‘Poldark’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ stars join 1909 Greenland expedition drama ‘Against the Ice’

Netflix has announced a brilliant cast for its upcoming feature film Against the Ice.

Described as “a true story of friendship, love and the awe-inspiring power of companionship,” the movie is set in Greenland in the 1900s.

Against the Ice will star a number of familiar faces for British period drama fans, including Heida Reed (Poldark), Charles Dance (The Crown), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones), and Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders).

Danish novel Two Against the Ice by Ejnar Mikkelsen has been adapted by actor Coster-Waldau and writer Joe Derrick.

The official synopsis reads: “In 1909, Denmark’s Alabama Expedition led by Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) was attempting to disprove the United States’ claim to North Eastern Greenland, a claim that was rooted in the idea that Greenland was broken up into two different pieces of land.

“Leaving their crew behind with the ship, Mikkelsen sleds across the ice with his inexperienced crew member, Iver Iversen (Joe Cole). The two men succeed in finding the proof that Greenland is one island, but returning to the ship takes longer and is much harder than expected.

“Battling extreme hunger, fatigue and a polar bear attack, they finally arrive to find their ship crushed in the ice and the camp abandoned. Hoping to be rescued, they now must fight to stay alive. As the days grow longer, their mental hold on reality starts to fade, breeding mistrust and paranoia, a dangerous cocktail in their fight for survival.”

Co-writer and star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau commented: “Against the Ice has been a passion project for me from the very beginning. It combines a lot of themes that excite me: adventure, Greenland, companionship, loyalty and love. It is an intense exploration of two men, two opposites, trapped in an epic dangerous setting.

“It is also a story of living under extreme pressure and circumstances, of constant struggle for survival, fighting off threats of extreme cold, lack of food, hungry polar bears and not least the frailty of the human mind.

“Peter Flinth sent me the book Two Against the Ice by Ejnar Mikkelsen. I read it, fell in love with it and started adapting it together with Joe Derrick. Together we set up our own banner: ill kippers. Against the Ice is our first project. Luck would have it that Netflix wanted to be the home for our film, which I will forever be grateful for.

“To be able to shoot this film with Peter Flinth directing and Baltasar Kormákur producing is and has been a dream scenario for me. I cannot wait to share Against the Ice with audiences everywhere.”

Producer Baltasar Kormákur added: “The true story of Mikkelsen and Iversen grabbed my attention from the get go. A story of friendship through survival in the worst possible conditions, told with humor.

“It was a welcomed challenge to take this on and shoot it in the Icelandic highlands and in Greenland. Putting together a great team of talent both above and below the line; a crew of awesome people that were up for the challenge and ready to make the most out of the conditions given the extreme circumstances this movie deserved to be shot in.”

Against the Ice will premiere exclusively on Netflix around the world later this year.

Joe Cole has also been cast as the lead in ITV’s new The Ipcress File mini-series, based on Len Deighton’s classic espionage novel, which starts filming soon.

Ejnar Mikkelsen’s novel Two Against the Ice is available on Amazon.