Alexander Skarsgard Embraces “Eric” Role

Christina Radish of MediaBlvd Magazine recently chatted with Alexander Skarsgard, who plays Eric Northman in True Blood. Though he had never read Charlaine Harris’s books before landing the part of Eric, he seems to understand the guy and he’s having fun with him. “For business, basically. He opened this nightclub, Fangtasia, and he makes a lot of money because human tourists come there to see vampires. They go there and buy drinks, and he sits on his throne and they take pictures of him, and he makes a lot of money.” This role is quite different from Brad Colbert in Generation Kill, and Alexander is enjoying that difference. “It was amazing! I did this right after I did Generation Kill, which was very dirty and sweaty, so it was amazing to do something so flamboyant and extravagant as Eric. He’s the complete polar opposite of my character in that, Brad Colbert. He wears sleek European suits and expensive shirts. I have a long blonde wig, and I’m obviously pale. And, he loves to be the center of attention. He’s got his nightclub, and he roams around there like a king. It’s very different.”

It’s not too hard to work with Anna Paquin either. “She’s amazing! We’ve had so much fun. Most of my stuff is with her and Steve Moyer, who plays Bill, the other vampire. And, Anna is very humble, down-to-earth, fun to work with and a very generous actor.”

Although Alan Ball only wrote and directed the first three episodes, Alexander says he’s always around. “He’s very much hands-on. He’s there all the time, and he’s got this great enthusiasm. He’s very excited about the project. Even if he doesn’t direct the episode, he’s often on set. He’s very hands-on. That generates a great vibe on set, when you know the creator is not just walking around, trying to make money. He’s really there because he loves the project. He’s crazy about this, and he loves every single detail of it. He’ll come up and talk about just some little thing that he’s been thinking about. He really lives for this project right now.”

For fans of the Charlaine Harris character, we’re just glad that Alan chose this fine, young actor to bring Eric to life – er, so to speak.

Read the entire interview HERE.