Alexander Skarsgård Says Being 'Emotionally Unavailable' Prepared Him for 'Murderbot'
Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Nosferatu" at the TCL Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California, December 12, 2024.
Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Nosferatu" at the TCL Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California, December 12, 2024.
ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty
How did Alexander Skarsgård prepare to play a security robot that starts to find free will in Apple TV+'s Murderbot (May 16)? "Well, I've spent 48 years being emotionally unavailable. That's a good start." [laughs] Skarsgård plays the titular character Murderbot, which must hide its ability for free thought while tackling dangerous assignments for the humans it has been assigned to. Oh, and it binge watches a fictional soap opera. "I think Murderbot watches [The Rise and Fall of] Sanctuary Moon and other soap operas as a kind of anthropological study. It's a way to understand humans and humanity from a safe distance." Part of the appeal of the story for Skarsgård was the genre itself. "There are no limitations. When you create a sci-fi show, you're not bound to the rules or restrictions here on Earth. You can let your creativity flow." And while Skarsgård doesn't "foresee a romantic relationship," there is one rather revealing full frontal scene that actually says quite a bit. "Murderbot is created for one purpose and one purpose only—security. So why give him genitals?"
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Editor's Note: This conversation has been edited and condensed for publication.
What kind of research did you do to be a robot?
Well, I've spent 48 years being emotionally unavailable. That's a good start. [laughs]
I can relate.
I found the character disturbingly relatable. I don't really know how I prepared. Obviously reading the script, but also read Martha Wells' novella that Murderbot is based on. I gravitated toward the character and the project, because Murderbot really popped off the pages. I was so excited when I was introduced to Murderbot, because it's such a surprising character. When I heard about a sci-fi action adventure project centered around an android called Murderbot, I expected something more along the lines of Robocop or something, like a bit more of an adrenaline feel, like testosterone, not this socially awkward, soap opera loving android that you meet. I just fell in love with Murderbot, thought it was such a fascinating character. And then the journey that Murderbot goes on, and the fact that it's not a robot, it's an android. There are organic components there that it's been kind of suppressed, in a way, was also quite fascinating, because it's about confronting your humanity and reluctantly confronting it and exploring it, which is the inner journey for Murderbot over the course of the season.
Episode 2. Alexander Skarsgård in "Murderbot," premiering May 16, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Episode 2. Alexander Skarsgård in "Murderbot," premiering May 16, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Apple TV+
I kind of am obsessed with how much he enjoys soap operas. Was there any inspiration from modern trash TV?
I can't point to a specific show, but we were clear on we wanted it to be way more big, gaudy, ostentatious and loud than the the actual Murderbot show. So we wanted it to be slightly weird in terms of the camera angles and the zooms and just the general narrative of it. But then when we started shooting it, I was like, this show is gonna be better than the Murderbot show. Even if people don't care about Murderbot [the character], they're definitely gonna ask for a full season of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, because this is delicious.
I do feel like Murderbot would get into some Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
I think you're correct, because it feels like Murderbot is really intrigued by human interaction and human drama, high stakes, as long as he doesn't have to engage, as long as it's from a safe distance where you can turn it off whenever you want. So, I think Murderbot really finds it juicy and delicious on Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, there is lots of drama between the characters. And I feel like, I'm not an expert on the Real Housewives, but I can imagine there's a lot of drama on the show, and that would be right up Murderbot's alley, for sure.
So, how did all of this come about for you? Because this does feel refreshingly different for you.
I was probably looking for something refreshingly different. I came off of the Northman, Infinity Pool, like some of the greatest creative experiences of my career, but also dark projects, intense, dark characters. And I was excited for a little palate cleanser or something lighter, something a bit more comedic. So when this landed in my lap, I was just beyond excited. I started reading it expecting one thing, and it was just a completely different tone, completely different character. And I haven't done much sci-fi, so I was excited about jumping into a sci-fi world, but again playing a character that I that I hadn't seen before that just felt only quite idiosyncratic and unique.
Episode 1. Alexander Skarsgård in "Murderbot," premiering May 16, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Episode 1. Alexander Skarsgård in "Murderbot," premiering May 16, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Apple TV+
What was it about the humor that you responded to?
I responded to the fact that it was very deadpan. And it's a half hour sci-fi comedy, but it's not a sitcom-type comedy. The comedy derives from these awkward interactions and the juxtaposition between the space hippies and the android and how differently they view each other in the world and also the contrast between Murderbot in the scene and Murderbot in its own head with the inner monologue. And I think there's a lot of comedy you can mine in that when we spent quite a bit of time in pre-production and during shooting, and also in post during the edit in shaping the voiceover, the inner monologue going because it just adds another layer to the scene and an opportunity to have some fun with juxtaposing or contradicting what's happening on screen through the voiceover.
