From Marine Sergeant to Viking Vampire: The Alexander Skarsgard Interview

Three months ago, I was kidding around with the idea of interviewing Mr. Alexander Skarsgard. I envisioned myself doing the interview at Red Pirates’ pub in Boracay, over a piña colada at happy hour. Of course, bringing along with me my two friends who likewise enjoy his work.

When I got a text message last week saying he may indeed be up for an interview, I could just hear that Journey song in my head going “Don’t stop believing . . .”

Alexander was taking a break from shooting season two of True Blood where he plays a thousand year old vampire when he took the “phoner” at the Skarsgard family country house in the gorgeous Stockholm Archipelago.

Salon.com listed him as one of 2008s Sexiest Men and called him HBO’s “It Boy.” HBO has recently submitted his name to the Emmys for consideration in the categories Best Actor in a Miniseries (Generation Kill) and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (True Blood).

Listening to the 32-year-old actor talk—you could tell he absolutely loves being with his family (he has six other siblings, his father is actor Stellan), he’s very polite and he’s quite dedicated to his craft.

Sgt. Brad “Iceman” Colbert and Eric Northman are like day and night. And that’s just how Alexander likes it: “I enjoy challenges in my work.” He loves stepping into projects that offer something different from those he’s done previously, projects where “you’re not necessarily super confident when you embark on the journey where it’s going to end or where it’s going to take you.” He adds, “I thrive in situations like that, I really love that. I’m in a state of where I’m very creative and I enjoy exploring my characters. I would not want to play the exact same character in 15 movies back to back.” He finds the initial uncertainty of dealing with new situation and a new character then eventually taking control of it, “one of the biggest kicks I get out of this job.”

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