3 hours ago
10
Born in Oslo, Jo Nesbø, 66, played for Norway’s premier league football team Molde before injury ended his career. After military service, he gained an economics degree, then worked in finance. He also formed the band Di Derre, which topped the Norwegian charts. In 1997, he released The Bat, the first of his bestselling Harry Hole novels. His work has been published in 51 languages and he has sold more than 60m books. In 2017, his novel The Snowman was made into a film starring Michael Fassbender. A new series, Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole, premieres on Netflix on 26 March. He has a daughter and lives in Oslo.
When were you happiest?
When Molde won the Norwegian premier league in 2011, the year the club was 100 years old.
What is your greatest fear?
Going mad.
What is your earliest memory?
Me close to a puddle in a road. Chewing gum is glued to the asphalt in the puddle and I’m picking up the chewing gum with my fingers and putting it in my mouth – it tastes wonderful.
Describe yourself in three words
Distracted, cynic and romantic.
What makes you unhappy?
When I feel trapped not getting to write or make music or go rock climbing.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I am not unhappy with anything, but the thing my girlfriend is most unhappy with are my toenails – I have fungus. Myself, I’m even happy with my toenails.
What scares you about getting older?
Not getting to do the things I love, like rock climbing.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I wanted to play for Tottenham.
What do you owe your parents?
A lot. I’m not a good person, I’m just well raised.
What does love feel like?
Exultation, fear, quiet comfort and even hate.
What is the worst job you’ve done?
I worked on a trawler and I was seasick the whole time.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
Tottenham this season.
How often do you have sex?
I only have sex outdoors, so it depends on the weather.
What would you like to leave your children?
The value of being kind to your fellow people.
What is the closest you’ve come to death?
Rock climbing in Oslo. During abseiling, I hadn’t tied a knot at the end of the rope and almost slid out. I saw the end of the rope at the last second, so I stopped abseiling.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
A shoehorn.
What has been your closest brush with the law?
I was thrown in jail for indecent exposure when I was 18. Me and a friend were standing on the roadside drunk after a party and decided we’d moon a car coming towards us, so we dropped our pants and I spread my cheeks. I was laughing so hard, I didn’t hear my friend start running because he could see a police car.
How would you like to be remembered?
As a nice guy, but I’m not sure that is going to happen.
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
The world doesn’t consist of bad and good people; it consists of people seeing things in a different way.
