Best known for his work in front of the camera, acclaimed Danish actor Ulrich Thomsen has moved behind the scenes to write and direct his second feature Gutterbee (US title: American Sausage Standoff). The offbeat indie plot follows ex-con Mike (Antony Starr) and ex-pat Edward (Ewen Bremner) on their mission to open a German sausage restaurant in small-town America. They encounter conflict from narrow-minded businessman Jimmy (W. Earl Brown) who is very much against the gentrification of what he sees as his land.

I had the chance to chat with Ulrich Thomsen about this very unusual project…

First of all, how did the idea for Gutterbee first come about?

The idea is from quite some time ago when I stumbled upon the history of the sausage. Some years ago, there was a 50th anniversary for these little hotdog stalls that we have on every corner in Copenhagen, and a journalist had been writing about the history of the sausage. What’s interesting about the film is that it’s all based on fact, and all the sausage trivia in it is actually true. I thought would be interesting to tell a story about bigotry, homophobia, and religious stupidity but around the history of the sausage where nothing has changed in 2,000 years. The movie is essentially about identity. Every country has its sausage.