Alexander Skarsgärd Explains Reduced ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Character Arc

Alexander Skarsgård is among the actors who completely disappear behind their characters – from The Legend of Tarzan and Big Little Lies, to playing the namesake robot in the upcoming Murderbot. Skarsgård has always been a fan favorite for his performances. So, naturally, fans felt that his performance was reduced in 2011’s Godzilla vs. Kong and his absence from the subsequent Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire hinted at the changing priorities of the MonsterVerse franchise. And while all this was only speculation among the fandom, Skarsgård recently spoke about the reduced arc of his character, Dr. Nathan Lind, and his creatively fulfilling relationship with director Adam Wingard.

“There was definitely more of a backstory, more character-driven scenes that ended up on the cutting-room floor,” Skarsgård explained. Dr. Nathan Lind was introduced as a discredited geologist whose theories about Hollow Earth eventually proved correct and stayed an indispensable part of the narrative, even saving Kong in his time of need. However, the actor understands the power of showcasing the spectacle in a MontersVerse movie, “But if you sign up to do a movie like Godzilla vs. Kong, there are only two stars in that film. And you’re not one of them.” He further explained:

“Adam Wingard, the director, and I can play around and come up with weird quirky shit, and add layers of character work. But at the end of the day, if they’re gonna cut down the film, Skarsgärd will end up on the floor, not Godzilla or Kong. So I totally get it, and, you know, the movie works. It didn’t need more Skarsgärd.”

Skarsgård Had a Good Time Working With Wingard

Skarsgård has worked with various big directors and studios, and his understanding of filmmaking has helped him give his all to the roles, no matter the screen time. “I’ve had really good creative relationships with all the directors that I’ve worked with on bigger movies, where they’ve been very open to creating a playful environment on set,” Skarsgård said about working on major studio productions. He further explained,

“So I’ve never felt stifled or creatively suffocated. But then the stakes are much higher, so you might have super fun coming up with cool side-stories or weird little aspects of the character, but then, when there’s hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, ultimately those eccentricities might not make the final cut.”

Godzilla vs. Kong and its sequel are streaming on Max. Stay tuned to Collider for more such updates.

Source: Empire Magazine (via ComicBook)