The latest image from The Northman has Alexander Skarsgård looking like every bit the Viking warrior prince. In the image, released exclusively by Empire, the actor looks more powerful than ever before. Powerful enough to tear a man limb from limb. Which, according to Skarsgård, is exactly what he’ll be doing on his quest for revenge in The Northman. Skarsgård has been discussing one of the most exciting sequences in The Northman, an extended scene that ends with his character partaking in a little bit of primal throat-ripping.

“It was the end of a very long, complex shot of the Viking berserkers raiding a Slav village. The choreography was so difficult, with all these elements, 50 people fighting simultaneously, the extras and the horses… making it look perfect was a real undertaking.”

With so many elements in play, the sequence took as many as 30 attempts to get just right. Fortunately, it sounds like all the effort was worth it just for the ending, with Skarsgård unleashing his frustration and exhaustion in a moment that is sure to be a brutal sight to behold.

“That climax, where I rip a guy’s throat out and howl at the moon… it was primal. I just let it all out. I was exhausted, and I think you see it in the shot. I was a wreck. Truly a wreck.”

We can only presume that ripping out someone’s throat and howling like some sort of wild animal was supposed to happen and that Skarsgård did not, in fact, just let it all out on some poor extra.

Set at the turn of the 10th century in Iceland, The Northman centers on a Viking named Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård), who witnesses the murder of his father, King Aurvandil, at the hands of his uncle, Fjolnir. With his mother, Queen Gudrun, now captured, Amleth flees his native land, but not before declaring his revenge on those who have wronged him.

Directed by Robert Eggers, who has co-written the screenplay with Icelandic poet and novelist Sjón, The Northman features an all-star cast that includes the likes of Nicole Kidman as Queen Gudrun, Ethan Hawke as King Horvendill, Willem Dafoe as Heimir the Fool, Björk as the Slav Witch, Anya Taylor-Joy as Olga, and Claes Bang as Fjölnir alongside Alexander Skarsgård.

Filming The Northman Has Left its Mark on the Leading Man

the-northman
Focus Features, Universal Pictures

The brutality in the movie have left their mark on The Northman’s leading man, with Alexander Skarsgård unsure where to go next following the Viking epic. “It’s a tough act to follow,” the actor said. “A lot of stuff that I might have said yes to a couple of years ago, I’m just not that keen on doing anymore. I feel a bit lost. I don’t know where to go from here. This experience… it definitely changed me. I think it changed most people who were on that mountaintop.”

The Northman is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on April 22, 2022, by Focus Features, and will be distributed internationally by Universal Pictures.