"I've spent every single holiday in my whole life in Wallander land," Adam told The Guardian. 

With his extended family located in the south of Sweden — the place where Henning Mankell's novels featuring Kurt Wallander take place — Adam spent his early childhood years exploring a setting uncannily similar to the world described by the cult-status books and TV series. 

"My grandma, she has a house in the same small village where Wallander’s dad lives. So I’ve always had that in me. My dad’s name is Kurt. It feels like my childhood was surrounded by Wallander in a way," the actor told The Guardian. 

As the young Wallander, Adam delivers a pitch-perfect performance that conveys the complexity of the soon-to-be-famous crime detective struggling to come to terms with some personal difficulties. 

Unlike most moving image interpretations out there, the Netflix series captures the early adulthood of the rare genius, focusing on how he lands his first-ever detective case — one that coincidentally concerns a crime taking place near his home. 

The show imagines what the detective must have been like at a younger age. It offers new insight into his relationship with a certain Mona — whose name will ring a bell for fans well-acquainted with the books and TV shows — while also alluding to some problems, like alcoholism, that will haunt him in later periods of his life. 

Arguably, Adam's previous appearances in thrillers like Before We Die and Moscow Noir have prepared him for the challenges innate to Kurt Wallander's role. 

Although the Netflix show has yet to attain a cultic status similar to Wallander, the 2005 series adapted directly from Henning Mankell's novels, it will certainly earn more fans for Adam across the globe.