You’ve spent the past two months shacked up with Andrea Riseborough in a bomb shelter for the film Hidden, how was that?
Intense: we were surrounded by soot, dust and ash, and living on a diet of kale salad, a bit of protein and water. I’m pretty thrilled to be in New York now, eating like a horse.
The advert you’ve done with Lara Stone for the new Calvin Klein fragrance is very sensual, did you enjoy filming it?
It was wild and very gripping. We filmed in this weird dungeon with lots of sweat and leather, so it was very sexy and film noir.
Talking of sweat and leather, you’ve been identified as a potential Christian Grey in the film version of Fifty Shades of Grey, are you flattered or offended?
Of course it’s flattering, but I haven’t even read the novels so I don’t know whether I’m interested in doing it or not. I am interested to see what the hype is about.
Which smells remind you of your childhood?
It’s not very sexy, but there was a sausage factory near my house in South Stockholm so I remember the foul smell going to school every morning. It wasn’t the smell of a nice cooked sausage.
Other than TV series such as The Bridge and The Killing, what is Scandinavia’s greatest export?
I’d have to say the pacemaker, it’s done more good for humanity.
Will people ever get tired of vampires?
I don’t know. Ask me when I’m 58 and we’ve wrapped on True Blood.
What was Lady Gaga like when you starred in her music video Paparazzi?
It was her first album and was very odd. She wasn’t the girl that people know today. I mean she was about 17, so I didn’t really know who she was, but in the video I try to push her off a balcony and she comes back to poison me. It sounded like a fun thing to do.
Alexander Skarsgård is the face of new men’s fragrance Encounter by Calvin Klein
