Alexander Skarsgård clarifies sexuality speculation after viral Pillion remarks
The actor previously spoke about how his personal background related to his performance, remarks that were later widely shared on social media
By Callum Wells
Alexander Skarsgård has addressed speculation about his sexuality following comments he made last year while promoting his film Pillion.
The actor was appearing at the Zurich Film Festival in October, where he discussed his role as Ray, the leader of a gay motorbike club, in the BDSM-themed drama. During a Q&A, the 49-year-old spoke about how his personal background related to his performance, remarks that were later widely shared on social media.
“I found that in this case, it’s not really relevant what my background is. I mean, I do have a kid, but what I’ve done in the past, who I’ve been with, men, women… that this felt like an opportunity to tell a story about a subculture I hadn’t seen portrayed this way with so much authenticity,” he said.
“That it resonated with my past? It was definitely not an intended statement” – Alexander Skarsgård on comments he made while promoting Pillion
He also referred to previous film portrayals of gay leather communities, adding: “My experience of watching this on screen was through [Al Pacino’s] Cruising, where it’s this dark underbelly of New York City, and it’s dangerous, murderous and scary. Leather gays are scary. I’m no Ray, but I have a little bit of experience from that world, and I know that’s not the truthful depiction.”
The comments led to online speculation that he had publicly identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
In a cover interview with Variety, Skarsgård clarified that this was not his intention.
“That it resonated with my past? It was definitely not an intended statement,” he said. “I don’t know what I was talking about. Maybe it has to do with… there’s a lot of focus sometimes on me as an actor. Maybe it was about trying to shift the focus more to the story and these characters, and the importance of telling the story like this.”
What is Pillion about?
Pillion is directed by Harry Lighton in his feature debut and is adapted from Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones. The film centres on Colin (Harry Melling), a socially withdrawn young man who enters a BDSM relationship with Ray after being introduced to a gay biker community.
The cast also includes Douglas Hodge, Lesley Sharp, Anthony Welsh and Jake Shears.
The film premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it won Best Screenplay and the Palm Dog.
Subscribe to Attitude magazine in print, download the Attitude app, and follow Attitude on Apple News+. Plus, find Attitude on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X and YouTube.
