Alexander Skarsgård stars in kinky trailer for queer romance film Pillion alongside Harry Melling
It stars Melling as Colin, a shy traffic warden and barbershop quartet singer, and Skarsgård as biker gang leader Ray, who takes a liking to Colin's innocence
By Aaron Sugg
The first trailer for Pillion, a queer BDSM romance film starring a shirtless Alexander Skarsgård, has been released.
It also stars Harry Melling as Colin, a shy traffic warden and barbershop quartet singer. Skarsgård plays biker gang leader Ray, who takes a liking to Colin’s innocence.
Based on the 2020 novel Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones, the film marks writer-director Harry Lighton’s feature debut, diving into the world of kinky biker romance.
“Buy yourself a butt plug. You’re too tight” – says Alexander Skarsgård to submissive Harry Melling in the Pillion trailer
In the newly released teaser, Colin and Ray meet at a bar before striking up a sub-dom relationship.
Riding on the back of Ray’s bike, Colin arrives at his new partner’s home, where Ray stands completely naked in front of him, with the Harry Potter actor’s eyes glancing downward past his waist.
The teaser ends with Ray handing Colin a shopping list, bluntly telling him: “Buy yourself a butt plug. You’re too tight.”
“Alex is just the most generous, dreamy scene partner” – Melling on his role in Pillion alongside Skarsgård
Scenes highlight the shifting power dynamics, such as Ray giving his dog priority over Colin on the sofa, and Colin eventually adopting his lover’s biker look, complete with leather gear and a shaved head.
The two lead actors praised each other in an interview with Vanity Fair, explaining how they felt comfortable navigating the intimate scenes together.
Melling said: “Alex is just the most generous, dreamy scene partner, so what could have been quite a daunting experience couldn’t have been more different, really.”
He added: “When you sort out the choreography of it, which is often the most difficult part, you sort out what everyone’s doing, where their hands are going – and then once action is called, you’re in the world of Colin and Ray.”
“There were these tender, beautiful moments that just happened organically” – Skarsgård on filming with Melling for the upcoming Pillion film
Skarsgård agreed, telling the publication: “I fell in love with Harry from the first second I saw him.”
He continued: “I felt comfortable going as far as we needed to go in these situations with him. I also discovered a lot of things about Colin and Ray’s relationship that I didn’t anticipate discovering when we first started working on it. There were these tender, beautiful moments that just happened organically.”
Director Lighton revealed that he cut some explicit shots, including a close-up of an erection. He explained: “We shot some stuff which was more explicit, and it wasn’t the case that I was told to remove it. I chose to remove it because I think it was always important to me that the provocation didn’t override the sentiment or the experience.”
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a seven-minute standing ovation and strong reviews.
Viewers reactions to the first Pillion trailer: “I would let him do anything”
The Hollywood Reporter described Pillion as a “graphic but surprisingly tender study of a sub/dom queer romance”.
Fans have gone wild for the first glimpse of the queer love story, with one commenting on YouTube under the trailer: “While I’m not particularly into Dom/sub culture, if Alexander Skarsgård walked up to me and gave the look he has at 0:23, I would let him do anything.”
Another joked: “I did not screenshot that one scene! you cant prove it!”
When is Pillion coming to cinemas?
The film is set to be released in UK cinemas on 28 November and will also screen at the London Film Festival this month.