10 minutes with Birgitte Hjort Sørensen

How do you celebrate Christmas in Denmark?

On Christmas Eve we have a duck or roast pork with caramelised potatoes, braised red cabbage and gravy. For dessert we have ris à l’amande, a rice pudding, and whoever gets the whole almond in it wins an extra present. Then we dance around the tree and sing carols.

What’s your favourite Christmas tradition?

Christmas lunch is a big phenomenon; it involves eating for many hours. There will be rye bread with herring, salmon, meatballs and, most importantly, schnapps.

Do you open stockings?

When I was a kid my sisters and I used to get a little present in our stocking each day of December, usually an ornament, some sweets, or a little toy.

Is there a book that changed the way you thought about things?

Karen Casey’s Each Day a New Beginning, written for and used by people in rehab. I read it as research for a role and I was surprised by its immense spirituality.

What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?

Don’t worry about not fitting in. The things that make people think you’re weird are what makes you you, and therefore your greatest strength.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

As a sales assistant. It was hard being on my feet all day and putting up with difficult, condescending customers. But it proved good character study.

What’s your desert island boxset?

I’m torn between Friends and The West Wing.

What’s been your biggest fashion mistake?

Leggings in three different lengths, worn at the same time. I was ten and thought it was the coolest thing.

What last made you cry?

My job — there’s quite a lot of crying going on for Virgilia, my character in Coriolanus.

Do you have any superstitions?

I don’t like endowing random things with too much power; you are the one who makes things happen.

What’s your karaoke song?

‘I’m So Excited’ by The Pointer Sisters.

When have you felt at your sexiest?

In the musical Chicago. Roxie, the character I played, is shameless in using her sexuality to her advantage.

The Borgen Trilogy is out on Blu-ray and DVD. Coriolanus is at the Donmar Warehouse until 8 February, and will be screened in cinemas as part of NT Live on 30 January