Will no one think of the poor Hollywood hunks? Being rich, famous and fabulously hot is not as fun a ride as it sounds. Or so the actors themselves would have you believe. Take Jared Leto, for example, a very beautiful man who would rather be considered a tortured artist or hide away under latex in order to be taken seriously.
Now, Alexander Skarsgård, who can currently be seen sporting a 28-pack on posters for The Northman, says that being sexy cost him the kind of roles he wanted earlier in his career. He worked in Sweden for around a decade before transferring to American films and TV.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Skarsgård said; “I don’t really know if that was the reason I wasn’t getting roles. Starting out in Sweden, there was stuff about being tall and blond. But most people here are tall and blond. Still, after my first job, I was on a stupid ‘sexy hunky hot list’ and then people didn’t take me seriously.”
Skarsgård added, “If you want characters with depth, but have been labeled ‘a dude who takes his shirt off,’ you’re not going to get those offers.” Ironically, Skarsgård’s big break into American movies and TV was playing Eric the vampire on True Blood – a character who spends most of his 76 episodes with his shirt (and more) off. It looks like Skarsgård has more of a sense of humour about such things now – don’t believe me, check out his IMDb profile picture.
Skarsgård’s next film, The Northman, sees him playing a Viking hell-bent on vengeance. Nicole Kidman, who played his wife in Big Little Lies, plays his mother (presumably, we hope, in flashbacks) and Ethan Hawke plays his father. Anya Taylor-Joy plays Olga of the Birch Forest, Claes Bang plays Fjolner the Brotherless, Willem Dafoe plays Heimer the Fool, and most excitingly, Björk plays a witch named Seeress.
While we wait for The Northman, check out our guide to the best adventure movies and the best fantasy movies.