Alexander Skarsgård Describes Filming Succession & Northman Back-To-Back

Alexander Skarsgård describes the challenges of filming the television series Succession and director Robert Eggers’ new film, The Northman, back-to-back. Succession, created by Jesse Armstrong, is an HBO original series which follows the billionaire Roy family as they deal with the aftermath of their father’s decision not to step down from the family company, one of the biggest media companies in the world. In the series, Skarsgård plays tech billionaire Lukas Matsson, who has so far appeared in only three episodes of Succession season 3. 

The Northman, on the other hand, is a completely different beast. Helmed by Eggers and co-written by Eggers and Sjón, The Northman is to be an action-packed epic story of a Viking prince (Skarsgård) on a quest to avenge his father’s murder. In addition to Skarsgård, the film boasts an all-star cast, including Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Willem Dafoe, and Björk. Currently, The Northman is set to be released in the U.S. on April 22.

In a recent interview with Total Film, Skarsgård describes his experience filming The Northman as “physically and mentally the most difficult job” he has had so far. He expresses that the tough filming conditions were heightened for him, as he had been on the set of Succession only a week prior, playing “a tech billionaire in a villa on Lake Como.” According to the actor, it was a real shock to his system to be playing a character living an incredibly extravagant lifestyle, only to immediately fly to Iceland and “get shackled and dragged through the mud.” See Skarsgård’s full quote below:

It was physically and mentally the most difficult job I’ve ever had, but also the most rewarding. The days were really long and hard, and we were out in the mud, and up on these mountaintops with the wind and the cold. The week prior, I was working on the television show Succession, on which I play a tech billionaire in a villa on Lake Como. So I literally went from playing one of the richest dudes on the planet in a crazy, beautiful villa, surrounded by yachts and helicopters and luxury, and got on a plane and flew to Iceland to get shackled and dragged through the mud. It was definitely a waking-up moment and a humbling experience.

In complete contrast to Skarsgård, Eggers reveals that, while many of the physically huge actors playing Vikings struggled with the shooting conditions on The Northman, returning collaborator Taylor-Joy truly stepped up to the challenge. Taylor-Joy chalks this up to her simply “not being a complainer.” However, Eggers is known for trying to create real conditions for his actors on set, and she admits that the crew soon learned that if she was asking the team to hurry, there was genuine cause for it.

With Taylor-Joy describing a scene in which she had to stand bare-foot in frozen mud, and Skarsgård describing being shackled and dragged, The Northman seems to promise a very genuine period experience. Eggers has been hailed a visionary director, and it’s probable that actors wouldn’t subject themselves to such conditions for just any old film. Prospective viewers are expecting The Northman will offer an epic experience to all movie-goers that won’t soon be forgotten – though one wouldn’t blame Skarsgård if he’s eager to to appear in Succession season 4 sooner rather than later.

Source: Total Film