Alexander Skarsgard is a picture perfect representation of the titular hero in The Legend of Tarzan. The Warner Bros. reboot lands in theaters July 1 and takes audiences back to the jungle, much as Skarsgard’s character does in the beginning of the film that also stars Margot Robbie (soon to be seen in Suicide Squad), Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz and is from the mind of director David Yates (the last four Harry Potter movies).
Skarsgard looks like Tarzan in physicality, but also graces the screen with the character’s mojo, for lack of a better word. One of the things that Skarsgard was worried about heading into production is how he would approach that iconic jungle call that audiences expect from a Tarzan movie.
“It was a tricky one because you obviously have to have it in the movie otherwise people would be like ‘Where’s the call? It’s not in the movie.’ But also, when you watch the old movies, they are quite dated — especially the call. You definitely don’t want it to be a comedic moment,” admitted Skarsgard at the film’s recent press day.
“I didn’t come up with the idea of doing it the way it is now, but I think it’s really smart to, instead of having a cheesy shot of Tarzan doing the call, you see the impact on the antagonist’s face — Christoph’s face — because it makes it more eerie and haunting. I thought that was really smart.”
Tackling the legendary role in The Legend of Tarzan was also a moment for the actor on many levels. Sure, it is a huge part in a big studio, large budget action movie that could spur a franchise. But also, the world of Tarzan is quite close to Skarsgard and his famous father, Stellan. “Every Saturday my dad and I would go to the matinee in the small town in Sweden where he grew up and watch the old movies. He introduced me to Tarzan and that’s how I fell in love with him, the jungle and that whole world,” he said. “I was very excited when I heard about The Legend of Tarzan project.”
Sure, it’s a joy and a career moment to score the role. But, exactly how did Skarsgard feel when the excitement wore off and the reality of being Tarzan set in?
“I was actually on a sailboat in the Canary Islands about to sail across the Atlantic and I was looking forward to three weeks of being off the grid entirely with no e-mail or cell phone or anything. We were getting ready to push off and David called me and said ‘It’s looking good. I think we’re going to do this.’ I was pretty stoked when I got off the phone and set course for America to sail across the Atlantic. It was an incredible moment,” Skarsgard said.
Having gone through the screenplay already, he was also excited that the world of Tarzan was getting this particular story. It is resonant, and most importantly… timely.
“It’s been told 200 times over the past 100 years and you always have to ask, ‘Why are we doing it again? What’s the motivation? Why are we embarking on this two-year-long adventure?’ But you open the script and it’s John Clayton drinking tea with the Prime Minister. I just thought it was so brilliant in the fact that it’s more about returning to your roots than taming the beast. I thought that was so smart the way that Adam Cozad wrote that.”
Of all the stunts that Skarsgard got to do himself, there is one that he is most proud. “The scene where Sam [Jackson] is riding on my back is real,” he said and smiled broadly. “That amazing stunt… we pulled off, but I was just blown away when I saw the movie because it was so crazy what they can do with technology today.”
To say that The Legend of Tarzan is a technical marvel is putting it mildly. “They had a 3D scanned version of my body then they Augusts Dakteris — one of the greatest trapeze artists in the world come in. I don’t know how tall he is but he’s very short. We sat there with our coffees and watched him do these amazing stunts on the vine then they would just remove his body, use his movements and replace it with my body,” Skarsgard said.
“I’m watching the movie and I recognized myself doing these like Olympic stunts where I’m like, ‘Should I take credit for this? I’m awesome.’ But I think Augusts deserves all the credit for sure.”
Some of the CG in the film had many of the stars, including the lead, wondering what was going on with Yates and his directorial methods! “We were slightly worried there for a second. When we were on the Savannah and there’s a scene with the big male lion running across the Savannah. There were two guys holding a cardboard cutout of a lion and they were running. Sam, Margot and I were like ‘This is going to be a great movie. They really went all out on this one,’” Skarsgard said and laughed.
In the end, one question remained. This is a Tarzan movie after all… where is the loincloth?! “I was trying to get a little sexy loincloth! I was trying to convince David for weeks when we were doing prep. Unfortunately, the way the script is written, it opens in London. It’s Victorian and he’s acclimated to life in London. Then he goes back [to Africa] and David was like, ‘It doesn’t make sense. That little loincloth’s got to go.’ It shows up after that when he swings through the trees but it’s more like a little mini-sarong.”