The quick time movie below contains the audio from the phone interview I just conducted with Alexander Skarsgard. I will hopefully edit and transcribe as soon as I can. I did not have a lot of notice for the interview (I put in the request many months ago) . Alex had some free time open up today so I had an hour to prepare.
A huge thanks to all the fans and all those on twitter who sent in questions. I mentioned how we “broke twitter” due to all the questions and he got a kick out of that. I told him an early Happy Birthday from all the fans and he said thank you very much. We talked about Maisie, True Blood, Melancholia( How he was going to be at Toronto International Film festival), The Vanguard, The Exit. I tried to sneak in as much as I could. He only had a few minutes but I managed to get 16 minutes! Hope the audio is ok. thanks again and it was a blast hearing how much he appreciates all the fans and how it was great to take a photo with them and give autographs. He feels flattered when he is asked from fans for a photo! (awwwwwwwwww)
Alexander Skarsgard interview 8/24/2011
The link above contains the media where you can listen to the interview. Again I apologize for you all having to listen to my voice LOL. He was conferenced in from NYC so his audio is a little softer than mine. I tried to shut up as much as possible so you could hear his voice instead. Sounds like the next few episodes of True Blood are going to be fun to watch “Eric”. ( I could not resist asking a few questions on True Blood). Waiting really sucks but in this case the wait was well worth it for the interview!
UPDATE: ALEX INTERVIEW mp3 link:
here is an mp3 of the interview in case you can’t get the file plugin above to work. It is a download file size is 20MB (it is a public link to my shared files). https://www.onlinefilefolder.com/3stUOwoVeyccUZ
Sorry for his part of the audio-he was on his cell phone from a filming trailer in NYC , he was connected to his office in California to my Skype so it is a miracle we can hear him at all!! LOL
INTERVIEW Transcript:
Skarsgardfans (B): Hi Alex
Alex: Hey how are you? I’m good. Enjoying New York City Filming “What Maisie Knew” , doing lots of press for True Blood, projects, Straw Dogs, Melancholia, it’s a lot but also a lot of fun.
Melancholia-great people, great project
B: How long will you be filming Maisie-6 weeks?
Alex: I’m here till mid to late September
B: then you are going to the Melancholia screening in Toronto for TIFF?
A: yah real excited to be going. Unfortunately when Melancholia (it) was at Cannes in the spring, I was filming True Blood. The big ballroom scene -Tolerance Conference that was filmed in LA at the Biltmore hotel and that was a big sequence. It was the same week Melancholia was at Cannes unfortunately I cold not go. So yes excited about going to Toronto.
B: yes fans are really excited that you will be there
A: oh really, that’s great!
B: Straw Dogs starts screening on Monday-will you be able to go to any screenings for SD?
A: well I’m still shooting ,in NYC for Maisie , don’t know the deal..I have a big press day on Saturday, but I get the weekends off so I’ll have to see if any of the dates work ..
B: Sounds like you’ll be flying a lot! LOL
A:yah…lol..
B: I know the fans in NYC are having a great time since you always smile and take pix with them and thanks for doing that. You’ve made a lot of fans very happy. One of the questions they wanted to know was are there anytime you’d rather they not approach you, like when you are eating dinner..??
A: No people are so very friendly , nice to me it’s great . The time between I film the show, the movies it really means so much to me that I am very flattered that they want me to sign autographs or take pix with me.
B: you make them so happy thank again-so if they ask nicely yes you will take pix (PS he took a photo with a fan right after this interview)
A: My pleasure it means a lot to me that they watch the show and go to the films
B: yes you made so many fans so happy!!
A: oh really laughs..
B: on True Blood-I have to ask-this is a big season for your character Eric-are there any surprises you can tell us?
A: No surprises just.. , it is always fun and I’m happy to play Eric. So different this year, really had fun with the character. Eric is such a rich character, so different this season. Yes the writers have made it fun to film him, so big, goofy, innocent -a part of him that he has always had ..
B: Yes the amnesia that big goofy, innocent Eric-is that a part of him that has always been there?
