Without a doubt, one of the most highly anticipated films of
2012 has got to be
The Avengers
. Marvel Studios has been teasing this film
since the release of
Iron Man
in 2008 and the movie promises to bridge elements
from all of their previous endeavors, including
The Incredible Hulk
,
Iron Man
2
, and this past summer’s
Thor
, and
Captain America: The First Avenger
, into
one cinematic Marvel universe. It’s a pretty daunting task if you think about
it and one that has never been attempted before, which makes it all the more
impressive that it appears that they are about to pull it off.
One man who Marvel Studios has given a pivotal role to in
this process is Swedish born actor
Stellan Skarsgard
. Best known for his roles
in films like
The Hunt for Red October
,
Ronin
,
Good Will Hunting
, and
Pirates
of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
,
Skarsgard
appeared this past summer as Dr.
Eric Selvig in
Tho
r
and is set to reprise his role next summer in
The Avengers
.
Anyone who stayed through the end credits of
Thor
to see Marvel’s traditional
tag-on scene knows (SPOILER ALERT) that
Skarsgard
’s character is now working
with Nick Fury (
Samuel L. Jackson
) and S.H.I.E.L.D. to study the cosmic cube,
which was first introduced in
Captain America: The First Avenger
. However,
unbeknownst to Fury, Selvig appears to now be under the influence of Thor’s
brother and archenemy, Loki (Tom Hiddleston). But how is Loki controlling
Selvig and just how large will
Skarsgard
’s role in
The Avengers
be?
This morning I had the pleasure of speaking to
Stellan
Skarsgard
about his work in
Thor
, which will be released on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray
and DVD on September 13
th
. While we won’t publish my conversation
with
Mr.
Skarsgard
about the making of
Thor
until closer to the film’s home
media release, I wanted to let you know what the veteran actor told me today about
his work on
The Avengers
. It turns out that
Skarsgard
is actually in New York
today filming his final scene for the film and will then fly to Los Angeles to
re-shoot some scenes for
David Fincher
’s
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
, based
on the extremely popular Swedish novel of the same name.
In addition to talking about
The Avengers
, and
The Girl with
the Dragon Tattoo
, I also had a chance to ask the actor about working opposite
his own son,
True Blood
star
Alexander Skarsgard
, in director
Lars von Trier
’s
upcoming film
Melancholia
. In the following interview,
Skarsgard
spoke candidly
with me about shooting the end credit scene in
Thor
, his role in
The Avengers
and why he almost said no to making the film, working with
Joss Whedon
, Marvel
Studios,
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
, and
Melancholia
. Here is what he had
to say:
![](/web/20130321001103im_/http://www.iamrogue.com/images/stories/000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000avengers1.jpg)
To begin with, I want to ask you about the end credit scene
in
Thor
, since it sets so much up for your character going into
The Avengers
.
Who actually directed that scene, was it shot by Kenneth Branagh on the set of
Thor
, or by Joss Whedon as part of
The Avengers
?
Stellan Skarsgard:
It was shot by
Joss
about half a year or
more after we finished shooting
Thor
. So that was the first time I had worked
with
Joss
and I think the forth time that I worked with
Sam
(
Jackson
).
Was that your first time on
The Avengers
set?
Skarsgard:
Yes. When we shot the tag from
Thor
to
Avengers
,
we shot it with a 3D camera that was a horrible contraption with two cameras
and the mirror and stuff. It was extremely clumsy. I was considering not
wanting to do the film if we were going to shoot it with machinery like that.
But they decided to shoot
The Avengers
now on the small electric cameras and
then digitally make the 3D afterwards, which is much more comfortable. I prefer
to work with light and fast equipment because as an actor if you have to wait
twenty minutes every time they change a lens the energy sort of fades out of
the performance.
When you first read the screenplay for Thor was that scene
included?
Skarsgard:
No it was not because I don’t think they had the
final story for
The Avengers
ready at that time. So that developed last fall
when they contacted me and asked me if I wanted to be in
The Avengers
. Then
they started sending me pages and stuff.
Was that the first time you realized that you were going to
be in more than just the
Thor
franchise?
