Hate to remind you, but Eurovision 2020 was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, there’s a silver lining to this huge cloud: fans can still catch many of their favourite Song Contest stars in new Netflix comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
Telling the story of small-town Icelandic musicians Lars Eriksong (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit Eriksdottir (Rachel McAdams), The Story of Fire Saga sees the duo cross paths with many real Eurovision stars – including plenty winners – for a gigantic singalong. You can even expect an appearance from a certain Irish BBC commentator with a few brilliantly pithy remarks.
So, what cameos, characters and actors can you expect to find in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga? Here’s all you need to know…
Will Ferrell plays Lars Erickssong
Who is Lars Erickssong? Lars is one of the film’s two main characters, an Icelandic musician who has dreamed of Eurovision glory ever since watching ABBA win the contest in 1974.
Who is Will Ferrell? A comedy actor best known for his roles in Step Brothers, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights and Saturday Night Live. Ferrell himself is an avid Eurovision fan and has attended the contest on several occasions.
Rachel McAdams plays Sigrit Ericksdottir
Who is Sigrit Ericksdottir? She’s one half of Icelandic music duo Fire Saga, alongside Lars. Since childhood, she’s also had a massive crush on her bandmate (don’t worry, as she says in the film, they’re probably not related).
Who is Rachel McAdams? McAdams had her first breakthrough role with comedy Mean Girls, where she played leader of the plastics Regina George. McAdams has since starred in The NoteBook, Guy Richie’s Sherlock Holmes movies, Doctor Strange and True Detective.
In case you’re wondering, McAdams doesn’t sing in the film: she’s dubbed over by Swedish singer Molly Sandén.
Dan Stevens plays Alexander Lemtov
Who is Alexander Lemtov? Lemtov is the lion-loving Russian act in the film’s Eurovision contest.
Who is Dan Stevens? Best known as Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey, Stevens has since appeared in Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, Apostle and superhero series Legion.
Demi Lovato plays Katiana
Who is Katiana? She’s the Icelandic singer tipped to represent her country at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Who Demi Lovato? Popstar extraordinaire, Lovato is know for such hits as Heart Attack, Sorry Not Sorry and I’m Ready (with Sam Smith)
Pierce Brosnan plays Erick Erickssong
Who is Erick Erickssong? Lars’ (very handsome) father who is disgusted by his son’s Eurovision ambitions.
Who is Brosnan, Pierce Brosnan? The actual James Bond. Well, one of them: Brosnan played 007 across four films, including GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough. Outside of MI6, Brosnan has also appeared in Mamma Mia!, Mrs Doubtfire and The World’s End.
Graham Norton plays Graham Norton
Who is Graham Norton? As all UK-based Eurovision fans will know, the host of The Graham Norton Show provides the wry commendatory for the BBC’s Eurovision broadcast. He plays himself in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, delivering his brilliantly tongue-in-cheek put-downs.
Who are the real-life Eurovision stars in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga?
As mentioned above, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga features many actual Eurovision stars, many appearing in a super Eurovision Medley (about halfway through the movie).
Here are the faces eagle-eyed viewers will spot:
Netta
The Israeli singer stormed the contest’s 2018 edition, winning with female empowerment (and chicken-clucking) anthem Toy.
Loreen
Loreen won the contest for Sweden in 2012 with Europhia, indisputably one of the best Eurovision entries of all time.
Conchita Wurst
The bearded drag queen won the 2014 competition for Austria with entry Rise Like a Phoenix, a song that could definitely double as a James Bond theme.
Alexander Rybak
The violin-playing singer-songwriter is best known for winning the 2009 contest for Norway. He returned to represent Norway in 2018 with track That’s How You Write a Song, which finished fifteenth overall.
Salvador Sobral
In the park scene set in Edinburgh, the singer can be seen and heard performing Amar pelos dois, the delicate jazz waltz that won the contest in 2017.
Jamala
The singer won the 2016 contest for Ukraine with politically-charged song 1944.
Bilal Hassani
The YouTube star performed for France in the 2019 contest, his entry Roi finishing in a respectable 16th place.
John Lundvik
Lundvik competed for Sweden in the 2019 contest, finishing in fifth place with song Too Late for Love. That’s pretty impressive – before you consider he also co-write the UK’s 2019 entry, Bigger Than Us, which finished last in the grand finale.
Anna Odobescu
Anna competed for Moldova in the 2019 contest with single Stay. If you don’t remember her in the grand finale it’s because she didn’t qualify: Odobescu was knocked out in the contest’s semi-final.
from Radio Times https://ift.tt/3eDxq2z
