Recently Alexander Skarsgård (Eric Northman) sat down with Josh Woodfin of FHM to discuss some of the past and current projects he’s participated in including True Blood.
The interview started off by talking a little bit about Generation Kill, the 2008 HBO mini series in which Alexander played Sergeant Brad Colbert. Prior to returning to acting, he completed a compulsory term of service with the Swedish military where he attained the rank of Sergeant. So he found this experience extremely helpful when it came to playing the real life Brad Colbert. But Alexander says he can’t take credit for his lines because they were all Sgt. Colbert. When asked about meeting him, Alex says he was very nervous to meet the man who he had played but that he couldn’t have been nicer.
From there the conversation shifted to True Blood where Alex plays the cool viking vampire Eric. When asked what his inspiration was for Eric, Alexander replied that he was inspired by a lion:
“…There was this moment when a huge lion was just chilling, he was so relaxed, and he looked at the camera, and man, he just fucking stared you out. It was so cool because you didn’t know if he was going to attack or fall asleep. He just stared at the camera guy and I was mesmerised. So Eric is supposed to be this powerful old menacing vampire, and I thought it would be cool to play it relaxed. He’s so fucking confident he doesn’t need to be loud or big or aggressive. I wanted to recreate the feeling that you didn’t know if he’s going to rip someone apart or fall asleep.”
Alexander has certainly done a very job of recreating that feeling! One is never quite sure what Eric will do, especially when he’s dressed in his tracksuits and flip flops. His portrayer tells us that there is something he really likes about tearing someone apart wearing flip flops.
Eric also spends a fair amount of time naked on screen as well, something that Alexander says he doesn’t mind as long as it makes sense. But what about those sex scenes…are they intimate? Not in the least according to Skarsgård:
“You don’t get turned on. It’s such a technical environment. They make it look sexy, but it’s definitely not. You have a sound guy five inches away from you, a camera in your face. It’s not a sensual moment.”
When the subject of True Blood’s dedicated fan base came up, Alexander says he’s never had a bad experience with any fans he’s encountered. Without the fans he says that he wouldn’t be doing this and he can’t help but feel flattered when he hears that someone has flown thousands of miles just for an autograph. So making time to do that for fans is something Alexander says is important to him.
What does the future hold for Alexander besides promoting the upcoming fourth season of True Blood? He’s got a remake of Straw Dogs being released in September as well as Battleship, the movie based on the board game. That will hit theatres some time next year.
But fans of True Blood will be happy to see Alexander and Eric return to HBO on the small screen when season 4 premieres June 26th. Until then, we’ll just have to make due with the season 3 DVD/Blu-Ray which comes to the US May 31st. Want a copy of the season 3 DVD the day it comes out? Click here to find out how!
To read the rest of the interview click here.
Source: FHM.com- “FHM Meets Eric from True Blood”
Image Credit: Chris Maluszynski
