The Skinny on... Sofie Hagen

What’s your favourite place to visit and why?

The Edinburgh Fringe. It sounds like I'm giving you a slick PR answer, but it's genuinely my favourite place and time in the whole world. I never want to spend an August not in Edinburgh.

Favourite food and why?

I think there is too much focus on what the food is. Most food is great. What really matters is portion sizes. If I told you my favourite meal (Danish Christmas food) and you gave me one spoonful of it, I'd kick off. I'd ruin your life. It would be the worst thing ever. And likewise, if you gave me a buffet of it, I'd eat all of it and have a stomach ache. But a perfect portion would make me so happy, I almost don't care what the food is. A burrito the perfect size, with the perfect proportions of each ingredient? Yes, absolutely. I have eaten in two Michelin star restaurants in my life and each time it was, like, 12 course meals. But the 'meals' were all the size of a finger nail and I've never been more stressed in my life. I'd take a 12 inch pizza over that, because that's the perfect pizza size.

Favourite colour and why?

Purple. I will also accept red. I will actually accept all colour (not orange) as long as they're jewel-toned. I need the colours dark and rich. I think it's because I wasn't allowed to paint my walls as I was a child and I only wore black till I was 22. So now I'm overcompensating.

Who was your hero growing up?

I was really into Malcolm X when I was like, 5 or 6 years old. I'd watch Fresh Prince of Bel Air on TV and I loved Will Smith. And Will Smith looked up to Malcolm X. I didn't understand why but I knew that now I loved Malcolm X too. I'd write little letters to Malcolm X, who was very much dead, telling him that I liked his work. I think I thought his work was just featuring on Fresh Prince of Bel Air, as a poster. But I did like that work.

Whose work inspires you now?

Richard Gadd. It's everything I love and crave in art. It's dark, it's honest, it's funny, it's beautiful, gripping. It's next level stuff. I appreciate Richard Gadd so much, it's unreal. We're lucky to have him.

What three people would you invite to your dinner party and what are you cooking?

Aubrey Gordon, Lindy West and Jes Baker. I'll just make that TikTok recipe with feta and tomatoes in a baking dish. And a bunch of pasta. I'm not much of a cook and I don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen. I want to hang out with the cool people.

What’s your all time favourite album?

Oh, but that's impossible. I want to say The Ark's In Lust We Trust. Or Pink Floyd's The Wall. Or Thomas Dybdahl's Stray Dogs. Maybe the Original Cast Recording of Les Miserables. I can't choose.

What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen?

I really enjoyed Stephen King's Dreamcatcher until the guy shat out an alien into the toilet. Then I left the cinema.

What book would you take to a desert island?

Anna Karenina. I've been trying to get through it for years but I get too easily distracted, and for too long. On a desert island, surely, I should be able to get through it. And memorise it?

Who’s the worst?

My friend once dated a DJ who gave her, for her birthday, a poster of himself. He wasn't famous or anything. And they were just dating, they weren't even a couple or anything. He wasn't even a professional DJ, he worked in a Wilko's. He's probably one of the worst people I've ever had the misfortune of meeting.

When did you last cry?

Yesterday. I watched the episode of Spin City where Michael J. Fox leaves the show. Even writing that down makes me tear up. The last episodes of US sitcoms always get to me.

What are you most scared of?

Probably fascism.

When did you last vomit and why?

I've never vomited. That's not true but if I try to remember the last time, I will vomit now. So let's say it never happened.

Tell us a secret?

I'm not falling for this again.

Which celebrity could you take in a fight?

I'm very weak, so it would have to be a child or an animal. I once did a TV show with a very famous cat. It must be really old now. So, that old, famous cat. I'd give it my best shot.

If you could be reincarnated as an animal, which animal would it be?

Well, not that old, famous cat.

Where's your favourite place to take a dump at the Fringe?

It's taking every ounce of effort in my body to not mention the mouth of my least favourite reviewer.

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Sofie Hagen: Banglord, Monkey Barrel 3, 3-27 Aug (not 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, or 23), 2.50pm