Keira Knightley Quotes

New article/interview with Alexander Skarsgård for THE AFTERMATH in TOTAL FILM magazine (January 2019 issue)

Total Film has an on-set exclusive with The Aftermath director James Kent and star Alexander Skarsgård. Here is Alex’s new interview:

Q&A ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD

How does your character, Stefan, fit into this story?

It’s a frustrating situation for him because he’s a man who has lost everything. He was a very educated man, and he lost his wife during the bombings of Hamburg, he lost his job, his house. He feels that this British couple aren’t as highly educated as he is and that creates an interesting power play.

What attracted you to this film?

There’s an abundance of World War 2 stories but a lot of them tell a very black-and-white story. It’s often the evil Germans and the good Allied soldiers. I’ve always been fascinated by what turned a country into this, how could this happen? The Aftermath is this love triangle drama, but set in a very geopolitical world, which was very interesting.

What was it like working with Keira?

She worked with my father [Stellan] on Pirates [Of the Caribbean] 10 years ago! I was in LA auditioning and not working. I don’t know if she remembers, but we watched the Oscars together – I went with my dad to watch them with the Pirates cast and crew. But she’s incredible, and it’s been interesting developing this relationship, finding the tension between the two characters.

The Aftermath opens in the UK on March 1 and in the US on March 15, 2019.

Keira Knightley is downright radiant […]  a natural in the role and as Colette connects more and more to her self-worth and what she loves, Knightley gets a lot of room to play and seizes that opportunity big time. Collider

Keira Knightley is top form: luminous, clever, sexy and sympathetic. The Guardian

“Colette” ranks as one of the great roles for which Keira Knightley will be remembered. Variety

This isn’t a righteous movie full of big speeches and soaring moments […] but Knightley doesn’t need that stuff to make Colette feel like a trailblazer. Indiewire

Throughout, Knightley reminds us of her star-making charm […] It’s great to see her in peak form again. Vanity Fair

I’ve always been sure of what I stand for. But I haven’t always been sure of how to get that across at work. In very masculine environments, it can be difficult as a woman to figure out how you can be heard and get your point across. As I get more certain in my ability as an actress, I’m more comfortable with saying ‘Actually, I am pretty good at this, I do know what I’m doing and I do have an opinion that deserves to be listened to.

You have four films coming out this year. Are you a workaholic? It’s been busy. I took a year off when I was pregnant and after I had my kid. It was interesting, because when you have a child it’s amazing and fulfilling, but you feel like your identity can in some way be subsumed by being a mother. I had a real feeling of needing to feel like I am still me, so I attached myself to an awful lot of projects, and I got to the last one, which was actually “Colette,” and realized I was absolutely knackered, so I’ve taken the last six months off. I was the daughter of a working mother, and I know how important it was to me and my sense of self to see my mom working. I want my daughter to see that I’m doing something that I love. I want her to know that whatever field she chooses, she can have a kid and she can still pursue a career.