I had the pleasure of interviewing Jón Gnarr, Iceland’s most famous and funniest Mayor. Jón became Mayor of Reykjavík not long after Iceland’s economic crash in 2008. His victory was just as shocking to him as it was to many others in the country and around the world.
He was kind enough to host me at his home in Iceland for this interview. We chatted for almost three hours about a variety of topics. In part one, you will hear about why he ran for political office, his feelings about the welfare of polar bears, what surprised him about being Mayor and more.
Because we were at his home, there is some background noise from his 10 month old dog Klakki, who was eating a bone. I apologize in advance for the intermittent crackling noises. Additionally, at some point during the interview his youngest son Nonnie comes home and Jón has him tell me about the time that he met Lindsay Lohan, and he gives us bread that he baked at school. I ended up cutting that part out but it was a cute story and nice to have some fresh baked bread. Needless to say, meeting Jón Gnarr and conducting this interview was fun and included some unexpected events.
Jón Gnarr’s book
Questions I asked Jón Gnarr during Part One of the Interview
- What motivated you to run for Mayor of Reykjavík?
- You openly said that you intended to break all of your promises once elected, which is hilarious. However, if you could have fulfilled one of your campaign promises, which one would you choose?
- When you were running for Mayor did you believe that you could win or was it a kind of a hail mary pass?
- What most surprised you about your the job as Mayor?
- What are you most proud of during your tenure as Mayor?
- Do you feel that being a comedian prepared you for being Mayor?
Jón dressed in drag
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