Alexander Skarsgård almost tapped into the spirit of one of his most iconic characters for his sizzling role in Pillion.
After months and months of anticipation, the gay BDSM drama finally arrived in UK cinemas.
Directed by Harry Lighton, the film follows Colin (Melling), a “weedy wallflower letting life pass him by,” who becomes the submissive to Ray (Skarsgård), the “impossibly handsome leader of a motorbike club.”
The official synopsis for Pillion adds: “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?”
Before its release, GAY TIMES sat down with Skarsgård, Melling and Lighton to dish about all things Pillion, including why the world needs a gay BDSM biker film and the rumour of there being a “raunchier” cut of the film.
In addition to the aforementioned topics, Skarsgård peeled back the curtain on bringing to life his brooding leather-daddy role.
When we asked if he noticed Ray’s similarities to his iconic True Blood character Eric Northman, the Big Little Lies star assured us that we weren’t “delusional” for making the comparison.
“There were definitely moments where we were shooting in scenes where I wanted to lean in and bite [Harry M’s] neck,” The Northman star cheekily replied.
@gaytimes Does Alexander Skarsgård’s character in Pillion remind anyone else of Eric Northman in True Blood? 👀 #lgbtq #newmovie #trueblood #biker #vampire ♬ original sound – GAY TIMES
Elsewhere in the interview, Skarsgård reflected on channelling Ray’s enigmatic presence and making sure it wasn’t one note throughout the film.
“Well, that was the challenge. I think that intrigued me because when you first meet Ray, I suppose to Colin, who’s trying to figure out what he wants in a really out of a relationship, Ray is so assertive and confident and knows exactly what he wants, and it was about trying to avoid playing the same notes for a hundred minutes,” he explained.
“I love that you don’t really learn anything about him. There’s never really a point where Ray has a little monologue about his backstory, or he opens up to Colin about his family situation or his childhood.
“I love that Harry [Lighton] avoided that when writing the screenplay that [Ray’s] enigmatic throughout the film, but still, you want to find little moments of, if not vulnerability, at least like a possibility for a connection or where he maybe lowers his guard for a second and there’s a real connection, or maybe there’s almost a real connection.”
Based on the novel Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones, Pillion also stars Douglas Hodge as Pete, Lesley Sharp as Peggy, Anthony Welsh as Darren, and Scissor Sisters star Jake Shears as Kevin, another sub.
Pillion has received universal critical acclaim, with a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Praise has been aimed at Lighton’s direction and script, as well as the performances of Melling and Skarsgård.
You can watch our full interview with Lighton, Melling and Skarsgård here or below.
