Copenhagen Cowboy: Refn Returns to Danish Roots for a Cinematic Nordic Ride
Director Nicolas Winding Refn is returning to his essentials with a project that traces an American journey into a world of cult cinema, echoing works like Drive and The Neon Demon. Copenhagen Cowboy, a Netflix six part neo-noir saga, marks his first Danish production in more than a decade and a half.
Angela Bundalovic, known to audiences from The Rain as Beatrice, headlines the series as Miu, a mysterious heroine celebrated and sought after for a supposed gift of luck. The show unfolds with striking, stylized imagery as it follows Refn through Copenhagen’s shadowy underworld. In celebration of the premiere, the filmmaker granted the only interview he agreed to with a Spanish media outlet.
How did you end up back in Denmark for this project?
Refn recounts a pandemic-era decision. He and his team found themselves grounded in Denmark, and the experience became a way to stay sane while the world paused around them.
The director called Copenhagen Cowboy the biggest success of his career, inviting fans to trace how its different phases assemble into one cohesive whole. The cast nods to the Pusher trilogy in figures like Zlatko Buric, Leif Sylvester, and Maria Erwolter, weaving familiar faces into a new Prague-like, Nordic tapestry.
The filmic life is inherently nomadic, with encounters that recur and others that vanish. Refn says it felt deeply gratifying to be back home, collaborating with people he already knows. Life cycles, he notes, often create opportunities that can be seized when the timing is right.
In this interview, Bundalovic discusses contributing as a writer alongside three female screenwriters. Sara Isabella Jønsson, Johanne Algren, and Mona Masri bring new perspectives to the project. How has their collaboration shifted perspectives on gender, sensuality, and storytelling?
Refn explains that the ensemble of women around him at home during production infused the project with fresh nuance. The writers, especially Sara and Johanne, offered partners who helped maintain momentum in a demanding shoot, ensuring the material found its most effective form. For a series, he says, the process can feel almost military, a scramble to accomplish a great deal within a tight deadline. People who spark the right flow and inspire the cast and crew are essential to shaping the work along the way.
The visual palette leans on two key color schemes for indoor and night sequences: black paired with red or black paired with blue. Critics have noted a similar approach in The Neon Demon. Is there symbolic intent behind these color choices in Copenhagen Cowboy?
Refn admits he is colorblind, which makes his color choices partly aesthetic and partly instinctive. He says the hues naturally convey a sense of atmosphere, and in Copenhagen Cowboy they readily evoke a supernatural aura while anchoring the story in a tangible, tactile world.
Some have described Copenhagen Cowboy as an extension of the Too Old to Die Young universe, an installation-style approach to television. What does this format offer to modern audiences seeking immersion?
Refn weighs in on the role of technology and content. In an era overflowing with material, he urges a purposeful approach to what cinema and television deliver. Viewing should feel like a meaningful experience rather than a routine consumption. He believes creators owe audiences something that respects their time and fosters a genuine connection.
Parts of the series present themselves as short fashion films, capturing an eighties’ advertising language while resisting the era’s prejudices about cinema. Does the director acknowledge a tension between commercial storytelling and authentic image-making?
He answers with conviction. He values stories that let him craft images he personally wants to inhabit. Today, image dominates public discourse, and he relishes directors who reinvent themselves fearlessly. The narrative archetypes of decades past feel obsolete to him, and he embraces new models of storytelling that emerge from contemporary culture.
The interview touches on special effects and the influence of Danish sources. Would the project incorporate a symbolic or martial arts-driven title guiding the tone, or something flashier?
Refn cites a distinctly Danish influence, contemplating what Hans Christian Andersen would do if alive today. He envisions a fairy tale infused with very real emotions, drawing on northern European myths while maintaining a modern sensibility. The team explored a heroine with supernatural powers tied to touch, a concept that grew from months of collaboration. His background in Northern Europe has shaped a persistent respect for folklore and its potential to ground fantastical elements in human experience.
Social media is another line of inquiry. How does it shape cinema, and what potential does it hold for this project?
Refn recalls his early entry into entertainment through television after his family moved to New York. The abundance of channels offered a quick, impulsive way to move from one emotion to another, a precedent for his interest in what social networks can become. He argues that contemporary narrative models have become outdated and that online platforms present an opportunity to explore new, dynamic forms of storytelling. He notes a collaboration with Prada on a short film project that freed him from conventional narrative constraints and showcased the possibilities of a more experimental approach.
Some reports have highlighted concerns about the economics of streaming platforms and the fate of older formats like Maniac Polis. Is there a risk these discussions shape Copenhagen Cowboy or future projects?
Refn remains poised. When asked what lies ahead, he smiles and hints at a future where chaos and opportunity intersect. He emphasizes that inspiration guides his decisions, and that the heart remains a unique human trait that cannot be replicated by machines. He even entertains the notion of a potential second season in which familiar faces reemerge and the narrative universe expands with new, provocative energy. The idea he teases involves imaginative adventures, bold experimentation, and a sensory overload that could thrill audiences while pushing boundaries.
In closing, the director suggests that the current era, with its rapid shifts and cultural flux, offers a fertile landscape for bold storytelling. Copenhagen Cowboy stands as a testament to a filmmaker who keeps returning to his roots while pushing into new, uncharted artistic territory. The project invites viewers to step into a world where style, emotion, and mystery intertwine, inviting a lasting engagement that extends beyond a single season.