The fifth and final season of The Last Kingdom arrives on Netflix in just a couple of weeks. The streamer has been releasing images, trailers, and voluminous cast interviews. We’ve gathered several of the latter together below, so you may read and get hyped.
Alexander Dreymon (Uhtred) talks about directing an episode of the show, Millie Brady (Aethelflaed) teases how everything comes together, and James Northcote (Aldhelm) previews “a lot of death.” Read on below, starting with our leading man:
Alexander Dreymon talks playing Uhtred in The Last Kingdom season 5
What are Uhtred’s motivations in season five?
I feel like Uhtred’s running round, trying to put out fires in season five. It’s all about him as a
protector. He tries and fails to protect his children.
How has Uhtred matured as a character?
Throughout the whole series he struggles with his identity. In season five he finally has the
opportunity to bring that to a close, but I think the biggest arc we can see in him, is that at
the beginning of season one it’s really all about him. By the time we get to season five, his
focus is completely on the people around him. On the people he loves.
Discuss the female characters of the show.
The thing about the female characters in our show is that they’re nuanced and layered, and
interesting. They’re human and some of them are terrible people. Female characters have
just as much a right to be vindictive and lost and mean as male characters do. I feel very lucky
to be on a show that does that. And I also think we have an incredible cast of female actors
to breathe the life into these characters. They’re so talented, especially when I think of my
time as a director on this show, I was just flabbergasted by the performances our actresses
gave.
Why do audiences love Uhtred?
The story is told through Uhtred’s eyes, he is the person we know the best and he represents
a set of values that I think people find very interesting and attractive and for the times, he
was an extremely progressive figure and I think that makes it a lot easier for audiences to
relate to him, for contemporary audiences to relate to him, and to get an insight to the story.
Because we live this story through his thoughts and feelings.
What do you love about playing Uhtred?
Obviously, I love the action aspect to it. I love the fight choreography, the horseback riding.
But Uhtred is also a character who has immense vulnerability and I love the moments where
that is allowed to pierce through the armour. Those are the moments that I love the most.
They’re also a big challenge, in terms of how to portray that truthfully in the skin of a character
who would have lived during that time and who can only allow himself to show so much of that, he has to be very selective with the people around him. Who he can allow himself to be
that person with. But I think that gives the character a beautiful balance.
How was it directing an episode?
First of all, I’m just hugely grateful to Carnival for giving me that opportunity and for placing
their trust in me. It’s a huge production with a lot of moving parts, very technical aspects. And
I spent as much time in front of the camera as I did behind the camera, so I was definitely
thrown in at the deep end but I’m completely in love with it. I’m just so grateful to have been
able to do it.
There’s just no way of knowing the breadth of the director’s responsibilities and what it
means to carry the weight of that unless you do it. And I thought I knew, but I really had no
idea. It gave me even more honour and respect for that part of our world. It made me want
to help the directors that I’m working with even more than before. To get them to be able to
do their job because they have so much to take care of. I think in the future in any way that I
can take weight off of their shoulders in a productive way, in my role as an actor, I’ll endeavour
to do.
What is it like working with stunts and horses?
To get into any role I really need a physical component to open that up for me. Even if it is a
very intellectual part, there is still a physical component to it. In terms of the body language,
etc. First of all, we are working with an extraordinary stunt team, I’m very proud of what we
are putting together and very proud of being part of the stunt team. Yes, I really enjoy the
physical aspect of it and the horse-riding aspect of it. I love the contact with the animal and
the life that automatically breathes into each and every scene just because you have to be so
alert to every movement that the horse does. To everything that he tries. I ride a horse called
Pedro who is basically a bit of a moody teenager, so he is always testing the limits. So you
always have to be on top of that, at the same time as doing your scene. There is a level of
alertness, it’s such an enjoyable wave to ride on.
What has the production design been like on the show?
This season, having been behind the camera and been part of the whole prep, I really
witnessed how much work went into these sets and how much attention to detail there is.
And how every set gets built around a character, how much thought there is behind, ‘How
would this character decorate their living space? What’s their vibe? And why is that way?’ All
of that emanates from Dominic, our set designer. I’m so inspired by him. He was so generous
with his ideas and so enthusiastic about any ideas that I put forth. Things that I thought, well
that’s never going to happen, that’s too much of an ask. And he would be like, ‘Let’s just try
it’. And he would come back the next day with a piece of set design or a prop that would’ve
been built over the space of one day by our crew here. They’re truly like magical elves. They
just come up with these things and you just think, ‘How did they build that so fast?’
How does your costume help build the character?
I’ve heard many actors say, ’I’m the character once I put on the clothes,’ and I don’t know
that that is fully true for me. But, as I said before, I thrive on the physical element of portraying
a character and the costume certainly gives me a physicality that helps me embody the
character just because of how it feels to wear these boots and how the armour feels.
Especially the armour, it’s very uncomfortable, it’s very tight. Some armours that I’ve worn
were extremely heavy. Having that sword on your shoulder makes you move in a way that’s
so different from your everyday life. Because if you duck through a doorway or even pass
somebody you have to move your shoulders in a way so the sword doesn’t whack someone
in the head. I don’t know that the costume gives me the character but it certainly adds to the
physicality of Uhtred.