Alexander Skarsgård has set the record straight after a few seemingly off-the-cuff comments about his past led to online chatter about his sexuality. The actor suggested that the moment was misunderstood.
Alexander Skarsgård talks about his sexuality
While promoting his new movie Pillion at the Zurich Film Festival in October 2025, Alexander Skarsgård spoke about taking on the role of Ray, a biker who enters a dominant/submissive relationship with a younger man. During that discussion, Skarsgård made a remark that quickly took on a life of its own.
When asked if he drew anything from his personal experiences while playing the role, Skarsgård at the time said, “I found that in this case, it’s not really relevant what my background is.” He continued, “What I’ve done in the past, who I’ve been with, men, women… To me, what was important was that this felt like an opportunity to tell a story about a subculture I hadn’t seen portrayed this way — with so much authenticity.” Those words immediately fueled speculation around Skarsgård’s sexuality.
Now, Skarsgård addressed the confusion head-on when asked whether the comment was meant to reference his own past. “It was definitely not an intended statement. I don’t know what I was talking about,” he explained to Variety, adding that his goal in that moment was to move attention away from himself and back to Pillion.
“Maybe it has to do with — there’s a lot of focus sometimes on me as an actor,” he further stated. “Maybe it was trying to shift the focus more to the story and these characters. And the importance of telling the story like this.”
Directed by Harry Lighton, Pillion stars Harry Melling as Colin, a young gay man drawn into a BDSM relationship with Skarsgård’s mysterious biker leader. The Murderbot actor has emphasized that the film aims to show this pillion-style dynamic and its surrounding subculture with honesty rather than sensationalism.
