Alexander Skarsgård Clarifies Sexuality Comment After Pillion Interview Makes Headlines

Alexander Skarsgård has spoken out after making headlines with recent comments about his sexuality.

Last year, the Swedish actor appeared alongside Harry Potter actor Harry Melling in the BDSM-themed biker love story Pillion, about a young man whose life is turned upside down when he falls in with the leader of a gang, and becomes embroiled in a dominant-submissive sexual relationship.

While promoting the film, Alexander told Variety: “I found that in this case, it’s not really relevant what my background is.

“I mean, I do have a kid, but what I’ve done in the past, who I’ve been with, men, women… to me, what was important was that this felt like an opportunity to tell a story about a subculture I hadn’t seen portrayed this way – with so much authenticity.”

At the time, this “who I’ve been with, men, women” line raised eyebrows, with some speculating that this was Alexander’s low-key way of declaring himself either bisexual, pansexual or queer.

“Did Alexander Skarsgård just casually come out?” the LGBTQ+ news outlet The Advocate wrote in one headline, while a similar headline on the website Queerty asked: “Did Alexander Skarsgård just casually reveal he’s been with men?”

Speaking to Variety in an interview published earlier this week, Alexander was asked about these remarks and the media furore that ensued.

“Oh,” he began when these comments were raised. “That it resonated with my past? It was definitely not an intended statement. I don’t know what I was talking about.”

The Big Little Lies actor continued: “Maybe it has to do with – there’s a lot of focus sometimes on me as an actor. Maybe it was trying to shift the focus more to the story and these characters. And the importance of telling the story like this.”

Pillion made a big impact when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year, before hitting UK cinemas in November.