You really can tell the difference between the voiceover and when he speaks.
We wanted a very different cadence, a very different tone. We wanted to be way more verbose and playful and expressive, so that you feel like there's a contrast between the Murderbot that you're observing and what goes on in Murderbot's head.
Just the fact that Paul and Chris Weitz are on this as writers. Had you always wanted to work with them?
Well, I was so lucky, fortunate to come on board early. So it's over a year before we started shooting, and they are obviously extraordinarily talented and intelligent, but also the greatest collaborators, because there are no egos involved, they're so curious to hear other people's thoughts and open to bringing in ideas and not precious when it comes to their own ideas. So we had a full year where we could read the novella that the first season was going to be based on, and we felt like the structure was very much there in the novella, in terms of the beats, the action, so there was no reason to--I mean, if it ain't broke... like, it works in the novella, so that's the story. So it's more about going down on a character level, who is Murderbot and what is Murderbot's journey and their relationship to the other actors. And Chris and Paul are so good at interpersonal relationships and the dialogue. And they can find a tone that is very, very real, but at the same time, light and funny without leaning in too much on the comedy, to keeping it real.
Episode 1. Alexander Skarsgård in "Murderbot," premiering May 16, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Episode 1. Alexander Skarsgård in "Murderbot," premiering May 16, 2025 on Apple TV+.
Apple TV+
What is it about the sci-fi genre that makes it so amendable to really any other genre: comedy, drama, action, etc.?
Chris is also like an encyclopedia in terms of what he knows about the world. He read all the novellas, he knew all the details about the whole universe that Martha Wells had created and Paul as well. So that was just such rich knowledge to have. And I like the fact that you don't really know where this takes place. You don't know where or when. It could be our solar system 500 years from now, or it could be a completely different galaxy. We didn't try to pin it down on a specific time or specific location. It's up to the viewer to imagine that. But in terms of the genre, I'm not an expert on sci-fi, but I just felt that Murderbot had quite a unique tone, and that was really exciting to me. And there are no limitations. When you create a sci-fi show, you're not bound to the rules or restrictions here on Earth. You can let your creativity flow in a way.
You also have a pretty unique full-frontal scene in this show. And by full frontal, heavy on the air quotes around "full frontal." Are you prepared for people to talk about the Ken doll'ness of Murderbot?
No, it made perfect sense to me. Murderbot is created for one purpose and one purpose only, that is security. So why give him genitals? There's no pheromones. All that kind of stuff is disgusting to Murderbot. It doesn't have any sexual desires at all, so it made perfect sense. Of course it was going to be a Ken doll down there.
Do you see in the future him longing for being less like Ken?
No, I don't think so. I don't foresee a romantic relationship. I think Murderbot watches Sanctuary Moon and other soap operas as a kind of anthropological study. It's a way to understand humans and humanity from a safe distance. It doesn't like when it's involved. What my Murderbot says on the show, like, I don't like being involved. But the show, Sanctuary Moon, is great because then it learns a lot about humanity from watching. And over the course of the season, it starts to form these relationships with the humans, and I wouldn't call it love, but it starts to deeply care about the team members. And I can see that developing even deeper and Murderbot exploring its humanity on a deeper level. But I don't foresee a point where Murderbot goes like, "Oh, I wish I had genitals." I think that's not in its DNA or its programming.
You've had so many memorable characters. Is there one people stop you for most?
It's difficult. I'd say lately, it's probably Succession, because [Lukas] Mattson. It's a lot, obviously, depending on what's recently been on in theaters or on television. So for a while, Lukas Matsson, before that, it was the Northman. Eric Northman from True Blood has been, it was years ago and it had a dedicated fan base, that's something that still pops up, that people want to talk about.
And Zoolander, of course.
That was one of my very first jobs. I wasn't even an actor. I was just on vacation in L.A. and my dad's agent sent me out for this audition. I had just started out, but it was one of the first jobs I landed, and that, to this day, sometimes comes up.
And you gave a little nugget to True Blood fans with your cameo on What We Do in the Shadows.
Yeah, I happened to be in Toronto shooting Murderbot, and I'm a huge fan of What We Do in the Shadows. So they were shooting in Toronto simultaneously and they asked if I wanted to come in and do this one little thing after wrapping Murderbot. And then I didn't, it wasn't intentionally going to be Eric Northman, it was just gonna be one of the vampires. But then when we started the fitting, we were like, "Well, maybe we'll lean into it slightly, it could be fun if it's like a Northman-esque character."
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