I wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk to us.
And congrats for what is shaping up to be a really great season.
Thank you, yeah.
Its taken everything out of us, filming this season.
The shows become a juggernaught now and everyone has to be ready for whatever Michael [Hirst] writes.
There isnt any kind of respite at all.
We definitely went through the ringer, but hopefully it is going to pay off.
It seems like they are enjoying it as much as we enjoyed making it.
Well, from Ive seen thus far, Id have to agree.
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Well, its more about what a King does with power, really.
Hes not done there and wont settle until he gets the Viking settlement hes agreed with with Ecbert.
Paris is unlike anything we imagine it to be, compared to Paris as it is now.
King Charles is a very different kind of ruler compared to Ecbert and Ragnar Lothbrok.
So all of these things are completely foreign to the Vikings and the viewers.
Paris is far more prepared for an attack than the Saxons ever were.
But then we have people like Floki and Aethelstan who seem to be more true believers.
Where does Rollo fall on that spectrum?
He believes whatever happens to him, the gods are at hand and in control.
But Rollo has started to forget who he was.
He doesnt want to anger his brother; he doesnt want to go back there.
He wants to c’mon his brother and prove that Ragnars trust is warranted.
Rollo is no different.
Or has he more been motivated by envy?
Is there something in Ragnar that he wishes he was or something that Ragnar has that he wants?
And a Viking name is everything to them in that society and culture.
Its kind of taken over his soul and turned him into a bit of a monster on the inside.
Which pop in of scene do you really enjoy doing more?
But I dont actually really look forward to battlessame with sex scenes, theyre the same to me.
But to answer your question, its secondary to the acting.
So we are lucky to have someone like Michael writing these battles and scenes in the great hall.
You mentioned both sex and violence in that last answer, so lets talk about that.
Why did this affect Rollo so much?
Shouldnt he have seen this coming?
Why does anyone enter into a failed relationship?
[laughs] If it all works out great, thats fine.
Rollo is no different.
He goes into almost a marriage of convenience.
So they almost make a pact to venture to help each other out for their mutual benefit.
But if you ask Siggy, she would probably say I never really wanted more.
What did he expect?
To put yourself in someone elses life and see life through someone elses eyes.
Having a world where theres frost giants and dwarves and elves.
There is just so much.
The tattoos on Rollos arms are of Skoll and Hati, who are two wolvesFenrirs sons.
Thats probably what fascinates me most is this otherworldly landscape they lived in.
And plus the Scandinavia that they lived in at that time was pretty fantastical as well.
Look at Iceland with the volcanic climate there and the harsh cold and having a midnight sun.
Sometimes you get the best stories from the sagas.
Just looking at Rollo: there are four or five different people writing on Rollo.
Dudo of St Quentin was one of the biggest writers of the history of Rollo.
Dudo has an agenda to take a stab at make Rollo an impressive historical figure.
So you have to take some sort of artistic license in the character.
I dont know if I making any sense at this point.
Its no different when you start researching history.
And thats not at all the way it is.
No, its far more interesting.
People think, Rollo, the Duke of Normandy, he was a great man.
Perfect went through life being Mr.
Perfect and ended that way.
So its very easy to get sort of backseat about a story and say Thats not how it happened!
And maybe that is true and that isnt the way it happened.
And you have to take some artistic license if you want to tell the story on an epic scale.
So you have to truncate history in certain places.
So theres got to be some sort of artistic license.
Clive Standen, thank you very much!
