Alexander Skarsgård has opened up about what went into turning him into a walking talking wicker man in one of his most bizarre screen offerings to date.
The Swedish actor stars opposite Olivia Colman in the upcoming twisted romance Wicker, which centres around a lonely woman in medieval times, who wishes for a husband to be woven for her, only for him to come to life, causing a stir in their rural village.
During an appearance on Friday’s edition of The Graham Norton Show, Alexander admitted: “When I was sent the script, I thought it was The Wicker Man, the horror movie, so I thought it was going to be scary. But it turns out it was a comedy with lots of sex.”
As for his elaborate costume, he claimed: “It was real and made by the same artists that worked on Lord of the Rings. The suit was exquisite and it took them 18 months to make.
“I particularly liked the nipples – they had extraordinary craftsmanship, so I kept them.”
True to his word, he then presented them to the talk show host as a gift.
While much has been made about Wicker’s sexual content, Alexander insisted that the film also has a lot of heart.
Speaking about his own character, he teased: “There is a purity to his soul that felt very foreign to me.
“I realised it is hard playing a nice guy – it was definitely unchartered territory for me.”
Wicker had its UK premiere on Thursday night as part of the London Film Festival, with the film already splitting opinion right down the middle, with The Times hailing Olivia Colman’s “astonishing” performance and The Telegraph tearing into the “mortifying” film in a one-star take.
Check out Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Colman on The Graham Norton Show on Friday 9 October at 10.40pm on BBC One. Wicker hits UK cinemas on Friday 30 October.
