by Nathaniel R
Alexander Skarsgård in his first movie role in 1984
Alexander Skarsgárd is nothing if not committed to his nearly feral manchild in The Northman. He embraces the movie's mythological brutality and reminds us of both his indisputable screen charisma and the too little acknowledged fact that its unusually flexible in terms of tone and genre and auteurial vision. This may be another northman (you can't change your ancestry) but it's definitely not Eric Northman of True Blood fame! And speaking of the Nordic vampire that made him internationally famous, this is a good time to look back to his breakthrough season from the summer of 2008 to the summer of 2009. Not that he was a "new" actor in 2008, mind you...
In fact, he was an old pro. He started acting professionally at just 7 (sometimes nepotism brings us wonderful things!), taking a supporting role in his (still-ubiquitous) father Stellan Skarsgård's 1984 picture Ake and His World. Curiously he did not play his father's son, the titular character, in that picture. The rest of his childhood was mostly acting-free but in 1999 he followed in dad's footsteps to become a full time actor. The first ten years were mostly Swedish film and television. But in 2008 things changed. The month before his 32nd birthday the HBO miniseries Generation Kill began airing and the month after he began a long run as the vampire "Eric Northman" on True Blood. That's Part One of our #BestShot exercize today.
Bronze
True Blood S1E4 "Escape from Dragon House"
There's nothing as horny as True Blood in the current TV landscape (that I'm aware of). You couldn't quite call it "Prestige Trash" since awards bodies only deeply cared for one season (Season 2) but it was pretty close. It surely paved the way for the even trashier and somehow more prestigious Amerircan Horror Story though we prefer the earlier show since it was more interested in Sex than Violence. We chose the episode since it was Skargård's debut on the series but it's not a great showcase since he's only in one scene. Instead the episode revolves around a "V" induced erection that Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) can't get rid of. This gives Kwanten ample opportunity for his unique comic himbo gifts as in this season when he's feigning innocence about doing drugs he clearly had done. The results are right there, pitching a tent. True Blood's first season won exactly one Emmy (Oustanding Casting for a Drama Series) but it was a deserved Emmy!
Silver
Though this next image of Sookie and Bill (Anna Paquin and her not-yet husband Stephen Moyer) might look utterly simple for the series, but the lighting is quite fetching. Though it was probably faked it looks real enough as light does kind of roll over you in waves while driving. The soft moving shadows grant Sookie's expressions more mystery while often highlighting her bare shoulders and breasts. It's absolutely perfect for this scene since Sookie is playing coy about her beauty and testing both Bill's carnal interest and toying with his possessiveness as they approach Fangtasia the vampire bar. The cinematography in this episode was by Matthew Jensen, who later shot both Wonder Woman films and won an Emmy last year for shooting The Mandalorian.
GoldWe are introduced to Skarsgård's Northman near the end of the episode when he gestures to Sookie and Bill to come meet him. Northman sits on his "throne" on a raised platform within the bar with his trusted Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten, excellent throughout the series) by his side. There's only one lighting set up (overhead spotlight) which leaves his face in half shadow while highlighting his rock-star Scandinavian locks. The blood red curtains behind them (notably lit from below in contrast) grant the scene and extra kitsch oomph. This wins Best Shot on the cool factor alone both for the shot composition and lighting, and for featuring the two best characters on the show. The cherry on top is Skarsgård's utterly facetious smile as he says "please"; He wasn't making a request but giving an order.
Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi"
True Blood was an immediate hit and the next time audiences saw Alexander Skarsgård was as a scheming no good boyfriend in a 7 minute Lady Gaga video. Smart follow up, that. The video capitalize on his then in-the-moment fame, his beauty, his pop allure, and even his Swedishness in subtitles.
"Paparazzi" is a meta-masterpiece of its very specific form so it's impossible to choose a Best Shot. Is it the kitsch old movie hypno-circles around Gaga as she "falls" in slow motion (while posing, as one does)? The many hilarious interrupting newspaper headlines? The angular editorial poses with Gaga wobbling like an senior android with a couture walker? Or the perfect eccentric marriage of visuals and sound as she covers her mouth in faux shock while her disembodied voice confesses to murdering her boyfriend?
Best Skarsgård Shot
Who can say but when it comes to Alexander Skarsgård, though he's sexiest with that inexplicable silver eyepatch late in the video, the greatest shot is when his carnality turns to calculation and his no-good boyfriend makes sure a photographer is getting the image of him kissing the startlet, before he becomes angry and throws her off the balcony to her death hit "rock bottom"
Perfect music video, really.
By 2010 True Blood peaked in pop culture terms, wrapping up its third season with this unforgettable Rolling Stone cover shot by Matthew Rolston. (Remember that?) Thankfully Alexander Skarsgård, who proved to be the show's most enduring breakout star, was a long long way from peaking. In fact, given the evidence in The Northman (2022), maybe he still hasn't yet?
OTHER CHOICES FROM OUR BEST SHOT CLUB (JOIN US!).
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chosen by Ryan on twitter
chosen by Claudio Alves at TFE
chosen by Christian Bonamusa on twitter
chosen by Alexander Georgakis on twitter
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SAM RAIMI'S SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004) - JOIN US WON'T YOU? PICK A #BESTSHOT