The Film Experience

by Matt St Clair

One factor as to what kind of roles an actor receives, or whether they’re cast as lead or supporting players, is their looks. Consequently, that’s why you often see the likes of Tom Cruise headlining an action movie rather than someone like, say, John Malkovich. The practice of traditional glamour leading to positioning for movie stardom has essentially been around since the birth of cinema.

Then again, sex appeal can also trap actors into a narrow box. This happens to beautiful stars ike Alexander Skarsgård. He said in a recent Sunday Times interview while promoting The Northman, that his sex symbol label has led to him not getting the kind of serious acting opportunities he’s craved...

A recent photoshoot © Juergen Teller for Interview Magazine.

Although his Nordic god-like beauty helped make him famous, Skarsgård has still managed to carve out a successful niche in tackling roles that play off his pretty boy image rather than into it, allowing him to go into darker places. Roles like the anti-hero Amleth in The Northman. In this Shakespearean tackling of Viking lore, Skarsgård gives a quietly commanding leading performance free of movie star magnetism. The close-ups of his expressive face reveal a somber anguish that he occasionally channels into a roaring fury.

He especially does so in the much talked-about big scene between him and Nicole Kidman as his mother Queen Gudrun. Once Gudrun reveals her own ulterior motives, and the dark past of Amleth’s deceased father, Skarsgård’s pained face goes from denial and distress over these revelations to showing outright anger. He’s gone into animal mode before as a wolf-like berserker soldier. But at that point, it’s a matter of time before Amleth really starts to “pounce.”

In True Blood, the series that made him a household name in the US, Skarsgård showed a similar dark side as another Northman. Eric Northman, that is. Much like Amleth, Eric is another agent of vengeance who’d always ensure his revenge quests are fulfilled. Deceitful and cocky with a rare tender side, the stylish Nordic vampire had quite the, shall we say, “glamorous” appeal. Not just because of his intoxicating deep voice and stunning, often bare physique. Additionally, Eric’s rapport with prodigy/one-liner machine Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten) was a major series highlight.

After the show’s end came a slight flirting with leading man stardom thanks to his role as the title character in The Legend of Tarzan. That is until he ventured back to HBO with the acclaimed series Big Little Lies. As Perry Wright, the husband of retired lawyer Celeste (Nicole Kidman), Skarsgård proves that when it comes to dating and relationships, one shouldn’t always judge a book by its cover.

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On the surface, Perry seems like an ideal partner: Good-looking, a loving father to his children, and a decent husband with a steady job. It isn’t until the ironically-titled episode “Living the Dream” when Skarsgård quickly sheds Perry’s spotless façade. Once Perry becomes rattled over something as mundane as missing a ticket to "Disney on Ice, "he angrily guilts Celeste and puts her in a chokehold. By resorting to physical abuse and mental gaslighting, Perry is like a monster in human form.

As he daringly taps into how Perry is every romantic partner’s worst nightmare, it’s no wonder Skarsgård won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series/Movie for his bold efforts. Along with The Northman, his work on Big Little Lies is firm proof of Skarsgard being a case of “character actor in a leading man’s body.” A similar fate that has befallen other similarly handsome actors who’ve toyed with Hollywood leading man status only to fare best when venturing towards the idiosyncratic or playing lead roles in smaller-scale productions.

For instance, Nicholas Hoult may have tried his hand as an action star with Collide and Jack the Giant Slayer. But he’s always in top form when going the outlandish supporting actor route in projects like The Favourite, Mad Max: Fury Road, and The Great. Meanwhile, after capably headlining King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Charlie Hunnam has proven he really shines when starring in gritty indies like Jungleland or acting as an ensemble player in a crime caper like The Gentlemen.

Admittedly, with a budget of about $70 million, The Northman isn’t what one would call small-scale. But it still possesses an experimental nature and a wonderfully off-center performance from its leading actor. Much like in his previous work, Skarsgård proves that there’s more to him than just his looks. Whether he’s playing human monsters or blood-sucking monsters, Alexander Skarsgård always finds ways to show how appearances can be deceiving.