The Last Kingdom’s Alexander Dreymon on Uhtred’s “mischievous” streak

The Last Kingdom season 4 is nearly here, debuting on Netflix on Sunday, April 26. Ahead of its return, three members of Team Uhtred — Mark Rowley (Finan), Arnas Fedaravicius (Sihtric) and Uhtred himself, Alexander Dreymon — sat down with UNILAD to blow the lid off another year in medieval England.

First up, Dreymon talked about worries he had around the second season of the show, right before the show was about to go from a BBC-Netflix coproduction to more of a Netflix-only project. Any fears he had were abated by the addition of cast members like Rowley and Fedaravicius. “I’m talking about the atmosphere on the show. Because we had such a lovely crew and cast and everybody got along so well. I thought it was never going to be as good again. Honestly, it just keeps getting better. And once these guys came on, it really became like a family.”

Image: The Last Kingdom/Netflix

Personally, I’d agree with Dreymon that each season has been better than the last, a rare feat in television. Fedaravicius believes that’s partly due to the cast’s off-screen chemistry, something he also told us when we talked to him. “The passion for the show grows every year, and we connected from the get go,” he said. “Over time, as the connection grows stronger, I hope that shows more. But we’re just very, very passionate about each other.”

Chemistry aside, The Last Kingdom has a ton going for it, including edge-of-your-seat action scenes. That’s something stunt coordinator Levente Lezsák takes a lot of pride in:

"I’m going to be very honest, and I really hope I won’t hurt anyone else’s feelings, but this is by far my favourite [production to work on] because I feel it is like my kid, you know? My child.It’s really great to see it grow and grow, like a kid, in front of your eyes. It’s amazing. We have more and more resources, and we can offer more and more and bigger and bigger stunts for the audience.All the actors have very good martial arts skills, and of course we use their ideas and they become more and more confident over the years. They’re more well trained for these sorts of fights. And I’m very, very pleased with them."

As wild as those action sequences can be, The Last Kingdom is a historical drama at heart, with plotlines drawn from ninth century English history. “What’s interesting about this you know, is that it’s specifically all about this idea of England and ‘what is England?’, that creation,” mused Rowley. “With the whole Brexit talk, it’s so relevant. And actually, looking back, the Danes had such an influence. As much as the Romans. So it’s really interesting reflecting on that…[I]t’s a mixture of many cultures. And that’s what makes England.”

The show has certainly led me to read more about the history of England, which is apparently part of the point. “[I]t’s very important to put those details in and to remind people that that’s how history got written,” said Dreymon. “And how much got lost.”

Fedaravicius finds the historical aspects of the show thought-provoking as well. “In schools they don’t teach you much about the other sides, because I guess it doesn’t always help to teach patriotism when you teach that your country wasn’t always making the right decisions,” he said. “There’s always more sides to the story, and sometimes people are kept out.”

Image: The Last Kingdom/Netflix

Uhtred, Finan and Sihtric have all struggled with decisions related to England’s turbulent growth. Uhtred has it especially hard. Born a Saxon but raised a Dane, Uhtred has slowly gravitated towards embracing his Saxon identity. Fedaravicius thinks that duality is one of the show’s best assets. “I think that’s what creates the beauty of this show,” he said. “I think that often, even with Uhtred. It’s a character that’s so dual, that when you watch it, you can’t really put your finger on who is good and who is bad.”

"You relate to some of the decisions, and then you don’t relate to the other decisions. So sometimes antagonists come in and you understand where they’re coming from and as an audience you sort of start liking them. But then Uhtred hits the screen and you’re like, ‘ah no, love Uhtred’."

Naturally, Dreymon has his own thoughts about what drives Uhtred to act as he does. “Uhtred had such a mischievous quality to him when he was a kid in the first season,” he recalled. “And then, little by little, he gets jaded more and more by all these horrible events that happen.”

One such event was Iseult’s beheading in the season one finale, which has always stuck with Dreymon. “How do you get over seeing your lover’s head get cut off in the throes of the battlefield? He keeps having to go through these horrendous experiences, and so it’s more and more difficult to keep that streak of insouciance in there.”

Still, Dreymon doesn’t think the mischievous streak ever quite left Uhtred, “I think it’s also part of what makes Uhtred so fun to watch. And I think the challenge lies in having him evolve and change without losing that aspect of him.”

"Uhtred is still, from the beginning and has always been very spontaneous. And he always picks himself back up. He’s relentlessly perseverant. And I think that’s a quality I really admire."

We’ll see if Uhtred can live up to his reputation when The Last Kingdom returns this Sunday!

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