So he could have become a soccer player – but he became an actor. Against his will.
   - Well, in any case, under protest. I really didn't want to be in "Ebba och Didrik”. There was a persuasion campaign going on for several months before I caved in. I was 14 years old and I thought that the shooting could at least be a way out of school, says Johan Widerberg and lights a cigarette.
   Peter Schildt's and Christina Herrström's TV series re-aired this last fall. It was the third time it was shown. It's obviously among those series that can be shown to each new generation. Something that Johan Widerberg does appreciate.
   - But I've never seen the whole series concentrated! Just glimpses here and there. When it came out it was just painful. And now it's probably more embarrassing.
   Although it wasn't all negative. During the seven months that the series was filmed, he fell deeply in love with the shooting situation itself. With the feeling of community with the team. With the way of living and working.
   - It's a special work place. I felt incredibly good - up until the second where the clapperboard was struck. Then it was just anxiety again.
   In this trauma you find the explanation to why Johan Widerberg only just recently began calling himself an actor. What began under protest couldn't reasonably be the thing he should be doing. But still, it is a bit odd that here we have a young man who's been in no less than three Swedish films that have been nominated for an Oscar for best Foreign language film! They are ”Lust och fägring stor”, ”Under solen” – and also ”Mitt liv som hund”.
   - I wonder if I can really count that one? and I always find it equally embarrassing every time when it turns up in my résumé at film festivals. Because then there is always someone in the congregation who thinks I'm Anton! (Glanzelius.) And then I have to explain. ”Do you remember the scene where he gets stuck with Frasse in the bottle? Then the big brother first asks another boy, who says no. And that boy is me.
   Now, we won't make a joke about the fact that Johan Widerberg hasn't wanted to call himself an actor before the age of about 25. Because it's no snobbery. It's more serious than that.
   - Yes, I have a bit of an educational complex, because I haven't gone to a school of drama.
    Do you feel that other actors look down on you because of that?
   - Yes, sometimes. I can feel a bit left out. I'm not part of a group. Those who go through the school often build relationships that live on after the education.
   Do you think it has been a disadvantage for you that you are Bo Widerberg's son? That people feel that you have taken a shortcut into the profession?
   - I've never had anyone say that to my face, but I'm not so stupid as to not understand that there are some people who have felt that way. And maybe still do. What do I know?
   But aside from small things in your absolute childhood, you've only worked with your father once, in ”Lust och fägring stor”?
   - Yes, both he and I handled that very well, if you look back at it. Up until that film he didn't do anything to get me a job. Neither in front of nor behind the camera nor in any other way. When I got that lead, I'd already begun somewhat, with ”Rapport till himlen” and some other things.
   It was 1995, but it would take a few more years before the courage to call himself an actor sufficed.
   - Yes, there is probably another reason as well, to my waiting, and that's the fear that the phone suddenly will stop ringing. If you've then never said the words, not stood by them, then you've created a way out.
   But along with the roles, a self-confidence has emerged, ironically enough to the extent that Johan Widerberg during the last two years hardly has worked at all. However, that's not due to him not having any offers – but to him turning them down. Which should demand a certain courage. Because if you aren't seen then there's always a chance that you don't – exist.
   - Yeah, it's easy for the fear to creep up on you - what if they never call again! There was actually a production manager who called the other day, who I know from before, and who had something in the works. She started by asking: There was someone who said that you had quit?
   But why have you said no so many times?
   - I'm very careful with waiting for a sense of pleasure to present itself.

so how do you make a living in the meantime? With jobs in commercials?
   - No, our incomes as actors are such that if you make a feature film you get a pile of money. People do think that pile is bigger than it is, but it's reasonably high, which means that you can get by quite a long time – if you avoid going crazy when you first get that pile.
   And don't buy boats, Summer houses and Armani suits?
   - Exactly. Or, you can buy Armani suits, I guess, they are pretty firm. But I don't have any, they are cut all wrong for me. I'm far too short for Armani. They are so long. I've put a lot of time into checking this out, as you can hear!
   So the self-confidence has begun to sprout up within Johan Widerberg. But it's a delicate little plant that demands a lot of water and nourishment. Then you feel that all the good reviews should come in handy.
   - Well you know, it's always fun, but they last for about a minute! Then you're there again. This a sport of grading, this is. If you compare with diving, you can for example get four 8.5's. And then there's some bastard who gives you a 5.5! Well, then it's him you concentrate on. And if you're worse, which I am, then you can declare the one who's put 8.5 incapacitated. Then you can think ”He doesn't get anything” or ”I've never liked what she writes anyway”. And then that would mean that even the high grades are in actuality – bad.