A: Yeah, Eric has kept that part of him hidden away from the rest of the world. ..At the same time, he is so innocent but still a predator!
B: not really a different character but a part of the same character…
A: Yah one of the challenges to big, goofy innocent yes still a predator. Same time so innocent , resist being all goofy or funny still Eric there. Thought about how to do this a lot..
OK-my son is in the background at this point telling me there is a Straw Dogs commercial on TV (sorry)
B: That part of Eric-the predator did show also whenever Eric thought Sookie was in danger-Scene with Tara when she grabs the poke you stand between her and Tara to keep Sookie from being hurt-
A: Eric is very territorial! Physically very strong killed a lot of people (in past..)
B: In last week’s episode we see Eric now under Marnie’s control – you are on a mission to kill BIll. (King Bill). We see your character jumping from the balcony running towards the King. Anna/Sookie is screaming Run since something really bad is going to happen.! The show seems to end on big action
A: Exactly, big scene (sequence) shot at the Biltmore Hotel in the spring. Had lots of fun shooting it.
B: I got to watch some of the filming that happens for next week-outside the “moon and goddess”. Looks like the “spell” has been broken. Are there any “lingering effects”?
A: Yeah, maybe..definitely next few episodes will get answers to questions- what’s going to happen, will it be “old Eric”? , will he go back to “old Eric”. Will he remember his amnesia (what happened during amnesia), Will he remember his time with Sookie. Will he remember what he had with her? Will that still be there? Will the LOVE still be there… (YAHHHH HE SAID LOVE)
B: I saw your filming in character and it was pretty fun to watch you and Kristin. It was “Eric Northman and Vampire Pam” we were seeing. So different since not the editing or what we see on tv but it was Eric and Pam in front of us and it was cool (thank you!)
A: oh really? lol..It was a lot of fun to film.(there on location) The last three episodes , yes you get some answers to those questions, whether things are going back to the way they were or if they are going to change.
B: Eric had to bow to the King before the amnesia and then again after the spell was it fun to do something that the old Eric would not really do (the bows were very different).
A: Well the power structure was.Makes it more complex very interesting. When Eric was Bill’s sheriff- he was not only his sheriff but he was also physically stronger and very much older (than Bill). What makes it was more interesting now as King, he was actually Eric’s boss. The balance in the power was a little more interesting to see change.
B: What’s up after..(brain fart here) True Blood was renewed for a fifth season-congratulations on that! Any news on what you might be doing for season 5?
A: ahh, not really. Alan and the writers are kinda breaking the season right now. Planning out broad strokes right now what’s gonna happen, no scripts (just outlines). don’t know yet what happens.
B: At Comic Con it was mentioned that there would be some of the Eric and Pam back story ahead?
A: Yah…something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time! I love working with Kristin Bauer. She is amazing,interesting character, beautiful person as well. I just love working with here. I think that is one of my favorite relationships on the show. I just thought it is just a great part on the show. Great person so yah to see how how it all started, how he turns her, show how they meet. How to show the audience (all that..) I think that Alan and the writers are working and great timing a flashback scene to show that and hopefully that will be great to see..
B: In last season , season 3 we got to see another side of you two -the scene where you are awaiting your “true death from the AVL” for killing Talbot..in your office and you tell Pam it is time to be a maker-. The way you two work together, it was amazing just to see that because it was an amazing relationship and we got to see another side of it. So I know it will be funwhat a great scene…
A: Yeah and I love that they are so tough but they had a tender side..so sweet! Definitely That “tough love” , so it’s beautiful when they have those little moments. And you actually feel how much they care and how much love there is there between the two of them and how the are willing to die for each other!
B: (Yeah together they were really sweet) We got to see Pam do a role reversal when you had amnesia-she had a role of protector for her maker in this season when you are at Sookie’s house and she made Sookie protect you. You pushed her, You did not know who she was.And she (Pam) had Sookie take care of you. She was afraid something bad was going to happen to you. She thought that the witches, whatever had happened, they were going to hurt you. We got to see Pam maybe take on your role a little bit to protect her maker.
