Alexander Skarsgård Credits True Blood For His Northman Role

screenrant.com:

Alexander Skarsgård credits True Blood for his role in The Northman. The Swedish actor's breakthrough role came in the HBO series as Eric Northman, a 1,000-year-old vampire and Sheriff of Area 5. In the show, the character's name is a reference to his Viking heritage and later on in the series, his backstory is explored more thoroughly. Eric was once a Viking prince who was turned into a vampire after nearly perishing in battle. Afterward, he seeks to avenge the murder of his father.

The Northman is the newest film from indie auteur Robert Eggers, who made a name for himself with The Witch and The Lighthouse for A24 before moving on to Focus Features for his latest work. Co-written by the Icelandic poet Sjón, The Northman stars Skarsgård as a Viking prince named Amleth who witnesses the death of his father, King Aurvandill (Ethan Hawke), at the hands of his uncle, Fjölnir (Claes Bang), and spends the next few decades preparing to seek revenge. The stark similarities between Skarsgård's characters in True Blood and The Northman immediately sparked speculation as to whether Eggers' historical epic and the vampire drama may be related in some way.

Related: True Blood: Why A Reboot Is The Wrong Direction For The Show

In an interview with EW, Skarsgård commented on these similarities, saying they are "not a complete coincidence." While Eggers' film is not a True Blood prequel or spinoff as some fan theories have suggested, Skarsgård does credit the HBO show, especially filming his flashback scenes, for giving him the idea for The Northman. Read what he had to say below:

I want to credit True Blood a little bit, at least for giving me that idea. I was kind of harboring this idea, this dream of one day making an epic Viking