This Chef Inspired Nikolaj Coster-Waldau For His Role In A Taste Of Hunger

If you've ever seen the HBO megahit "Game of Thrones," then you're more than familiar with the actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who portrays Jaime Lannister, aka the Kingslayer (via Fandom). With that role wrapped up as of 2019 (via IMDB), Coster-Waldau has moved on to other gigs, including a turn in the 2020 thriller "The Silencing" (via IMDB), and now, he's starring in a food-focused drama, in theaters on Friday, that restaurant diners and home cooks alike will want to check out (via Movie Insider).

According to Movie Insider, Coster-Waldau's new movie "A Taste of Hunger" tells the story of a Copenhagen power couple who run the fictional restaurant Malus — and who are willing to sacrifice everything to be awarded with the high honor of a Michelin star. One might wonder if the film's plot is at all inspired by uber-famous Noma chef René Redzepi and his wife Nadine. But, according to Coster-Waldau himself, it was a different Danish chef who showed him some kitchen ropes and helped him to prepare for his new role.

In his new film "A Taste of Hunger," "Game of Thrones" star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau portrays the fictional Copenhagen chef Carsten, who, alongside his wife Maggie, runs the hot restaurant Malus (via Eater). Working hard in pursuit of their first Michelin star, all seems to be going well for the couple until Carsten finds an anonymous letter informing him that Maggie is in love with another man.

Sure to contain its fair share of drama, the movie also centers on the more mundane life of the restaurant kitchen — an environment Coster-Waldau had to study in preparation for his role. To do so, he hung out with Rasmus Kofoed of Copenhagen's Geranium, which serves a seasonal tasting menu focusing on local ingredients such as quail, squid, and berries (via The World's 50 Best Restaurants).

"He was very gracious, and he spent a lot of time helping me understand not only the food, but the kind of passion and focus and work ethic that goes into creating something like what he's created, and what my character wants to create in the movie," the actor told Eater, adding that Kofoed put him to work one day in the kitchen during lunch service, enlisting him to cut the decorative flowers used to adorn that day's dishes. "It was pretty cool because I got to hang out with all these other chefs and just talk to them," Coster-Waldau shared.