Alexander Skarsgård
Press & Interviews - Interview with Alexander Skarsgard
Many thanks to Shannon for scanning and translating this article for us!
The first season of True Blood just came out on DVD, and Orange Cinémax began to broadcast season 2 on December 1st, at 9:20 PM. To celebrate, several of the actors traveled across the Atlantic for a memorable party at the Hard Rock Café Paris, which was transformed into Merlotte's for the night. Dark Mag never misses an opportunity and was able to come across three of the series' actors. First, face to face with Eric Northman, who is responsible for the vampiric police of Louisiana, performed by Sweden's great Alexander Skarsgard. Having barely entered the small room where Alexander waited for me, the temperature seemed to turn down a notch.
What attracted you to True Blood?
"It was the presence of Alan Ball, the creator of the series. At first when they contacted me about a vampire series they were going to make, I had to ask what it was going to be like, I believed it was a joke. After they told me that Alan Ball was involved, who wrote and coproduced the film American Beauty and the series Six Feet Under, I then told myself it's going to be great, he's not a fool."
Can you tell me something about Eric we don't already know?
"Eric did not appear much in the first season. We hardly know him at the beginning of the second, which he appears more in. Godric, a vampire who is 2000 years old and Eric's maker, has disappeared. He immediately launches a search. It's something that is very important to him. At that point, we discover that he is a very loyal vampire and capable of compassion, which is rare for vampires. For him, being sheriff isn't just a job, it's a profession of faith."
Eric is 1000 years old. Isn't it a little odd to be policing after all that time?
"He's not a typical policeman. He is the sheriff of the vampire community. In a certain way he is in charge of his area in Louisiana, and he is very powerful."
Did you review the vampire culture before beginning True Blood?
"I wasn't a big fan of Urban Fantasy before being cast, I have to admit. But after I knew I had the role, I immersed myself into this universe 200%. I watched a lot of good films, the classics: Nosferatu, Dracula - the first with Bela Lugosi and the latter by Francis Ford Coppola – to see how they dealt with the vampire genre, and to be able to give a believable and modern interpretation."
I read that your favorite actor is Gary Oldman, who played Dracula. Did he inspire you for your role?
"I watched him carefully before we began filming the first season. I found him absolutely fantastic in that film. His Dracula was terrifying and terribly seductive. I was inspired, but only in part because the vampires of True Blood are different from the ancient vampires. We have integrated into society and we have to live with the humans like the others haven't had to do. The bad thing is that they are constantly hunted."
Which vampire ability do you prefer: to have special powers or to be immortal?
"That's a difficult choice. Eric can fly, and I find that rather brilliant. I would love to be able to do that!"
You have been voted the sexiest man in Sweden 5 times. What is your seduction secret?
"I don't have a seduction secret. I just know that for you to charm a woman, it's not a good thing. It's necessary to be yourself and not focus on seduction. When I meet a woman who believes she's sexy and takes advantage of that fact, it's absolutely not sexy for me. I prefer when she is natural and exudes a certain confidence, that's much more attractive."
I read that you were never very comfortable with being a celebrity. What bothers you about it?
"I was a celebrity when I was very young in Sweden, thanks to being in films when I was 13 years old. It wasn't easy because people were giving me strange looks, some people had bad intentions, not all, but it made me become paranoid so I decided to stop for 7 years."
What is the best and the worst memory of filming?
"In season 2, I really liked the flashbacks where we discover how Eric, who's still a Viking, became a vampire. It was nice because it was truly a "Swedish" atmosphere. I don't have a "worst memory," but when you play a vampire, you shoot at night so you're often tired, you're cold, it's not easy, you drink coffee to keep going."
Dark Bio: Alexander Skarsgard
Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgard was born November 26, 1976 [Alex's birthday is actually August 25] in Stockholm, Sweden. He started his acting career when he was 8 but stopped at 13 because he couldn't stand being a celebrity. He didn't take up acting again for 7 years, meanwhile he spent 15 months in the army, in the anti-terrorists unit, where he became a Sergeant. He leads 2 careers, in the U.S. and in Sweden, and will appear in the American remake of the French film 13 Tzameti.