With director Robert Eggers’ fantastic new movie, The Northman, opening in theaters this weekend, I recently spoke to Alexander Skarsgård about making the action-filled epic. During the interview, Skarsgård talked about how he’s dreamed of making a Viking movie since he was a kid, how he knew Eggers was the right person to helm the project, what it was like filming the incredible oner where he’s part of a group that raids a village without any cuts, and why he loves working with Nicole Kidman (she plays his mom in the film). In addition, he reveals what it was like seeing the finished film for the first time and what it was like for him after shooting wrapped and finishing the journey.
If you haven’t seen the trailers, The Northman follows a young Viking prince (Skarsgård) on his quest to avenge his father’s (Ethan Hawke) murder. The film also stars Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Björk, and Willem Dafoe.
Check out what he had to say in the player above, or you can read our conversation below. Finally, I strongly recommend seeing The Northman in a movie theater. Eggers has crafted an epic that deserves to be seen on the biggest and loudest screen in your area. For more on the film, you can read our review or read my interview with Eggers from a few months back before I had seen the film.
COLLIDER: When you go to make a movie with Robert and the way he works and his attention to authenticity, obviously you see it all on set, you know [as] producer, you understand everything, but what was it actually like watching the finished film versus maybe your expectations when you started making the project?
ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD: I was overwhelmed, and it was incredibly emotional. It brought back a lot of memories from the Irish mud, when we were crawling around there. When you shoot a movie this way, since there are no cuts, what you see was exactly what happened and how I remembered it. So sometimes when you watch a movie, once after it's gone through a year of editing and reshaping sometimes, it can change quite a bit, but again, there are very few scenes in the movie with cuts. So it was very much the way I remembered it.
Before I jump into some specifics on the movie, I am curious, if someone has never seen anything you've done, what is the first thing you want them watching and why?
SKARSGÅRD: The Northman, of course. I've never been more involved in a project, deeper, involved in a project. I've had the privilege of being part of this journey since the Genesis. I've been dreaming of making a Viking movie since I was a kid. And about 10 years ago Lars Knudsen, the Danish producer, and I teamed up and tried to figure out a way to actually make that happen. And we were playing around with different ideas and reading the old Icelandic, the poetry, the old Icelandic sagas, and trying to figure out which story to base it on. We knew that we wanted to capture the essence of those on the kind of the stark laconic language, the harshness of it. But it wasn't until I met Rob five ago, coincidentally, and it turned out that he had just been to Iceland and had fallen in love with the island and the culture, and we started talking about Norse mythology and Viking culture. And that became, well, the starting point for this crazy journey.
What was your reaction actually, when you first saw Robert's other two films? Were you like, "this is the guy"?
SKARSGÅRD: Yeah. So I was going to meet Rob five years ago in New York about another project. And I'd just seen The VVitch, and I was really, really blown away by it. Again, his attention to detail, the historical accuracy of it, it really did feel like I was transported back in time. And Lars Knudsen, who is a producing partner on The Northman also produced that film. So I knew what Robert could do on a very, very tight, it's a very small budget movie. I couldn't believe that when I saw it because the world he created is so fantastic. The texture of it [is] so rich... That it felt like the perfect director for an authentic Viking tale.
There's a lot in this movie that's just fantastic. But one of the sequences that blew my mind was obviously when you guys are raiding the village, I believe it's 90 seconds continuous, can you sort of maybe take me through filming that sequence?
SKARSGÅRD: It was exhausting and challenging and exhilarating all at the same time. It was a real treat to shoot a scene like that, like a long sequence like that in just one long continuous take. I've never done that before. Action movies just aren't done that way. A sequence will have gazillion cuts in different angles and multiple cameras, but to figure out a way to do it in just one long shot with one camera on film. It sounded like a crazy idea, but I guess it was because it took a long time. We got together months before shooting the movie to just plan out the choreography, the relationship between the actors and the camera, how we would move, how the camera would move, and then try to incorporate that into our training so that myself and the stunt guys would plan it and go through all the different beats, all the different fights within that sequence.
And then going out to the location as the village was being built and looking at the wall. How do you ascend that wall? And how do you move around and where can we do the hit on the horse, all that kind of stuff. So it was just a tremendous amount of planning because again, my character's in a berserker state of mind. We had to get through all the technical aspects of it so that when we're there shooting it, I can just stay in that and be [speaks in Old Norse]. So it was just about doing it over and over and over again.
