Taylor Kitsch and Alexander Skarsgard Interview - Battleship

OMG! So dreamy. Alexander Skarsgard (who can totally beat up Peter Sarsgaard in a fight) is a handsome man. Taylor Kitsch (who, no disrespect, would probably get beaten up by Taylor Lautner – that guy’s a monster) is another handsome man. Put the two together, and I’ll feel a little self-conscious about all the complimentary blondies I’m eating. . . for a few minutes. 

We got to yap with them (side by side!) on the set of Battleship.

Alex, it looks like you have a few more stripes than Taylor... you play brothers, so can you talk about that dynamic?

Alexander Skarsgard: I am older and already in the Navy. My character has stayed out of his younger brother’s business but it’s kind of time to step in...

Taylor Kitsch: There comes a time where he says “Enough is enough; this is what we are going to do.” Because my character is a bit out of control at the beginning. What Peter Berg and I have talked about with these brothers is about reaching potential. It’s that whole thing of Hopper [Kitsch’s character] looking up to his clean-cut big brother, and then some... but being scared of journeying into the potential that he has in himself. But it takes that point where the big brother does have to say “enough is enough” and we’re doing it this way...

Alexander Skarsgard: And that is something my character has been trying to avoid his whole life. My character has his path, and Hopper needs to find his, even though he is making mistakes, maybe he can grow and learn from them. But yeah, after a while, I just say “Alright. We’re doing it my way.”

So how do the uniforms fit?

Taylor Kitsch: I love 'em, man.

Alexander Skarsgard: I’ve worn this stuff before in “Generation Kill,” so it’s just a different color for me...

And it’s not the desert.

Alexander Skarsgard:  It’s definitely nicer than the desert here.

We were wondering what would happen if you spilled something on your whites...

Taylor Kitsch:  DON’T spill anything on your whites!

Alexander Skarsgard:  I’m nervous just sitting down.

So the first thing you shot was on the water. . .

Taylor Kitsch: I was. It went quite smoothly. Everyone always says you can’t shoot on the water, but it was good. As an actor, there’s a lot of green screen, and that will take place back in Baton Rouge, but to be out on the ocean, you can’t really fake that. So, to be able to be able to react to certain things on the water, it’s hugely important to get the experience.

Alexander Skarsgard:I wasn’t in that sequence they shot but... you know, I just landed yesterday. I spent the past 6 weeks in Europe shooting a Lars Von Trier film [“Melancholia”] where our catering crew here was bigger than anything there... so I land and they take me out on the water on a gigantic barge in the ocean, with cranes and jet skis and 5,000 people...

Taylor Kitsch: It’s a floating base camp...

I know it’s early in the shoot but are there things in the script or storyboards where you look at it and say “How in the hell is that going to work?”

Taylor Kitsch: I think everyone has proved their worth already with what they’ve done before so I’m not worried about that. It’s so out of my control. I think the on-the-water stuff was a huge checkmark for all of us, to be on schedule and get the right shot. Especially with all the special effects. But I don’t circle those things. I circle plot points and character things that are going to challenge me as an actor. These things with the brothers mean everything to me. If you don’t care about us, the movie is going to be shit. In my opinion. People care about the characters in the film, you can blow up stuff ten million times. But if there isn’t something there that people care about, that doesn’t have a heartbeat to it . . . That’s our job.

Alexander Skarsgard:  I play a commanding officer and I have a lot of stuff on my bridge, where I am looking at stuff that isn’t there [laughs], working against a green screen. It’s going to be interesting to play with a gigantic green screen. 

Are there combat scenes in other sci fi films that you’ve enjoyed and thought “I’d love to do a scene like that!” or something similar that you could sink your teeth into?

Taylor Kitsch: It’s so tough to compare that, ya know, because you’re just going to compare the films as well. Pete has such his own taste for doing things, from shooting and editing to storyboards and character stuff, and telling the human side of the story which is really the basis of this film. I was lucky with “John Carter” that I was able to live out my own childhood dreams in that. I just know and trust these cats that it will be so intense. I know to play it at that level. Because I know when Pete comes up to you and explains to you what these shots are going to be and what’s going to happen, you just have to bring that much energy to it, just to match what they are going to do in post-production.

Alexander Skarsgard: It also helps that Pete is an actor himself. On a movie like this where there is a lot of action, a lot of explosions, for us as actors to know the guy behind the camera is an actor, and he can relate to you, and he cares about relationships and it’s not all about the explosions and cool special effects.

We saw some footage today, Taylor of your character walking across water towards a ship. So it seems like the main interaction with the aliens is through force fields. Are there any scenes where you do hand-to-hand combat with them?

Taylor Kitsch: Yes. Very intensely.

Alexander Skarsgard:  He’s got a love scene with one.

Taylor Kitsch: That’s where the sequel comes in. I fall in love and now I’m on this other planet.

Alexander Skarsgard: It’s like a soap opera... and you can do the romantic comedy

Taylor Kitsch:  It will blow you guys away.

Alexander Skarsgard: Unlike anything you’ve ever seen

Taylor Kitsch: Literally. You’ve never seen this shit. I’ve never acted this shit.

Taylor, did you have to cut your hair for this role?

Taylor Kitsch: Nope. [Laughs]. I’m wearing a wig. Actually, it’s a CGI wig. No, I cut it, first time in 12 years. I was a wreck to be honest. It’s time. I’m not going to have long hair my whole life. Did I keep it? Do I sleep with it? Who knows... Sometimes I eat it because I get nervous.

Did you go to Supercuts?

Taylor Kitsch: Yes. Supercuts. It cost 4 bucks plus tip, so not bad. I thought it was tight, looks good.

Check out more from our set visit to Battleship.