Alexander Skarsgård Says the Wicker Suit Was Horrible to Wear

Alexander Skarsgård says the wicker suit he wore for Wicker was, in his words, horrible to wear. The actor plays the straw-plaited husband in the film, and he talked about the part on a panel at Deadline Contenders Film Los Angeles. That event brings film-makers and performers in front of audiences during awards season. Deadline reported his remarks.

The film is based on a short story by Ursula Wills. A short story is a brief piece of fiction, usually much shorter than a novel. The screenplay and direction come from writer-directors Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, who share the job of writing and directing the picture.

Skarsgård said two things drew him to the project. One was the script. The other was the attachment of Olivia Colman. Being attached means a named performer has already committed to a film, and that commitment can help a project as it looks for the rest of its cast and backers.

On the panel, Skarsgård described the film as social commentary. He said it touches on patriarchy, a system in which men hold most of the power. It also deals with the institution of marriage, jealousy and societal hierarchy, which is the ranking of people into levels of status within a community.

The suit is a big part of how the character looks and moves, so the physical side of the role mattered. The panel also included Fischer, Wilson and makeup-effects artist Joe Dunckley. Makeup-effects artists design and apply special looks, including prosthetic pieces that are fitted to an actor's body. Their work usually begins long before a camera rolls.

Panels like this one give the people behind a film a chance to explain how it was made, and they often reveal the practical problems a crew solves on set. In this case, the most vivid detail came from the performer who had to wear the costume every day. Skarsgård's blunt verdict on the suit was the moment the room seemed to remember.