Noomi Rapace Takes on the Challenge of Portraying Mother Teresa
Noomi Rapace has never been one to shy away from a challenge. The Swedish actress has consistently chosen roles that push her boundaries, both emotionally and physically. From her raw performance in 2007’s Daisy Diamond, where she portrayed a troubled young mother turned sex worker, to her iconic role as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the Millennium series, Rapace has shown a dedication to complex characters. Her 2021 performance in the Icelandic thriller Lamb further solidified her reputation for delivering powerful, nuanced performances.
Now, in her latest project, Rapace is stepping into the shoes of one of the most recognizable figures in modern history: Mother Teresa. In Teona Strugar Mitevska’s English-language debut film Mother, which opens the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section, Rapace takes on the role of the revered Catholic icon. The film explores the complexities of Mother Teresa’s life, delving into her personal struggles and the controversies surrounding her work.
Rapace describes the role as one of the most challenging she has ever undertaken. “I like a challenging place,” she says. “I’ve gone through some of these transformative faces and characters that have had a huge impact on me and have really challenged me, and I would definitely say that Mother Teresa is one of them.”
The film does not follow a traditional biopic approach but instead focuses on a pivotal moment in Mother Teresa’s life in 1948. It examines seven crucial days leading up to her decision to leave the Loreto Entally convent in Calcutta and start the Missionaries of Charity. This period was marked by internal conflict, as she sought permission from the Vatican to launch her mission, only to face frustration and doubt.
“Mother Teresa was waiting for permission from the Vatican to be able to go out on her mission,” Rapace explains. “She wrote letters for seven years, and she got more and more frustrated. She thought that they weren’t doing enough.” The film also questions the balance between ambition and faith, exploring whether her actions were driven by genuine compassion or personal desire for recognition.
Rapace worked closely with director Teona Strugar Mitevska, who had long been fascinated by Mother Teresa’s story. “She’s been sitting on this for so long and processing,” Rapace says. “I don’t think she was ready for it until now. I think Mother Teresa was actually already in her body before her previous few films.”
The collaboration extended to the scriptwriting process, with Mitevska, Goce Smilevski, and Elma Tataragić working together to craft a layered narrative. They aimed to explore themes of power, ambition, and gender roles, presenting their own interpretation of Mother Teresa rather than a definitive account.
Rapace also took the role seriously, spending six months preparing for it. During this time, she immersed herself in Mother Teresa’s letters, researching the historical context and understanding the spiritual world in which she lived. She even read the Bible and the Quran to gain a deeper insight into the religious framework that shaped Mother Teresa’s life.
The film also features a stellar cast, including Sylvia Hoeks, Nikola Ristanovski, Ekin Corapci, Marijke Pinoy, and Labina Mitevska, who is also the producer. The production involved a multinational team, with filming taking place in Belgium and Calcutta, India. For Rapace, shooting in Calcutta was an intense experience. “Walking the same streets that she walked and being in her world was a shocking thing to the system,” she recalls. “It was very intense. I felt like I was going through this crazy ordeal of peeling off layers and layers of myself.”
As the film prepares for its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Rapace remains focused on the authenticity of her portrayal. “We’ve put the spotlight on her without saying what is good or bad,” she says. “I feel like I was trying to put my truth and give her life through my body, my brain, and my thoughts.”
Mother opens the Venice Horizons section on August 27, 2025, offering audiences a compelling and thought-provoking look at one of the most enigmatic figures of the 20th century.
