In The Giver, we are presented with a world that appears Utopian on the surface. Everyone practices ‘sameness’ in a bid to keep a peaceful state. There is no uniqueness at all. Alexander’s character, Father is tasked with raising children in a world where love isn’t even acknowledge. A task he rose to:
Emotionally getting to that place, knowing what I had to do, it was difficult but it was also kind of what I found fascinating about the character, what drew me to the project… I thought it was really interesting to play someone who does what he does in the film — horrible things, but without being a bad guy. If you don’t know what you’re doing, what is the morality? Where does that come from? If you don’t understand the concept of death, is what he doing wrong? Of course it is, in a way, but at the same time, he doesn’t know — he thinks they’re going to a better place. He doesn’t know what “elsewhere” is, what that means. It was also a challenge to play someone who embodies “sameness,” as Father does in the movie. He’s a perfect citizen, in a way. But you also have to, as an actor, find something to not make him a robot.
You could very well compare this lack of emotional output to that of his True Blood character, for sure. An idea that Jennifer Vineyard from Vulture was eager to explore when she asked Alexander if Father was similar to Eric Northman when he amnesia in Season 4 of HBO’s True Blood:
In a way, when Eric went through that, it was almost the opposite. Living the way he did for 1,000 years, having seen and gone through all that pain and suffering, he had almost shut down, emotionally. That’s why I thought it was an interesting love story between him and Sookie, because she was one of the few he ever let in. So when Marnie cast that spell on him, he suddenly opened up in a way. It’s the opposite of what Father does in The Giver, because Eric let his guard down and he was very open and very curious — he wanted to feel, he wanted to experience things in a way that I think, deep down, Father wants, but he’s medicated, and he’s not in touch with his emotions, at all.
As for life after True Blood, besides The Giver, what else does Alexander have on the cards? It seems a permanent move to New York is in order! While he has no plans after he finishes shooting Tarzan (which is currently in production in London), he is toying with the idea of working on the stage for a change. Wouldn’t that be fantastic?
You can read the full interview Alexander Skarsgard did with Vulture by clicking here.
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Source: Vulture - Alexander Skarsgård on The Giver, True Blood, and the Sack of Destiny
(Photo Credit: HBO Inc.)