A: Absolutely, even though Eric is very strong, he doesn’t know who he is. Very vulnerable. He needs all the help he could get.
B: It’s been an amazing season, and I know for your character it’s been a great one. You mentioned earlier (in other interview with HBO) your favorite scene, it was the “shower scene”/Forest scene” where the bed is out in the Swedish forest. Was that a lot of fun to do?
A: Oh , it was crazy! It was wonderful. They built that on a sound stage. The Swedish forest, the fake snow, the trees…It was pretty spectacular, fantasic……created a world.
B: It was a lot of fun to see
A Yeah I know it was a lot of fun and um, they really , I thought it was a fun take on the shower scene in the books.
B: Yah..LOL VERY DIFFERENT
A: Exactly, a lot of people (involved), thought about it and we felt we couldn’t just copy that (book scene). We did a different take on it. I think it was kinda fun in a weird way.
B: It meant something more on the show because you shared blood for the first time so it’s kinda like you shared this deep blood trip together. Where it was more of a spiritual connection as opposed to in the books. Where it was the first time your characters had had sex for the first time. So on the show, it was more deeper, more symbolic.Yeah but it looked like it was a lot of fun to film.
A: Oh it really was! We really did. (have a lot of fun filming it..)
B: Tomorrow is your birthday. So Happy early Birthday from fans to you! Do you have any big plans for tomorrow?
A: No, not really. I really don’t celebrate my birthday. Pretty boring yah (usually). Tomorrow I’m working. I might get a dinner with some friends, low key, casual. I usually don’t celebrate my birthday.
B: Yeah I know birthdays stop being fun after a certain age but a lot of the fans kept saying “Make sure you tell him Happy Birthday”. Thanks for supporting the LA Food bank…
A: Oh-thank you! My pleasure! Say Hi to everyone and thank everyone so much!
B: They’ve raised almost $3700 towards the Food Bank here in Los Angeles. So I know they really appreciate it. Thank you for supporting the charities.
A: Aw, thanks
B: You’re fans are so strong, and will do anything to support your causes and that’s been great to help out with them.
You’ve got some other roles that seem to be coming up? The East-it’s a thriller…do you know anything about this yet?
A: Well I’m shooting Maisie until Mid Septmember here. Then I have 2-3 months off from True Blood. I’m looking at a couple different projects to do during the hiatus for the fall. I haven’t signed anything yet.
B: ok
A: What I’m doing right now is reading through the scripts, get with the directors for potential projects to do an the rest of my hiatus here.
B: Yea I know you stay really busy and we appreciate it. It’s been great for fans to go and see your parts. A lot of them are talking about Straw Dogs. There’s one “The Vanguard” That sounds like one where you’re actually going to get to produce as well right?
A: Exactly. It’s a viking movie and it will be at Universal and I get to produce. It’s just started. We have basically an idea, a concept and are working to script. It’s something I’m really excited about.
B: That’s great. I can’t wait to hear more about that one. It seems like yesterday we were talking about how you were getting ready to film Moomins and Melancholia and other roles and they are already out! …Battleship..Time flies by. Saw you at the (True Blood premiere) party and it was great. Thanks for being so cool with all the fans and I appreciate it and thanks for helping out with the causes.
A: Oh thanks Barbara. An thank you and everyone. I know you do such a great job and work so hard on the site and helping the fans, everyone know, what I’m doing , where I am. Thank you so much.
B: LOL I appreciate it..I try to behave I promised..I only post the stuff your mom would be cool with picture wise
A: Thank you so much for that.
B: LOL yeah I know people….
A: LOL..yeah I know…laughing..
B: I don’t do the bad stuff….the “Gracious Plenty” all the naughty stuff….
A:…Ok yeah I know..LOL thanks…
B: I appreciate you taking time out from filming sorry about having to push back the time..
A: Ok thank you and have a great day. Say hi to everyone from me!
B: I sure will and Happy Birthday and have fun filming.
A: Thank you!
B: Take Care, by
A: Thank you….bye…