We tried it! Malin Akerman stopped by Us Weekly’s New York City headquarters to teach a few staffers how to speak Swedish, which you might not know is the actress’ first language. Watch Us give it a go the video above.
“Yeah, it’s a really simple language, you guys. Don’t worry about it,” Akerman, 38, quipped before telling Us, “It’s actually one of the hardest languages. It’s not simple. The Swedish chef in The Muppets attempted it. So good luck!”
The Billions star — who was born to Swedish parents in Sweden but raised in Canada — taught Us a few key words and phrases that might be vital should we ever take a trip to Stockholm. Our first lesson? Learning how to say, “Hey, how’s it going?” — which is a lot harder to say in Swedish than one might think.
While Executive Producer of Video Kim Rittberg and Us Weekly Video Correspondent Christina Garibaldi nailed it, Online Staff Editor Evan Real didn’t fare so well. “You were the worst,” Akerman jokingly (or possibly not) tells him in the video.
Akerman, who is currently working with Walmart on behalf of their new Hotel Style Collection of bedding and bath products, also offered Us tips on how to perfect the Swedish accent. “It sort of sits in the back of your mouth,” she explained. “So you’ve gotta kind of like loop your tongue and hit it in the back of your throat.”
The multilingual actress — who also speaks Italian and French and, obviously, English — added: “My whole family is Swedish, so we speak it at home. It becomes Swenglish!”
The Us crew were also taught how to say “I love you,” and yes, even a Swedish variant of “Girl, bye.” And finally, Akerman ended the lesson by teaching Us a traditional Swedish drinking song. To see how that turned out, watch the video above.
