Alexander Skarsgård has revealed that his past experiences with both ‘men and women’ had no relevance on his performance in the gay BDSM film, Pillion.
The film, directed by Harry Lighton in his feature debut, stars the True Blood icon as Ray, the handsome leader of a gay motorbike club who becomes the dom to Colin (Henry Melling), a reserved “wallflower letting life pass him by”.
When discussing his role at the Zurich Film Festival, Skarsgård emphasised that his personal experiences with both men and women were not relevant to his performance: “I found that in this case, it’s not really relevant what my background is.
“I mean, I do have a kid, but what I’ve done in the past, who I’ve been with, men, women… To me, what was important was that this felt like an opportunity to tell a story about a subculture I hadn’t seen portrayed this way – with so much authenticity.
“My experience of watching this on screen was through [Al Pacino starrer] Cruising, where it’s this dark underbelly of New York City and it’s dangerous, murderous and scary. Leather gays are scary.”
While Skarsgård shared that he’s “no Ray”, he revealed that he has “a little bit of experience from that world, and I know that’s not a truthful depiction”.
The official synopsis for Pillion is as follows: “Ray uproots Colin from his dreary suburban life, introducing him to a community of kinky, queer bikers and taking all sorts of virginities along the way.
“But as Colin steps deeper into Ray’s world of rules and mysteries, he begins to question whether the life of a 24/7 submissive is for him. Has he found his calling, or simply swapped one form of suffocation for another?”
In the first trailer, released on 1 October, Colin and Ray’s sub-dom dynamic is on full display: Ray refuses to let Colin sit beside him at dinner, saving the seat instead for his Rottweiler, Colin squeals in pain/pleasure during a bonkers wrestling match, and he’s even tasked with running errands for Ray.
The trailer culminates with Ray instructing Colin to buy a butt plug because he’s “too tight”, prompting Colin to hilariously stammer: “Yeah, erm… lovely! That sounds like a plan… Bye then.”
Pillion, based on the novel Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones, also stars Douglas Hodge as Pete, Lesley Sharp as Peggy, Anthony Welsh as Darren and Scissor Sisters star Jake Shears as Kevin, another sub.
Following its premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, where it won Best Screenplay and the Palm Dog, the romantic dramedy has received universal critical acclaim for Lighton’s direction and the performances of Skarsgård and Melling, as well as its unexpectedly heartfelt love story.
Pillion will be released in the UK on 28 November – watch the trailer below.
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