With a sequence like that, how many takes could you actually do at one time, without running out of gas, if you will?
SKARSGÅRD: As many as it takes. There are no cuts, so you can't really settle for "Oh, that wasn't great, but let's move on" and you just have to do it till every single aspect, every single detail works perfectly.
This was I'm sure an extremely tough project for you to actually make due to the physical demands of the role. Is this way of working where this authenticity that Robert goes for, is it sort of like an addiction that you think you'd want to apply more of this to future projects?
SKARSGÅRD: That devotion, dedication is incredibly inspiring. This has been the most extraordinary journey of my career. Coming out of that, I should probably do something very, very different. Just because it was such an amazing experience, I can't try to duplicate that. It's probably better to go do a slapstick comedy or something very different. Multiple camera sitcom or something.
Exactly. I've spoken to a lot of actors, and they talk about how sometimes the performance takes everything out of them, and it takes them a little while to decompress from the role. How long did it take you after wrapping on filming to sort of feel like yourself again, or were you able to just flip a switch?
SKARSGÅRD: We were all very exhausted and relieved and excited to go through that. And also to go through it in 2020 before during the pandemic, before the vaccine was out, with a crew of 400 on a mountaintop in Ireland, and we're in a pile in the mud shooting. It's very difficult to do that in a safe manner obviously, but we got through it. And it was such a journey that coming out of it, I took a bit of a break after that... Had a bit of a breakdown. I just relaxed. You're filled with emotion, and it's a lot going on, because you're proud. It's a sense of accomplishment. You're relieved, that you got through it. You're sad because an experience like this is incredibly bonding and intense. So sometimes you feel a bit shell-shocked coming out of it, and you're back in civilization, and you sit there and then "Now what?" Also, there's so much adrenaline and excitement and input during those months that afterwards everything just feels a bit bland.
I'm definitely not a method actor, and it wasn't like I walked around and felt like Beowulf on the streets of New York, but I could definitely feel the impact that that experience had on me.
What does it mean to you to be number one on the call sheet? And did you feel an added sense of responsibility because you're the lead in the movie, and you're also producing, and you have this big crew?
SKARSGÅRD: I try to approach every project with the same amount of professionalism and commitment, regardless if it's a lead role or a small cameo. I think we were very lucky on this movie. It was an extraordinarily committed crew. A lot of the crew members were fans of Robert Eggers and were excited to be there and excited to tell this story and build this world. I never felt that I had to motivate anyone. I never felt that someone was not incredibly excited to be a part of this. So I never had to step into that role where it wasn't quite working. Everyone was super fired up, and we were all like moving in the same direction.
I'm sure there's going to be some people that have not seen a trailer or know that much about the movie. What's most important to you to let people know about the film? Is there one or two things you want people to really know about it?
SKARSGÅRD: I think if you haven't seen a trailer and if you know nothing about the movie—that's fantastic. Just go see it and don't listen to my annoying voice. I think some of the strongest cinematic experiences I've had are when I step into the theater and I don't know anything about the movie. I think that's great. So I don't want people to feel something or take away something, or just go in there with open eyes. I just hope that it's going to be a thrilling journey.
Your fellow castmates are all so incredible in their roles. It's so funny though, with Nicole playing your mom in this. Could you talk a little bit about working with Nicole and what is your favorite part of working with her?
SKARSGÅRD: Nicole and I formed a very strong connection, the bond on Big Little Lies. It was very a difficult journey. Obviously a very dark relationship, incredibly rewarding [because] it's so well written and so interesting, that relationship. But again, physically and mentally very, very difficult. This is a very different relationship. We're not husband and wife, we're mother-son, but it's equally dark and disturbing. In going there, going so deep into something so dark, it's absolutely wonderful when you have a partner whom you trust, and having had that, I think we hit the ground running on The Northman because we spent a year together on Big Little Lies and knew each other so well. And at least I was very excited to be reunited with Nicole. So that was one of the highlights of the whole shoot. The very first day we had was that scene in her chambers where my character basically explains who he is and why he's there. And after two months of doing big action pieces, to have that scene with Nicole was very memorable.
Also, that scene is awesome. I'm just going to say you are fantastic in this. Thank you so much for giving me your time.
SKARSGÅRD: Oh, thank you so much, I appreciate it.