Alexander Skarsgard Got Tortured For An Anticipated Upcoming Movie
He went through it.
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Taking Lee Strasberg’s method acting approach to new heights, Alexander Skarsgård opened up about some of the insane, at times physically dangerous stunts he needed to perform in his upcoming film, The Northman. Sailing into theaters on April 22, the Robert Eggers directed film will take viewers back to a time when vikings roamed the world, ravaging and looting villages with all the brutality they could muster. In it, Skarsgård steps into the role of a Viking prince named Amleth who is on a quest for revenge against his uncle who has murdered his father. Think Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but with an even more bloodthirsty twist.
In a recent interview with Total Film, Alexander Skarsgård spoke about his experience playing the role of the ruthless and determined Amleth. The actor said that prior to filming in a freezing and blustery Iceland, he had just been doing a stint shooting his role as a successful tech juggernaut for HBO’s Succession. While “in a villa on Lake Como” was a complete dream, and almost more of a vacation than work, the actor sobered up quickly when he flew to the arctic landscape to begin his work on The Northman. Calling it the most “physically and mentally” demanding gig he’s ever had, the actor came out humbled by it adding that it was his “most rewarding.”
To give readers a taste of what he had to go through, Alexander Skarsgård said the cast and crew would need to film on top of mountains and in the slimy mud for “long and hard” days. His tough time only got more difficult when it was called for his character to be “dragged through the mud,” something Skarsgård did on his own rather than calling in a fill in. He also refers to it as a “waking-up moment” and while we don’t know about you, we prefer a good face wash and teeth brushing as a part of our morning routine.
An actor with a long list of credits to his name, Alexander Skarsgård had his breakthrough role in the smash hit Alan Ball created series, True Blood, where he starred as the vampire, Eric Northman (which is super ironic given his new movie’s title). The Swedish native would go on to lead in films including Melancholia and The Legend of Tarzan, the latter of which he appeared as a completely jacked version of the titular character. His career only continued to grow when he landed the role of the bad guy abusive husband in Big Little Lies. Skarsgård’s performance in the HBO series was so convincing that it would earn him a Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice Television, and Screen Actors Guild Award. Since then, action fans may have seen Skarsgård in Godzilla vs. Kong or episodes of the aforementioned third season of Succession.
No matter how you cut it, Alexander Skarsgård is an excellent actor. Whether he’s taking on businessmen in suits, animals in the jungle, or vikings out for blood, the performer knows how to draw audiences in. And, although it sounds like his performance in The Northman really put him through the ringer, we’re excited to see it all pay off when the film lands on screens across America.