Skarsgard:
Well when you sign up for these films, because of
the way Marvel works, you are prepared to do five films for them and you
negotiate for all those films. So I’m on their payroll so to say.
Were you surprised by the direction that they wanted to take
your character and his involvement in
The Avengers
?
Skarsgard:
Yes. I was.
![](/web/20130321001103im_/http://www.iamrogue.com/images/stories/000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000avengers2.jpg)
In the
Thor
end credit scene, it was a little unclear
whether Loki is possessing Dr. Selvig’s body or if he is invisible and Selvig
is the only person that can see and hear him. As an actor, what choice did you
make in that scene and what do you think is really going on?
Skarsgard:
Well with the scene we did in
Thor
, it was like
Loki, one way or the other, entered Eric’s mind. And in
Avengers
, you will see
more clarity in how Loki is using Eric’s mind.
Can you talk about the size of your role in
The Avengers
and
what exactly happens to Dr. Eric Selvig?
Skarsgard:
(My character) is of importance but the size of
the role is not big. It’s a small role and it is a pretty crowded film with a
lot of actors in it.
In
The Avengers
, is your role tied to Loki and mostly working
with Tom Hiddleston or do you break free and get to have some scenes with the
rest of the cast?
Skarsgard:
Most of my scenes were with
Tom Hiddleston
, yeah.
![](/web/20130321001103im_/http://www.iamrogue.com/images/stories/0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000ss2.jpg)
Have you finished shooting all of your scenes for
The
Avengers
or are you still working on the film?
Skarsgard:
I’m completing work now. I’m in New York to shoot the final
scene of the movie so I will be wrapped here in a second.
What has the experience of working with Joss Whedon been
like for you?
Skarsgard:
It’s been very nice. He is a lovely man. He’s
very different in energy from
Kenneth Branagh
. Every time you make a new film
you sort of meet a new temperament but he has been very lovely to work with and
you feel freedom to come with your own input and have fun on the set.
![](/web/20130321001103im_/http://www.iamrogue.com/images/stories/0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000ss3.jpg)
As an actor, are you impressed with what Marvel Studios has
been able to pull off, bringing all these beloved comic book characters to the
big screen in separate franchises and now ultimately into one encompassing
film?
Skarsgard:
It’s incredibly impressive. I mean those stories
are modern American mythology and there are tons of fans out there to who these
characters are very vivid and living. But if they would have done those films
fifteen or twenty years ago they would have concentrated on just the special
effects, but now they are hiring the best writers, the best directors, and the
best actors which means specific quality products that are entertaining to
people who are not even familiar with those super heroes.
What can you tell me about working on
The Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo
? Have you completed filming your scenes yet or do you still have
some more to shoot?
Skarsgard:
We’ve finished principle shooting but after I’ve
done the last scene here tonight in New York of
The Avengers
, I will fly back
to L.A. to do a couple of re-shoots of a couple of scenes. I hope that will be
a very good film, it’s one of the best directors we have doing it (
David
Fincher
) so it should turn out well.
![](/web/20130321001103im_/http://www.iamrogue.com/images/stories/000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000ss4.jpg)
Finally, I recently had a chance to see Lars von Trier’s new
film
Melancholia
, which stars both you and your son Alexander. You both share a
scene together and I wanted to ask you what it was like acting opposite your
own son in a movie?
Skarsgard:
Yeah that was fun. I have three sons that are
actors now and I’ve worked with some of them in different projects before. It’s
actually a great experience because you know each other so well so there is so
much that you don’t have to talk about on the set. You very quickly find a
tone. You understand what you are doing because he is your kid. Also, all three
of them are very good so that is nice and I’m very proud of them all.
![](/web/20130321001103im_/http://www.iamrogue.com/images/stories/000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000ss5.jpg)
Be sure to check back with
IAR
in the next few weeks for more from my conversation with
Stellan Skarsgard
about the making of
Thor
.
Thor
will be available on 3D Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, and DVD on
September 13
th
.
Melancholia
opens in the U.S. on November 11
th
.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
is scheduled for release on December
21
st
.
The Avengers
assemble in theaters on May 4
th
,
2012.