The British star of Netflix’s Norsemen series, Vikings: Valhalla, Leo Suter says the blood-drenched, war-mongering character was an 11th-century celebrity – ‘the Conor McGregor of his time’.
London-born Leo, 28, spent much of filming covered in blood and wielding swords as he waded into battle countless times, playing real-life future Viking king Harald Hardrada. It was dirty work playing a mercenary Medieval A-lister.
“We had sort of a crash course in sword fighting and axe wielding and shield holding,” he explained to The Hollywood Reporter. “Then it’s this violent dance that they teach you, and they are very patient. You’ve got to be fit as a fiddle because the fights, you don’t just film them once. You film them again and again, being aerobically up to it is a challenge. The real thing would have been absolutely exhausting.”
The scenes felt like real battles to the man who will be familiar to fans of ITV’s Sanditon.
“Everyone is going for it, and the adrenaline is pumping, and it’s super exciting, and the fake blood is sort of the cherry on the top. It feels very real, actually.”
Vikings: Valhalla season one is the streaming giant’s adaptation of the epic six-season History channel series Vikings and Leo, 28, is the new boy on set as many of the cast and crew have worked on the series since its inception in 2013, which was helpful as ‘the reassurance from them that we were on the right track was really handy’.
Harald’s key relationships in the historical epic are with the real-life explorer Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett) and Leif’s sister, Freydis Eiriksdottir (Frida Gustavsson), his romantic interest.
Leo said: “I really enjoyed the scenes with her, the more intimate ones, because there are moments where Harald gives big old speeches on the battlefield to thousands of people. When it’s just Harald and Freydis in a bedroom speaking about their hearts’ desires and life goals, that’s a different kind of acting.”
He describes having the quiet and loud diversity of acting as ‘very cool’, which is just as well because he has signed to play Harald for two more seasons on Netflix.
