Is it difficult anticipating audience reaction because this is one of the first shows to roll out in the manner that it is? SKARSGARD: I have no idea how people are going to feel. Obviously, I haven’t seen anything yet — I’ve just shot it — but I think that people are going to like it a lot. It’s got a different vibe to it. I think it could be really appealing to a lot of people. It’s really cool being on Netflix because we can do basically whatever we want. Even though we are one of the first shows, we haven’t really expanded on the ability to whatever we want yet. It’s on the Internet. You don’t even have to have 50-minute episodes! The format can change all the time. A short episode of 5 minutes, it doesn’t matter. I think it’s definitely the future of broadcasting in a way, that we don’t have to have our episodes fitting any format at all because we can do it however we want. I think that’s really cool to be a part of that and explore that and also have on the Internet, you click here and you can have some backstory on a character you haven’t seen before. I think there’s a lot of things to explore and I know that we will do that as well with the show. That’s where I think and I hope Netflix is going with it, with all their shows. That’s where they have the upper hand.
Your brother is Alexander. Did you guys compare notes at all in terms of working in TV, but also genre television? SKARSGARD: This show is very different from True Blood, even though they have similar elements. The vampires and werewolves. But it’s very different. It’s difficult to me because I’ve always been very keen on making my own things and my own choices. I have Alexander and I have Gustaf and I have my dad [Stellan Skarsgard], and they’re all good and they’ve been doing it for a while. My dad has been doing it for 40 years. So they know what they’re doing. Coming from an acting family, it’s really important to me for my own sake to be solely responsible for my own performance. I don’t want to ever think that I don’t know what to do. I want to deal with my own things, to perform my own roles, to be like, “I did this.” I don’t want any help from them… though I do like venting to them from time to time. There’s a little competition too. I’ve been fortunate enough to have an embarrassingly good career so far in Sweden and then I’m doing this now. It’s all shameful a little bit. I’ve been so fortunate in doing great things. I think there might be a little bit of “Oh, really? Oh you got it? You bastard!” They’re all proud of me and they all love me, but it’s always funny when we’re all in the same business. I think my dad said when I told him I was doing this. I got home in Stockholm to do a thing and was flying back to LA and I told him, “Dad, I think I got the show” and he’s just like, “Fuck off.” That’s what he said. It’s funny that way being from an acting family. They’re all really proud and supportive, but it’s good to have that kind of honesty, “You don’t know how fucking lucky you are.” I do know and I really appreciate it.