When I received the approval to work on the episodes of Peru for the documentary ´An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet’ with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, I honestly had no idea who Nikolaj was. I had tried to watch Game of Thrones back when I lived in Belfast in 2017, the series where he plays as Jaime Lannister but I gave up after 10 minutes because there was too much blood in it, LOL.
However, when I searched his name online, I instantly recognized him as Mark King!! The most disgusting guy from the movie The Other Woman! I couldn’t stop laughing because my perception of Nikolaj didn’t start off very well at that moment. While everyone else was excited about Jaime Lannister, I had his role as Mark stuck in my mind, a guy who cheated his wife with two other women and honestly, you would never want to meet a guy like him! LOL. But of course, I knew that movies, are just movies, and I could only hope that the real Nikolaj was nothing like the version of Mark King!
The real wife!
To my greatest delight, Nikolaj arrived in Cusco with his real wife, Nukâka, a lovely woman from Greenland who, as we later discovered, has ancestral roots in South America! We had two days to hang out while waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive, and that’s when I told Nikolaj and Nukâka about “Mark”! They both laughed, and Nukâka said it was a very funny movie and that in real life, Nikolaj is an amazing husband! It was so sweet when she said that, and indeed, they were incredibly loving with each other all the time.
As a coincidence, Nukâka also happens to be intolerant to gluten, so we shared that bond and supported each other at every meal during the whole film. One day, we had chuño pancakes, a Peruvian flour made from dried potatoes that can last over 20 years while keeping all its nutrients. To my surprise, Nikolaj tried them and loved them! So the next day I had to order an extra portion for him as well! LOL I always feel proud to share my Peruvian potato products LOL. Over the next few days, whenever we ordered food, Nukâka and sometimes Nikolaj as well told me to order for them whatever I order for myself LOL.
Nukâka showed me her spiritual side, and we shared beautiful conversations about life. It was truly a pleasure to meet someone so genuine and grounded like her, especially being how well-known she is.
On her last day in Peru, we spent time together with my dear friend Trilce, who was my right hand for this project. Nukâka gave me a pairs of earrings that she made herself which was a touching moment for me and Trilce as well gave me a pair of earrings made by a native community from the jungle of Peru, a simple but meaningful memory I’ll always remember from both of them.
The crew arrived
When the crew arrived, things started to move fast! There was some concern about high-altitude sickness, but happily everyone felt generally well. They had two rest days since they arrived earlier than expected, which gave them time to fully recover plus an extra day for scouting in Ollantaytambo.
Steve, Mark, John, and I went scouting the next day. We tried to reach a viewpoint at over 3,000 meters above sea level, but we decided to save our strength for the following day and stopped halfway LOL.
The whole crew worked amazingly well together; they were one of the funniest teams I’ve ever worked with!
Steve, for starters! The producer, always the spark of the group. Almost every joke or funny moment came from him. Honestly, the vibe wouldn’t have been the same without his energy. He even knew how to direct guinea pigs and chickens LOL! Proofs at the end!
John, the sweetest and most romantic cameraman! We all melted every time he talked about how much he loves his wife. Such an easy-going person on set and always passionate, excited, and filled with enthusiasm. He carried a unique sweet energy that’s hard to describe in words.
Annie, our English sound recordist! Besides being incredibly sweet, I was so happy to see another woman on the crew and that one that she remembers about me for my love for Pickles LOL. I love her accent, and we had a great time together while she taught me some English pronunciations. Of course, Steve, with his American version, wasn’t too happy about it LOL.
Chris and Scott, the anti-social-media guys! However just a few days ago I discovered that Chris opened his Instagram account! They were always rushing around to prep the gear. And Scott, he never wore pants! Always in shorts, even when he was at -5 degrees in the Andes LOL.
Mark, the director, was always polite, calm, and deeply trusting of his team. He might have looked serious at first, but he was actually super cool!
On the other side of the screen, I spent endless hours and exchanged countless emails with John, Matt, Hannah, Steph, Carolyn, and Rick, people who worked just as hard as the ones on the field but behind the scenes. Also the Peruvian team I built for this project who ended up almost like family, from the drivers, security guys, people in the hotels, chefs, my right hand Trilce, the transport in Lima with Beto and many more people who took care of us during those amazing days in the Andes and in Lima. There were more hands and hearts in this project than what you see on the screen!
Indeed, the whole crew shared a remarkable synchronicity, not only in the project itself but also as human beings. It’s so rare to find such genuine harmony and companionship within a group, and it truly touched my heart!
The real Nikolaj without any role
I’ve never really had the dream of meeting someone famous. I’ve always believed that people are just people, and regardless of how they appear on screen, what truly matters is who they are inside and not how they look.
Fortunately, Nikolaj was nothing like Mark King! On the contrary, he was incredibly loving with his wife and genuinely committed to find real solutions for the environment. This wasn’t for a show, we actually share the same philosophy in life ‘What the world needs most is to highlight solutions, not just problems without action or purpose‘
And while other people dream to meet him for a picture, I achieved one of my biggest dreams in life: Have the great oportunity to talk with him in front of the cameras of about my culture and our energetic connection with the APUS (mountains), Pachamama (Our mother Earth) and the whole universe with respect and honesty. Because at the end this is what we are, love energy connected with the world but unfortunately we have been losing these along the years in order to join a structured life which doesn’t belong to our essence as human beings but here we are, learning together to reconnect again.
Meeting people like him and being invited to take part in a small sequence of this documentary felt like a sign for me, a reminder that as long as I stay focused on my purpose, life will bring the right people and opportunities to me.
I never imagined I’d have the honor of working with such an amazing team, especially on a project that aligns so deeply with my life’s mission. And here I am, so proud to have contributed as a Researcher and Local film producer (Fixer) on this inspiring documentary, which brings joy and hope to the world by showcasing leaders who are driving change.
Thank you, Nikolaj, Nukâka, and the entire Cream Productions team for reminding me that there are many people out there working tirelessly to create a better world and that we can all be part of it!!
Watch the pictures and videos of Behind the scenes on the Peruvian episodes here.
Lizeth Yarlequé
Documentary Filmmaker & Production in Peru (Fixer) 