Alexander Ludwig talks about his itch for acting

SINGAPORE — It’s a testament to his acting skills that as The Hunger Games hunk Alexander Ludwig goes swashbuckling in the TV series Vikings, he’s successfully hiding the fact that his armpits are actually itching like crazy. While his period garb in Vikings couldn’t be more different from his futuristic costume in The Hunger Games, Ludwig prefers the breastplates and leather, even though “it’s very frustrating to put on in the morning” and takes half an hour to lace up.

“It really helps me get into character and I like wearing period stuff,” he said. Unfortunately, for him, “it is very, very itchy around the armpits”.

How does he deal with that? “I cry,” he deadpanned, before adding: “I would assume that they had the same problems back then, so I just embrace it.”

The 22-year-old Canadian actor, who played Cato in The Hunger Games, returns for Vikings’ third season as Bjorn, son of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), and he said the History Channel drama has also helped him reach out to “more of an adult crowd”.

“Being a part of this show has absolutely assisted me in gaining a lot of respect in the industry,” he said. “It’s not like some teenybopper role; this is very, very much an adult show. It’s been the best decision of my life.”

It has also made him aware of the lesser-known aspects of Viking history. “I have been so blown away by what a progressive culture they were because they very, very much respected their women,” Ludwig said. “I just thought it was so interesting that hundreds of years ago, they were already so ahead of their time, and they really did respect equality.”

That’s not to say that his TV-watching fans are a stuffy, mature lot. “They ask me to talk in the accent a lot,” he chuckled. “I have been asked to sign a girl’s breast before. That was definitely a very strange experience.”

In this third season of Vikings, Ragnar and his crew attack Paris with 100 ships, and that means more action and fight scenes for Ludwig, who does his own stunts. “We had to climb an 18m-high wall while there were people on fire falling all around us. That was very, very challenging,” he said.

For the fitness buff, staying in shape while on set is another challenge because of the long hours, but he said: “I work out just for my own mental health. If I don’t do it, I just feel like sh*t.”

What he might want to work on, though, is his skills with a pool cue, especially when he’s hitting the table with his equally ripped co-star Fimmel. “We mostly play pool together. I’ve lost S$3,000 to him. I kid you not.”

As for his favourite weapon to wield on a battlefield, Ludwig, who stars in the upcoming thriller Go With Me alongside Anthony Hopkins and the upcoming horror comedy The Final Girls, picked the axe.

“A sword is so much easier to wield, but axes, because of the way they’re shaped ... it’s just a bit of a nightmare when you’re fighting with it. Almost every fight scene, you usually have an accident, because there are so many people and so many moving parts. But thankfully, for the most part, it’s never been anything serious,” he said. “I like the idea of holding the axe. I know I can always hold a sword somewhere else in another movie!”

Catch the third season of Vikings from Friday, Feb 27, at 10pm on HISTORY (StarHub TV Ch 401).