INTERVIEW WITH MISKA KAJANUS
MM:
Kiitos for agreeing to do this, Miska. Let’s start at the beginning. Where were born, where did you grow up?
MK:
Thank you for interviewing me. This is an honor!
I was born in Oulu, Finland, but I grew up in Iisalmi, Finland. It is in the Northern Savo region of Finland.
MM:
So, knowing only that you are the 2024 Finlandia National Foundation Performer of the Year (courtesy of this newspaper), I ended up on your website, https://www.miskakajanus.fi/ . There, I found some hilarious videos (loved the “Brag for Finland” piece), but also some musical clips, the trailer for Insanity, a feature film, and some stand-up comedy. What was your first experience in terms of entertaining others? How old were you? Where did that first experience happen?
MK:
Thank you!
I was quite active in sports when I was a kid, but when I was 12 years old I started to play drums a bit, and eventually I got a guitar and started my first punk band. Theatre and acting started in my teens too but entertaining started with playing guitar.
MM:
Thankfully, as a non-Finn doing these interviews, you included English language clips as well as subtitles on your website amongst the samples. You’re fluent in Finnish, I assume, as well as English. Any other languages?
MK:
I speak a little bit of German and Swedish, but mainly English and Finnish. However, as an actor I sometimes need to play different nationalities, so I have learned various European accents. And of course I audition often for Russian parts, so I have learned to speak in Russian accent too.
MM:
Finland is considered by many to be a world leader in the education of children. Could you describe your educational experience growing up in Finland? Did you enter college or any higher education upon completing your basic public education? Have you always known you wanted to be a performer? Your first love in terms of drama, comedy, or music?
MK:
I finished my high school in Finland, and then did the military service. I was in Music Troops. Then I studied one year at the University of Helsinki. I wanted to get into the Theatre Academy in Finland, but I never got in. So, I found a school called New World School of the Arts in Miami, and I eventually got my theatre degree from that school. It is a part of University of Florida.
MM:
At some point, you left Finland for the bright lights of LA and America. When and why? How has that transition gone for you?
MK:
It was when I was 22 years old. I really wanted to become an actor, and the school in Miami opened its doors to me. After the school I have been going back and forth between Finland and the US, but now I’m finally a dual citizen, and I call Los Angeles my home.
MM:
Your webseries, “Helsinki BLVD”, has that wrapped up or is it ongoing? What was the inspiration behind it and why a webseries?
MK:
We did the 1st season a few years ago, and I would be interested in doing more. And if we get an order from a TV channel, streaming service, or any other outlet, we’ll do some. However, I’m not actively pursuing new avenues for Helsinki Blvd now, but maybe we’ll do more at some point!
The series was inspired my troubles when I went back to Finland after my theater school in America. My US student visa ended, so I had to go back to Finland even though I wanted to stay in the States.
MM:
I’d love to watch The Road (originally, Käräjävuorentie) if I could find a copy with English subtitles. Talk a bit about the movie, your role, and whether the film (from 2012) is readily available to viewers outside Finland.
MK:
I will find out from the distributor! There are a couple of other Finnish films that I am in, that I’d love to see released with subtitles in the US. The Road was my first opportunity play a lead role in a feature film, and I’m forever thankful to filmmakers Anna Peräaho and Essi Mitronen for that.
MM:
With so many creative hats atop your head, what are you working on right now?
MK:
Lately I have been focusing on getting my theatrical Performer of the Year monologue ‘My Immigrant Story’ ready. I’m also halfway done with my next feature that I am directing. It’s called Reunion, and it’s a fun comedy about a love triangle between an American couple and a Finn.
But in the middle of my projects, I audition for various other projects almost every day, and I act in them whenever I get booked.
MM:
How do you think being the Entertainer of the Year will help your career and your connection to the Finnish American public? Have you booked any gigs through that title as of yet? Do you anticipate doing mostly standup, question and answer sessions, or maybe a little of both when you present to groups around the US over the next year as Performer of the Year?
MK:
Being Performer of the Year is a great honor, and I am looking forward to meeting all the wonderful Finnish-American communities around the US. I feel that the Performer of the year title is the biggest honor an performer can get from the Finnish-American community.
I have already booked shows to Washington DC, Delaware, Philadelphia and Hancock MI.
My show is a comedic monologue, which also has some songs in it. I will also have a question-and-answer session after it.
MM:
Sisu, released in 2022, seems to have taken American movie goers into the Finnish psyche, at least in terms of its box office receipts and reviews. I’ll confess: my 26-year-old son loves the film and has urged me to sit down and watch it. I have some great Finnish war films in my collection (Ambush, The Winter War) so I suppose I’ll have to watch it eventually. Your reaction? Talk about the difficulties of making a big budge, epic movie that features Finnish history and Finnish characters for the wider world.
MK:
I haven’t seen it yet, but I have heard wonderful things about it! I am looking forward to watching it. My guess is that it seems to be Finnish enough to be unique, but not too Finnish, so it still connects with American and international audiences. It’s definitely not easy to make an international Finnish blockbuster! But at the same time I also believe that very uniquely Finnish stories could connect internationally too!
MM:
I listened to a bit of your musical clip on the website. Seems as if you’re style fits in with Scandinavian metal. Is that where you’d put your music, in terms of genre? If so, what is it about the far north that triggers a love or affection for heavy metal music? Are you still making music? In a band or solo? How does that fit in with your other creative endeavors?
MK:
Thank you! My biggest inspirations to my music have been Rage Against the Machine, and even an old Finnish rap group Raptori. I am not really a good singer, but I can rap a bit and yell. And often I have featured artists in my songs who sing the melodic parts!
I think the weather and nature in the far north can be heard in Scandinavian heavy metal. As you know, winters can get quite dark in Finland.
I have recorded instruments to 2 more songs already, they are missing the vocal parts, I would love to do more music, and I will eventually release more. But currently I am concentrating on my Performer of the Year shows and Finishing my feature film Reunion.
MM:
What sorts of Finnish traditions do you continue to enjoy here in the States? What do you miss about Finland? How often do you get back?
MK:
I have learned to bake rye bread from a starter I got from a Finnish friend here. But I don’t have a sauna yet. That I do miss! I go back 2-3 times a year. I usually get some acting or music gigs in Finland every year. So, I get to go back often enough.
MM
If you could work on a feature film here in the states as director/actor, would you prefer drama or comedy? Any scripts you’re working on right now?
MK:
I am concentrating my efforts on finishing my comedy film Reunion, which I wrote with a Finnish screenwriter Katri Manninen. But the latest thing I have written is my Performer of the Year show “My Immigrant Story”. That has been fun to put together!
MM:
Last question. If a local Finnish group wants to book you as part of your work as Finlandia’s 2024 Performer of the Year, how does it go about making that connection?
MK:
You can find all the info from here:
https://finlandiafoundation.org/programs/performer-of-the-year/
And if not, you can find my contact info on my website:
I’d love to visit you!
(This piece originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of the Finnish American Reporter.)
