IN case the first trailer for Robert Eggers’ 10th century Viking epic The Northman didn’t make it clear enough, Alexander Skarsgard has undergone serious transformation to play a prince seeking revenge for the murder of his father.
According to Eggers, the actor “transformed his body more wildly” for the film than he did to play Tarzan in the 2016 adventure movie The Legend of Tarzan.
“I was utterly terrified, but it’s a major privilege to be able to do something like this,” Eggers recently told Total Film magazine about his new film.
“It’s been exciting. The studio let me use all my head of departments from my last two films, and I was able to work with the top Viking historians in the world, which was incredible.”
“The amount of discipline that Alex put into this role is crazy,” Eggers added. “He transformed his body more wildly than he did in The Legend of Tarzan.”
Skarsgard stars in The Northman as Viking prince Amleth, who was a child when his father, King Horvendill (played by Ethan Hawke), was murdered.
Years later, Amleth vows to avenge his father’s death and save his mother, Queen Gudrun (Nicole Kidman), from the clutches of his father’s killer, Fjölnir (Claes Bang). The supporting cast also includes Anya Taylor-Joy, Bjork, Ralph Ineson and Willem Dafoe.
Skarsgard commented during an interview that he worked out for three months in Northern Island at the start of the pandemic before the film began filming.
“It was definitely different from the normal set because we were completely isolated. We got tested three times a week and I basically lived in a bubble up in the hills of Northern Ireland. I didn’t see anyone, didn’t do anything for six months other than work and sleep and train.”
Speaking to NME last year, Ineson called Skarsgard “an absolute beast” in the movie.
The actor added: “[There’s] a scene where he beats this guy in a battle; bends down and rips his throat out with his teeth, screams to the gods and he’s got his shirt off – and you think: ‘My god, that’s not a bodybuilder doing a scene, that’s like a proper serious actor!’”
The Northman will open in theatres on April 22. Watch the trailer here:
