Alexander Skarsgård has been working steadily since True Blood’s season 4 wrapped. He’s filmed two back-to-back movies: What Maisie Knew and Disconnect. However, he still has had time to sit down with Bullett Magazine for an interview when he was still in New York.
He flew to Stockholm recently for a week of rest, and soon he’s off to start production on The East with Brit Marling, Ellen Page, and Patricia Clarkson. When that wraps, he’ll head straight back into True Blood’s Season 5 as Eric Northman.
Below is part of that interview:
BULLETT: It sounds like you had fun while you were here in New York for the past couple of months.
ALEXANDER SKARSGÄRD: I did, but it was just so busy. It’s tough being in New York when you can’t do stuff—I didn’t go to a single play, a single show, a single exhibit. Nothing. I wish I had a week or two now where I could just enjoy being in New York.
We talked before about What Maisie Knew, one of the two films you just shot here. Tell me about the other one.
I had a really good time on Disconnect. It’s an ensemble film, sort of like Short Cuts. I really connected—ugh, no pun intended—with the director [Henry Alex Rubin]. It’s all about how people connect in the Digital Age—Internet dating, Internet bullying. In my storyline, I’m married to Paula Patton, and we’re both online chatting with people. It’s a very dysfunctional marriage. Suddenly, someone takes our identity, and we think we know who did it, so we go after the guy. The journey that we take—tracking down this identity thief—kind of sparks something, and brings us back together. Michael Nyqvist, who plays the Daniel Craig character in the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is the guy we go after. Michael and I used to live two blocks from each other in Stockholm, which is funny, but we’d never worked together before.
In what ways has your experience on True Blood been different from those of the films you’ve been shooting?
I was worried it would get redundant—that was my fear when I started the show—but the writing is so good. If I do a play or a movie, I have the script, and I can see where it’s going, how the story will evolve and how my character will grow. True Blood was completely different, obviously. I was like, How the fuck will I sustain this? What will happen in two, three, four years? Will I be like, Ugh, I’m so over this guy?
It’s a bit of a double-edged sword. You want the show to have continued success, and you owe much of your mainstream popularity to it, but it’s also a huge commitment.
Absolutely. And, of course, I’ve missed out on some amazing opportunities because we shoot for seven months of the year. I’ve been offered some fantastic projects, but if they don’t fit into the window of our five-month hiatus, then I have to decline. That’s just the nature of the beast. I was disappointed, of course, but I’m so fortunate to be working on True Blood. Plus, I have two more years on the contract and then I can freelance if I want.
How does that work?
I signed a six-year contract, so they have the option to keep me for those six years if they want.
If you decided to leave at the end of your contract, they’d have to find a way to kill off your character—but he’s already dead.
[Laughs.] It’s true! By the same token, they’re not obligated to use you for the full six years. I could be written out of the show at any time, although I hope I’m not! I love my character. I loved his storyline this year, the stuff I got to do on the show, and the phenomenal people I work with. Plus, I do get time off every year so I can go home and see my family in Sweden. Last year I shot Melancholia, which was one of the most amazing experiences. I did [Peter Berg’s] Battleship right after that, which was also a great experience but completely different obviously. Each season, I come back to True Blood refreshed and excited to be there.
It’s pretty uncommon that costars on a show get along so well.
It feels so cheesy, but it’s true. You always hear actors who are like, “We love each other.” But the vibe on True Blood really is that fucking awesome. There are no egos and we really care about each other.
Tell me about your time on the set of Melancholia.
It was an actor’s dream. I felt so free and encouraged to just go with it, to have fun, and to explore. Lars doesn’t even block his scenes. I’d show up and he’d be like, “Alright, let’s see what happens.” It’s so playful and organic. He doesn’t care much about continuity. He’s never like, “After that line you have to turn to her and do that.” He doesn’t care. At the same time, it’s not a free-for-all. He’s not like, “Do whatever you want and we’ll see what happens.” He’ll start out that way—and 99% of it will be disaster, but there will also be these brief, unique moments that you can’t recreate—and then he’ll come in and be like, “Alright, that didn’t work. Let’s try this.”
You’d worked with him before.
Just for one day, 10 years ago, with my dad [actor Stellan Skarsgård]. It was something he did for Danish television called D-Day.
To read the entire interview go to: bullettmedia.com
