Joel Kinnaman Reveals What Almost Made Him Quit Acting

Joel Kinnaman poses for the July/August cover of Men’s Health, available soon.

Here’s what the 39-year-old actor had to share with the mag:

On almost quitting acting due to stage fright: “I thought, ‘Maybe this is my body telling me that I can’t do this.’ But the idea of quitting was just so depressing. I mean, everybody around me said I had changed since I found this path. It made me come alive as a person. It was everything.”

On his decision to move to LA while rising to fame in Sweden: “Something was telling me that it wasn’t good to be in Sweden while I was getting so famous there. In my business, you have to be confident. You need to be able to project your innermost feelings and know that a million people are going to see it. So you have to nurture your confidence. But if you build your confidence on ego boosts, you’re in trouble. You’re going to become dependent on them and you’re going to have a terrible life and be a sh**ty person.”

On his plans to make a movie about his father: “I’ve been toying with the idea of playing my father. But I’m getting a little too old, so I might just direct. It’s really a young man’s story. I see it as a sort of reconciliation project…Even though I don’t live [at home] everything I do is to create a base of both economic security for my family and also arenas where they can all come together.”

For more from Joel, visit MensHealth.com.