“Now I wear black eyeliner when I feel like it”

He became world famous for his role in Young Royals. After an experimental journey, the current So Much Better Omar Rudberg is now returning to the solo mic and hoping for revenge.

He describes it as a complete delusion, the state that took over a few years ago. Half a decade had passed since Omar Rudberg, aged 14, became an overnight sensation when his FO&O opened for Justin Bieber. When the pop band split five years, several hits and a huge fan base later, Omar chose to pursue a solo career.

– I released a few singles, but then the pandemic came and everything was put on hold. That's when it started.

Omar Rudberg puts one hand in his bulky leather jacket pocket and looks out through the Connection Hall in the Slakthusområdet, where we met on a cool autumn afternoon.

– I was incredibly lost. Both in my professional role and in myself. I had no idea who I was or what I was going to become, what I liked and didn't like.

He set out on an experimental journey.

– I tried to find myself and started hanging out with friends very intensively. We hung out every day and almost became like a collective. It was incredibly fun and above all nice to see people who were different in different ways.

There was no thought that just over a year later he would experience his next big breakthrough. Even less that it would be as an actor in Netflix's biggest Swedish series Young Royals, which would achieve international success and be a big reason why Omar today has over two million followers on Instagram.

– Acting was a subconscious dream. Ever since I was a child, I had been very focused on singing and dancing. I started dancing when I could walk and always performed at family parties as a child. Being an artist was all I could see in front of me.

He takes me back to the baby blue house in the coastal town of Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela. Omar is barely a year old when his father suddenly leaves the family, taking most of their belongings with him.

– Mom and I were left in an empty house, we had to start over from scratch.

Grandma and other women in the family soon joined in and became an important part of Omar's life.

– I was extremely spoiled because all these older women loved me so much and couldn't say no when I wanted something, except for my mother at the time. In my memory, Venezuela was a paradise to grow up in.

Do you have any relationship with your father today?

– No. But my mother has told me a lot about him, both good things and the tough things she and I had to go through. I've probably never felt the absence of a father, I don't know about anything else. And then I had my pretend father.

Omar was seven years old when his mother met Thomas Rudberg from Sweden and they moved to Åsa in Kungsbacka.

– At first it was difficult to understand what role he would have in our family. He was like a new friend and it has worked very well.

In his new homeland, the singing and dancing continued to be evident, as did Omar's wild imagination. By the age of eight, it was so intense that his parents took him to a child psychologist.

– What they reacted to was that I didn't need toys. I could just go into another world, be chased by dinosaurs or have the worst action movie in my head. But I wasn't crazy, the child psychologist concluded, but just a child.

His creativity and musical gift can be traced to his grandmother and mother. Early on, the latter made sure that Omar entered talent competitions, often with success.

At school, the challenges were even greater.

– I was teased a lot for my interests, for how I looked, how I talked… I was much darker then than I am today and I didn't speak Swedish very well. All the other guys played football, were blonde and had straight hair with wax in it, unlike me who had curly hair – people thought that was strange.

Eventually he changed schools. His artistic ambitions grew, but he didn't have to dream for long. Already at the age of 13 he was dancing behind Eric Saade and the following year he became part of the composite band FO&O. A few months later they warmed up the audience before Justin Bieber's concert at the Globen, which was a rocket start to a five-year journey of success.

– It was the sickest thing I've ever experienced. It was both a thrill and very scary to break through, especially when you were alone in town or taking the bus home. I was new to Stockholm and felt very looked down on. It was an emotional rollercoaster.

He takes a deep breath.

– Everyone my age has known about me since I was 14 years old. It's been very intense and it's probably affected me in different ways. I've probably become more shy and mostly stick to my friends who I've had for many years.

We sit down at Bar Montan , one of the places that is buzzing around in the Slakthus area. When FO&O split up, Omar had established roots in Stockholm and this is where he was when that sense of loss took over.

– My friends and I started trying out different types of clothes. We played music and got dressed up. Some tried wearing makeup and nail polish. I really experimented. Those who are not in the know immediately think that a guy who wears makeup is gay or transgender – that bothers me. Makeup shouldn't have to have a specific orientation, it should be for everyone. Now I wear black eyeliner when I feel like it without feeling ashamed.

Playing with the outside became a way to find more home in the inside, and the fact that Omar was named Best Dressed Man of the Year by Café magazine this spring is something of a testament to that.

– I have realized that I need to feel comfortable, stable and free with who I am if I am to be able to move forward in life. Clothes clearly play a role in that. They can also help me more easily get into a certain role.

Both makeup and a completely new look are something Omar Rudberg has in the new horror film Karusell, which was released in theaters last week.

– It was incredibly fun to play a completely different role than I've done before. Even though I'm terrified when I watch horror movies myself, especially when there's a lot of blood. I couldn't even look at my own open wounds in Karusell. God, my nails are starting to hurt now that we're talking about it!

Although it is as an actor that Omar has become known in recent years, it is music that he wants to focus most on in the future. A few days ago, the new single Off my mind was released and tonight is the premiere of this year's Så mycket bättre on TV4, where Omar is one of the participants.

– Coming to Gotland was pure vacation, he says of the recording, which took place just days after a little over two months of recording the third season of Young Royals.

Perhaps the participation will also be a revenge for Omar as a solo artist.

– Yes, I hope people are reminded that I am actually a singer at heart, it is music that I love the most. I look forward to releasing an album eventually and, above all, playing live.

A decade has passed since Omar Rudberg first broke through, when I ask what he thinks life will be like in another ten years, he first laughs at the thought of being 35. Then comes the answer:

– I want to have done the sickest gigs, have had several hits and be on a world tour. I want to be in a Latin American TV series or movie and for my own company to be worth an incredible amount of money. For them, I won't buy a Lamborghini, but a nice apartment for my mother so she can be free as a bird. I want to give back everything I've received from her.

He runs his hand through his slightly wavy hair and walks over to the mirror to get ready for the photo shoot.

– I would never have dared to feel this way a few years ago. Thankfully, I'm much more confident in myself now.

You're not as lost anymore?

– No, I have grown a lot in recent years and now I feel stable enough to take myself forward in life. But I'm probably not really there yet, the journey continues...