Cultural Life: Sidse Babett Knudsen, actress

Television: Before I started on 'Borgen', people introduced me to some great American box-sets to convince me that TV could be good. I now watch them all the time. Amy Poehler is very funny in 'Parks and Recreation' and 'In Treatment', with Gabriel Byrne, is also really good. How can one room with just two characters be so captivating? For more laughs I watch 'Modern Family'. Rico Rodriguez is very funny as the son, Manny Delgado.

Film: 'Jane Eyre', directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, was just brilliant. Mia Wasikowska acted excellently and the very modern raw filming was completely harmonious with the classic story. Equally well-acted was the medical disaster film 'Contagion'. I did enjoy it but I felt it could have taken a more modern angle on human deprivation – rather than running around like animals there could have been a more visionary default setting.

Theatre: I saw an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's 'Fanny and Alexander' at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen. The story is just legendary for us Danes, and it was really well done. I'm also looking forward to seeing the theatre adaptation of Günter Grass' novel 'Die Blechtrommel' soon to play at the Betty Nansen Theatre in Copenhagen, along with a terrific cast.

Books: I have just discovered the beautiful poetry of Søren Ulrik Thomsen. Danish is not the strongest of languages, but he uses it very well. The last novel I read was Susan Sontag's 'In America', based upon the true story of the Polish actress Helena Modjeska.

Sidse Babett Knudsen stars as Birgitte Nyborg Christensen in 'Borgen' on BBC4. The Borgen Season One DVD box set is out now on Arrow Films' Nordic Noir label