Alexander Skarsgård is always delighted that the story of “pestle” is told.
His latest film, directed by Harry Lighton, features the former former “Harry Potter”, Harry Melling, as a young homosexual, Colin, embarking on a dominant / submissive relationship with a charismatic biker gang Ray (Skarsgård).
“I noticed that in this case, it is not really relevant what is my history. I mean, I have a child, but what I did in the past, with whom I have been, men, women … For me, what was important was that it looked like an opportunity to tell a story on a Zurich cinema festival.
“My experience to look at this on the screen was over [Al Pacino starrer] “Cruise”, where it is this dark belly from New York and it is dangerous, deadly and scary. Leather gays are scary. I am not Ray, but I have a little experience of this world and I know that it is not the truthful representation. »»
Robbie Taylor Hunt was the film’s intimacy coordinator.
“It was not a question of ensuring that we were comfortable, because we were too comfortable with each other. But there is a dramatic story in these scenes, which is not always the case. I often find sex on the screen quite boring. Usually, all the tension leads at that time, then once people are in the bag … During the anniversary of Colin,”
“We wanted it to be clumsy and bizarre. On the screen, it often looks like a ballet, but sex can be clumsy and funny. ”
He appreciated that Lighton “did not put silk gloves to tell this story”.
“He kissed the clumsiness of this one. All these characters were full and the sex scenes were not graphics to be graphic. We pulled many more graphic things than you saw earlier,” he said.
“Harry did a good job to calibrate it. You are not afraid of it because “Oh, we cannot show men to have sex”, but you do not show a close -up of a cock just because you can, for the shock value. I think my mother will love this film, and these are naughty gay bikers and a d / s relationship.
Skarsgård did not know Lighton’s work before making the film.
“I want to credit the tuition line,” he said.
“I hadn’t seen” Wren Boys “or none of Harry’s shorts – I didn’t know anything about him. I do not remember exactly how they summed up the film, but it was something like “Wallflower Colin meets Ray of a gang of perverse gay biker, and it is the beginning of a strange story of strange and strange love. It stung my interest.
He added: “It was so original, and it is quite rare. I read big scripts where I say to myself:” It’s great, but it reminds me of 10 films that I saw. “I was invited to this world with so much love and compassion, but he did not do it with too much reverence. [someone] Or hurt something that you are too precious about it. I immediately called my agents and said, “I mean this crazy child.” “”
His character, Ray, remains mysterious throughout the film.
“I have somehow adopted it as an excuse to be very lazy, and I don’t have to find a story. I liked it to be enigmatic. Harry Melling and I met two days before starting to shoot the film. We met by repeating the wrestling scene, which is a great way to know someone,” he laughed.
“I loved Ray was an enigma at the start of the film, but also in the end. Reading the scenario, I was so nervous that at one point, let’s say, Colin discovers that Ray has a secret woman and then it is a great dramatic moment. I hoped Harry [Lighton] Was courageous enough not to fall into this, thinking: “Don’t disappoint me”. And he didn’t do it.
Joking about what usually attracts him in his roles – “Money. Yeah! Capitalism, baby ” – Skarsgård admitted that he had approached intimate scenes with Nicole Kidman in” Big Little Lies “very differently.
“On this one, Harry and I were delighted to simply throw ourselves into this ring. On” Big Little Lies “, it was important that Nicole and I get to know each other before and really build this confidence, because we knew that we wanted to shoot in a very safe but authentic way.”
“Many of these scenes are shot with a single camera. The whole scene plays from the start to the end and they are quite violent physically and really difficult emotionally.
I was going to Nicole, played with her children and I was lying down and I had lunch and spoke. As we started to shoot, we were like two friends who launched themselves together. »»
Until now, the subculture he portrays welcomes “Pillion” with open arms, said Skarsgård, recalling the very first projection in Cannes.
“The bikers of the film are members of GBMCC, the Gay Bikers Motorcycle Club in the United Kingdom, five of them led from London to be there. We had the most extraordinary day and night celebrating together. Paul. [Tallis] Throwed his puppy mask just after the projection. »»
“We had a joint party with a Nigerian film where homosexuality is illegal. It was the first Nigerian film to play at the Cannes Film Festival, so there were ambassadors and politicians from Nigeria-we had our gay bikers in leather harnesses and Paul in his puppy mask. It was quite beautiful to watch,” he said.
“If you are not a [professional] The actor, even if you are proud of the end result, it can be really weird to sit in a cinema with thousands of people, at the biggest world film festival, and to watch you run on the screen. That they just liked that and felt proud, it meant the world for me. »»
