Alexander Skarsgard doesn’t feel “comfortable” playing “good-hearted” characters because he is used to playing people with an inner darkness.
Alexander Skarsgard doesn’t feel “comfortable” playing “good-hearted” characters.
The 49-year-old actor admitted his latest role in Wicker left him feeling “quite intimidated”, not because he plays a man made of sticks but because he was playing someone without “darkness” for a change.
Speaking during a Q+A for the movie at the Sundance Film Festival this weekend, he said: “I was quite intimidated when I read it because I tend to be drawn towards more conflicted characters with more internal turmoil and darkness.
“And to play this good-hearted, good natured, sweet, morally righteous character was scary to me. I’m not really comfortable doing that.”
He then jokingly added: “I don’t have anything to tap into when it comes to that, so it was a stretch as an actor.”
The Succession actor also found it difficult to control his face because he was playing a man made of wicker.
He said: “Rigidity was a big part of it, and that came naturally to me. And awkwardness, also easy. And then we played around a little bit with the evolution of the character.
“Watching it now was quite interesting, cause they clearly worked on it with the sound design as well and the creaking in the beginning when the wicker is all fresh and new.
“And then we wanted to play with the rigidity of that. As the wicker husband warms up and gets a bit comfortable.”
Although his character loosened up during the film, “very emotionally vulnerable” scenes with co-star Olivia Colman proved challenging because while her face “just explodes on camera”, Alexander was struggling to show expression.
He explained: “Nothing happened. I have exaggerated everything. And that kind of contradicts your instinct as an actor.
“So I felt ridiculous, but it was just about trusting these guys and when they came up and were like, ‘Can you just give us a bit more eyebrow action?’ I’m like, ‘Okay.’ “
The Big Little Lies star previously pitched the idea he could play a “very polite” James Bond when the franchise is rebooted.
Speaking last year, he told The Times newspaper of his national service: “I did it because I was 19, I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I wanted to be James Bond for 18 months.”
Asked about taking the character to the big screen, he added: “I could be a very polite, diplomatic Swedish James Bond, who negotiates. There’ll be no violence at all. It’ll just be boardroom meetings where people try to find consensus, everyone’s stressed out and desperately tries to avoid an argument or complications, that’s very Swedish. I’ll pitch it!”
Alexander Skarsgard not comfortable playing ‘good-hearted’ roles
