Vikings: Valhalla star Jóhannes Jóhannesson compares the Netflix series to Game of Thrones

Jóhannes Jóhannesson, who stars in the upcoming Vikings: Valhalla TV series, compares this new show to his time working on Game of Thrones

Vikings: Valhalla star compares the show to Game of Thrones

Fans of bloody warfare and bearded warriors will be happy to know that the new Vikings spin-off series, Vikings: Valhalla, launches on streaming service Netflix February 25, 2022. In an interview with The Digital Fix, one of the stars of the upcoming Netflix series, Jóhannes Jóhannesson, has compared the Vikings: Valhalla production to his time working on the hit fantasy series Game of Thrones.

Jóhannesson previously appeared in two episodes from season 6 of Game of Thrones, as Lem Lemoncloak, a member of the Brotherhood without banners. The Icelandic actor will play a key role as Olaf Haraldsson in season 1 of the epic historical series Vikings: Valhalla, which picks up the lore of the Vikings show, in a time set over 100 years after the events of the original series.

During the interview, Jóhannesson was asked how his experience of working on the two shows compared, and the actor was effusive in his praise of both productions. He said there are many similarities between the two, stretching farther than the obvious historical settings, violent themes and power-hungry monarchs.

“Both productions are very well-oiled machines,” Jóhannesson describes. “I was in season 6 of Game of Thrones, and you sort of step into this machinery. The scale, the amount of equipment, and things being produced. It was all in place and functioning so beautifully. And it was the same with Vikings: Valhalla,” he adds.

While Vikings: Valhalla is a standalone show, there are of course ties to the original series, and Jóhannesson details just how valuable this was to the production. “We had the luxury of the old crew, the production team, so it was the same feeling of knowing these people have been doing this for years,” he explains.

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Geographically, the two shows also share familiar territory, with Game of Thrones being shot in Northern Ireland, and Vikings: Valhalla filming in the Republic of Ireland. So as well as both productions being slick behind the scenes, they also took place on the same island.

Vikings: Valhalla will drop on Netflix on February 25, 2022, with all eight episodes arriving in one big bundle for you to binge to your heart’s content.