TOUGH AND TENDER

Alexander Skarsgard stars in Pillion's surprisingly sweet tale of bikers in love

- RICH JUZWIAK

NOT EVERY ACTOR WOULD JUMP AT THE CHANCE to star in a movie about a gay BDSM relationship, in which an older sex-god-type dom takes in a naive younger guy and assigns him the role of sub (along with a litany of daily chores).

But when Alexander Skarsgard read the script for Pillion, his only thought was: “Yes.”

“I just wanted this movie to exist,” he says from his home in Stockholm. “I just wanted this to be out there.”

Pillion premiered last year at Cannes, where it won an award for its screenplay by Harry Lighton, who adapted Adam Mars-Jones’ 2020 novel Box Hill: A Story of Low Self-Esteem for his feature directorial debut. It finally hits U.S. theaters Feb. 6, following near unanimous praise by critics and a press tour that featured Skarsgard donning plenty of leather for photo ops.

It’s been a busy time for the actor. He attended Sundance in January with two premieres—a mockumentary with Charli XCX and a romantic fantasy opposite Olivia Colman—and has been publicly supporting his father Stellan’s awards campaign for Sentimental Value. Pillion also arrives during a big moment for gay representation onscreen, driven by mass enthusiasm for Heated Rivalry, a romance that does not shy away from explicit depictions of gay sex, much to the delight of an audience that includes viewers of all genders and sexualities. The question Pillion asks is whether mainstream viewers are ready for a gay romance that is decidedly less vanilla.

IN THEIR EARLY CONVERSATIONS, Lighton impressed Skarsgard despite his relative inexperience. In particular, Skarsgard liked that the director had spent time with the U.K.-based Gay Biker Motorcycle Club (GBMCC) as background for his portrayal of the subculture. And he was taken with the “sweet and tender” tone of the dom-com’s screenplay.