Hailing from one of Hollywood’s most famous and talented families, Alexander Skarsgård happily admits he’s a proud nepo baby.
But with a career that spans almost three decades, and an Emmy, two SAGs and a Golden Globe to his name – with plenty more nominations to boot – there’s no doubt the 48-year-old has well and truly stepped out of the shadow of his famous father, Stellan, and made his own mark in the industry.
With projects ranging from big blockbusters like Zoolander and The Legend of Tarzan to binge-worthy series such as True Blood and Big Little Lies – with a sprinkle of “weird little indie movies” in between – the Swedish star has enjoyed a varied catalogue of roles, something he says suits him quite well.
“I’m creatively the happiest when I find myself on set going like, ‘This is weird and wild and this is very different from what I’ve done before,’” he tells WHO while chatting about action-comedy Murderbot (streaming now on Apple TV+).
“I’m the happiest when I get to jump from something like [horror film] Infinity Pool to this weird android [series].”
Here, the actor opens up about his latest TV offering and being a nepo baby…
Murderbot sounds like it’s going to be a robocop-type thing – a killing machine – but it’s not that. What did you first think when you heard about it?
I had the same reaction. I was expecting kind of a way more self-confident protagonist – strong, tough, self-assured, kind of assertive. I wasn’t familiar with Martha Wells’ novels, the novellas, before [creators] Chris and Paul Weitz reached out. So, yeah, I went into it going, “Alright, sci-fi, action, adventure.” And then you meet this socially awkward android who just wants to watch space soap operas. And I was like, “I love this character.” I really did. And then I went back and read the first novella that the first season is based on. And yeah, I was in. I just thought it was such a unique, weird, different character.
Do you like to know why people think of you for a role like this?
No, well, and who passed before you came to me? (laughs) Give me the long list of actors that didn’t want to do this. That’s what goes through my head every time. No, I don’t. I’m too insecure for that.
Is your preparation different for something like this? Like, can you write a backstory for a Murderbot?
Not really. I mean, its memory was wiped. And that was great for a lazy actor. (laughs) I mean, “I’d love to do prep, but my memory was wiped so…” I thought about the way Murderbot would communicate. I wanted it to be a strong contrast between the way it communicates with the team members and the inner monologue, the voiceover. I wanted that to have a very different cadence in it and a sparsity to it. It’s a certain economy to the way, like, it only speaks when it absolutely has to. And it’s very transactional. It’s giving or receiving orders. It doesn’t chitchat or, like, small talk – and that kind of informed the physicality as well. There’s nothing unnecessary about it. It’s all very deliberate.
As a big Hollywood star, do you relate to the socially awkward part of Murderbot?
Murderbot is definitely more of an introvert than I am, but I can 100 per cent relate to the feeling of, like, Murderbot’s first scene with the whole team when the helmet is off, of trying to figure out how you fit into the room – what the vibe is, the dynamic, and just tapping into that and then really leaning into it hard. I’ve felt that.
The character from the books means a lot to the neurodivergent community. Is that something that has been discussed on set?
We didn’t discuss it on set or try to emphasise it necessarily on set. I was fascinated by a character that was relatable to a lot of people who maybe wouldn’t relate to, like, your stereotypical action hero. Again, that confident swagger of being someone who would just own any room they walked into. I thought it was really refreshing to have a story with a protagonist that was really uncomfortable in social situations. And I do think and hope a lot of people can relate to that and feel that.
How much do you find in your career that one role is reactive to the other? Your recent roles couldn’t be more different from this one…
I think it’s like an amalgamation of many different things and where you’re at in life, what goes on in your head, what you’ve recently worked on. In this case, yeah, I think I needed a palate cleanser after a lot of psychologically disturbing characters – even though I can switch off. It’s not like I’m constantly, like, while shooting The Northman, I wasn’t living as a Viking Berserker for a whole year, in that headspace, or pretending to be a clone for six months for Infinity Pool. I can definitely switch on and off. I have to in order to function. But that said, creatively, it made me excited to go in a different direction and discover something else and do something tonally different.
Your childhood sounds very bohemian with dinner parties and your dad walking around naked. Is that all true?
100 per cent. (laughs) It was a lot of kaftans or preferably nude. Yeah. He was not a fan of clothes. In his home. Or, I mean, occasionally, outside as well. No, it is all true.
There’s a lot of talk about nepo babies these days. What’s your perspective on that discussion?
I got Zoolander because my father was working on a movie in LA and I was visiting. I was on vacation, I’d just started acting and I didn’t have representation. And my dad’s manager was like, “Hey. I’ll send you out, if you’re interested, to an audition.” I was like, “Oh, that sounds fun.” And it happened to be for Zoolander. Hundred per cent nepo baby. (laughs) That would never have happened had it not been for my dad.
Was there a period of time when you felt you had something to prove?
I think even though I got all those jobs because of my dad, I was adamant about not taking his advice or asking him for advice or him guiding me in my career. I would never be like, “Hey Dad, this script, can you read it? Is this good or not? Should I do this?” I was, to my own detriment, I probably should have done that more, but I was like, “No, I want to make those choices and, even if they’re terrible, I want to make my own terrible choices. I’m a big boy.” And it wasn’t all smooth sailing after Zoolander… I thought it would be smooth sailing because that was my first audition. And it was Zoolander, like Ben Stiller – shooting here in Manhattan was amazing. Amazing. And I’m like, “This is a walk in the park. It’s so easy.” Like, you just walk in and go, “Hey, right. What’s up? I’m still Stellan’s kid. What’s up? Give me a job.” But then, yeah, after that, it was like six years of crickets.
It is true you and your brother Bill have never auditioned for the same role?
No, we haven’t. And Gus – our other brother, Gustaf – I don’t think we’ve been up for the same role, either. That’s what keeps us together. I think it would be hard. In that regard we’re not competitive. I think it would have been harder had we all been vying for the same roles. So fortunately, we don’t have to deal with that.
Big Little Lies is a key performance in your career. Can you tell us about that?
It was just such a dream job. [Director] Jean-Marc [Vallée] trusted the actors and just kind of cleared the space and it’s like, “Alright, here’s your dance floor. Go for it.” And the writing was so good. It was so twisted and interesting, this relationship. And to have the privilege of diving into that with someone like Nicole Kidman is, yeah, one of the highlights of my career.
Interview by Jenny Davis.
