppälä thoughtful. The film deals with the father relationship, forgiveness and the continuum of the silence of generations. With Seppälä, the film got under the skin and deep.
– It was a damn tough movie.
In Seppälä’s opinion, the film serves tears and laughter equally – in turns. In the movie, the son of Mielsäpahoitta gets fired from his job, and this wife’s action brought Seppälä to tears.
– The part where the wife had bought cheap wine made me cry the most. Earlier he had bought the most expensive champagne. Now he had to humble himself and buy the cheapest wine.
The film takes you deep into the Finnish culture of silence. It makes the viewer think about his own relationship with his father, whether he should talk about difficult things and apologize.
In the movie, the sons of Mielsänsähohoitäitä reflect that the father never apologized or said that he loved. Until the phone rings and Mielensähoitat says to his sons on the phone: \”Come to the village. Let’s make coffee. You shouldn’t have hit you with a fur cap when you were little.\”
– When we’ve been silent on the anniversary, then we’re silent. Except at the very end, Seppälä describes.
We went to the movie when asked
In the film, Seppälä plays the neighbor Kolehmai, a friend of Mielsänpahoidat, who knows how to use tactile devices. The ability to use the device is required in order to find a burgundy red car from the year 1972 for a neighbor with a fur hat. It can be found in Germany.
Seppälä ended up in the role of Kolehmainen when asked.
– The one who was originally supposed to play the role didn’t make it. Then the production asked me. \”Probably because I’m the same as the Mindbreaker himself,\” laughs Seppälä.
Even in the role of Kolehmainen, Seppälä had a catchy surface.
– Yes, I see myself in it. I’ve traveled the world so much that I can’t really stand anyone in my eyes anymore. A bit like Kolehmainen. The only one he tolerates is the Mindbreaker.
\”Faija delas\”
Mika Kaurismäki’s latest directorial _Mielensäpahoittada Eskorttia etsimämäsa_ will premiere on September 9. For Silu Seppälä from Lappeenranta, it means going to a big church for the premiere celebrations.
The man who once lived in Helsinki for 30 years does not long to return to the capital region.
– I don’t know anyone from the stadium anymore. Old friends have moved from there and live all over southern Finland.
The mind-wrecking movie makes you think about the past and the father relationship: what is the father relationship like and can it be improved.
What changes would Silu Seppälä make in her own relationship with her father?
– Nothing. I was so young when faija delas that I don’t remember anything about it. I can’t do anything about it anymore.