Before True Blood: Alexander Skarsgard in Generation Kill
Before he played Eric Northman in True Blood, Alexander Skarsgard joined an extensive cast in Generation Kill
Bowing on HBO in 2008, Generation Kill came from the creative minds of David Simon and Ed Burns, which is no small thing. Simon’s 1988 book Homicide inspired one of my all-time favorite TV series, Homicide: Life on the Street, and along with Burns, his track record also includes The Corner, The Wire, and most recently, Treme. In other words, when Simon and Burns do something, they do it very, very well. This time, Burns and Simon turned their attention to adapting Evan Wright’s book about his experiences while embedded with the Marines during the Iraq War.
Skarsgard plays Sergeant Brad ‘Iceman’ Colbert, the 28-year-old leader of Team 1 Alpha. He’s part of a large cast of familiar faces; Wright is played by Lee Tergesen (Oz, Homicide: Life on the Street), and other Marines include James Ransone (who just appeared in Burn Notice‘s second-half premiere as mad bomber Dennis Barfield), Jon Huertas (Castle), and Kellan Lutz (Twilight). He’s first-billed, and does a great job of embodying what everyone probably expects a Marine to be, but there’s not a lot of room for him to develop his character. There’s a fairly large cast here, so there’s no real lead; in fact, there’s not a lot of time for personal identification with any of them. Yet that’s the point; Simon and Burns don’t want us getting too involved with the characters, instead immersing us in the experience of being in the proverbial trenches where one can’t tell allies from enemies. Generation Kill is meant to show the audience the hellacious environment for everyone involved, and it succeeds in doing so.
Alexander Skarsgard in Generation Kill
This is an unapologetic war drama, and that means there’s plenty of profanity and off-color dialogue. On occasion, however, there are some genuinely hilarious lines (after Colbert gives what’s meant to be a particularly rousing speech, one of his colleagues says to another, “Now not only do we have to worry about all the Charms you’ve eaten, but now Brad’s just pissed off God”). If you had a problem with the language in HBO’s Deadwood, this is not for you. If you can handle the blue language and have a slightly twisted sense of humor, though, you’ll probably find it funnier than you think you should.
The humor is an excellent counterbalance to the uncomfortable issues that the series provokes. It forces us to consider all the grey areas that come with fighting a war. How do you tell civilians from combatants? Are you really doing the right thing, or just what you’re being told to do? Are you sure that the person giving the orders knows best? It’s not as easy as you think. If you have about eight hours on your hands, and you’re willing to dig into something gritty and thought-provoking, Generation Kill is definitely not to be missed. If you want to see Alexander Skarsgard in a totally different light, you won’t be disappointed by it; just be aware that the real star of the show is the Iraq War.
You can pick up Generation Kill on DVD
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