Can you do a Leeds accent?
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No, its not very good.
We ended up there, a buddy and I. Leeds is a fun place.
We had a flat, I loved it.
I went back a couple of years ago, and its become more cosmopolitan.
But great people, I really enjoyed it.
So, I hear you had to really train for that Tarzan body.
What was the first thing you ate after it wrapped?
A week before we wrapped, Tess in the costume department made it.
The two words the director used to talk about you were grace and verticality.
Does that ring a bell?
I wanted to put on weight.
When he moves through the jungle he has to look like somebody who belongs there.
Its his home, his natural habitat.
And mapping it out.
So he does it, but he doesnt belong there.
I loved that, because its so small and detailed.
Whats the biggest challenge of playing the role?
There were quite a few challenges, taking on a role like Tarzan.
Its like you were the first one.
What made you want to do it?
I wanted to just my father.
Hes a massive Tarzan fan.
Were there conversations around the dinner table at Christmas where you were spilling the beans onTarzan?
He grew up watching Johnny Weismuller, in the fifties and sixties.
So, he was more excited about this than I was!
I thought it was a brilliant script.
Its a brilliant take on a classic, iconic tale.
Its almost the opposite of the novel, or most of the old movies.
He made some enemies there, and hes also afraid of himself, and what hes capable of there.
And slowly, he reverts back to a more atavistic state.
Being civilised but at the same time being an animal, and the friction that creates.
You mentioned earlier that every muscle is there for a reason.
Not just picking up a script and learning, but the additional physicality.
Because it was so specific, its so detailed, which was new and exciting for me.
is he John Clayton or is he Tarzan, where are we on that scale right now?
How much do we want to show, how much are we holding back?
Is he relaxing, is he letting it out, how much is he holding back?
Is that how you feel in the film industry?
A little bit, I guess.
I moved to LA, and I didnt have any memories; I had nothing, no history.
Did you have any issues with doing the English accent?
Yeah, it was tough.
I worked with Roisin McCarty, whos an amazing dialect coach.
I didnt think that he would.
So I had to work with her quite a bit.
You quit acting when you were thirteen because you couldnt handle being a celebrity.
Youre scaring me, now.
Thirteen is a rough age for any kid, its like, I was insecure.
I think most people are insecure when theyre thirteen.
It made me insecure.
I applied to a theatre school in New York, and I went there, to Marymount.
Its nice that something you were so invested in meant something to someone.
Which is quite lovely, isnt it?
I tried to think of it that way, and I still do.
Id rather have that than no-one reacting at all.
Did you have a Plan B in case the acting wasnt going to work out?
I was thinking about architecture I was interested in that as a teenager, and still am.
So I thought, maybe that.
You studied political science, didnt you?
Then I kind of got stuck doing it.
Im curious about how you select projects.
What is it about a role that makes you go, thats for me?
No, its a combination of the script, the part, the director.
I didDiary Of A Teenage Girl, a tiny indie movie, beforeTarzan.
That was amazing, by the way.
I mean, he was a creep, but you made him not creepy.
Thats why I got excited about that.
In meeting Mari, the filmmaker, I was just so excited.
Its also an indie with John Michael McDonagh as a filmmaker.
Its those components that you get excited about; the filmmaker, the script, the character.
Do you have a wishlist of roles you want to play, or directors you want to work with?
Yeah, I havent worked in Sweden in a while.
It was set in England.
I would love to do something in Swedish, its been a while.
When you back to Sweden, do you stay with your mum?
And when you go home is it just business as usual?
Bring your laundry down…
Yeah.
All my childhood friends are from working-class families, and none of them are in the movie business.
They dont take that.
Many of your family members are acting, so what is the conversation at the dinner table?
Is it shop talk?
Presumably youre all under NDAs for all the projects that youre on.
Can you say anything about the HBO series youre doing next?
Were shooting right now, Im flying back there tomorrow.
Its sort of mundane, trivial, jealousy, that kind of stuff, domestic drama.
You realise that someone is going to get murdered by another parent.
Those fundraisers are rough!
People say exactly that, in the interrogation room.
Were shooting that and having a lot of fun.
Alexander Skarsgard, thank you very much!
The Legend Of Tarzanis in UK cinemas from July 6th.
