Alexander Skarsgård names the hardest role of his career: “A goddamn nightmare”
There was a time when it looked like Alexander Skarsgård wouldn’t become an actor at all. Despite being an offspring of Stellan Skarsgård, a prolific and respected performer, the Swedish star initially decided he wasn’t going to join the family business after an initial stint as a child actor. He even joined the Swedish Navy’s anti-terrorism unit at 19, so uncomfortable he was with the limelight. However, the lure of the stage and screen eventually proved too strong.
The eldest Skarsgård rejoined the profession in the late 1990s, but wouldn’t properly blow up until his appearance in Zoolander. No, literally, his character in that movie explodes. Following that, he really kicked off his career with the miniseries Generation Kill, as well as the beloved vampire TV show True Blood. Now, he is an established star with many successful movies and shows under his belt. Not bad for a kid who decided he would rather spend all day on a boat instead of acting.
Sometimes, though, he probably wishes he’d stayed out at sea. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Skarsgård recalled his time on the Robert Eggers Viking film The Northman. He played Amleth, a fearsome warrior seeking revenge for the death of his father, played by Ethan Hawke, at the hands of his uncle, played by Claes Bang. Think of it as Hamlet but with more swords and six-packs. The movie was a big critical success and, after losing money at the box office, hit unexpected financial highs on streaming. However, even Skarsgård will admit that working with Eggers isn’t without its challenges.
“Rob is a goddamn nightmare,” the star said. “I love that man and he’s incredibly talented, but it’s challenging because… almost every single scene is shot as a ‘oner’, like there [are] no cuts, and that’s fine if you’re doing like a small character-driven drama… in an apartment, but when you’re trying to do a big epic Viking movie with 30 Vikings fighting and 200 extras and you’re still doing it with just one camera shot…” He wasn’t able to finish that sentence before host Josh Horowitz interjected, but we can all fill in the gaps.
The movie, which also features Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, and legendary singer Björk, was the first time Eggers had attempted something on this scale. His determination to painstakingly recreate the era, complete with period-appropriate costumes, buildings, and even animals, took its toll, especially during long, rainy days of filming in Northern Ireland and Iceland.
Ultimately, despite the director’s high-intensity style, his leading man was still excited to work with him. “I knew going into it that this was Rob’s way of working,” said Skarsgård, who was also a producer on The Northman. “We’d worked on the project for several years before we got to it, so it wasn’t like I was shocked on set, but it was just like I had time to kind of… mentally prepare.”
Despite it being tremendously hard work, both Skarsgård and Eggers achieved their dream and put together the most epic movie of either man’s career up to that point. Sometimes, you have to go through hell to get to heaven or, in this case, Valhalla.
