Vikings star Katheryn Winnick is talking about the crazy prosthetics the show used to age Lagertha. As you may have suspected, aging up so significantly was quite a process. Vikings is heading into its sixth and final season. In that time, many years have passed on-screen since the show began, which has led to its characters aging many years in a rather short period.
Lagertha has not been impervious to time on Vikings. However, her journey into looking older has been gradual. That was until the Season 5 finale where her hair suddenly changed from bright blonde to silver in the seeming blink of an eye. Fans can prepare for an even more dramatic change in that vein. Katheryn Winnick told ET:
It was a bit challenging because we wanted to age her, so I actually went through two-and-a-half hours of prosthetics before every shoot. We ended up doing latex on the eyes and the neck to be able to show the progress of age. Hey, she's a granny now.
Two-and-and-half hours? That is a lot of time to spend in the makeup/special effects chair. Katheryn Winnick endured that for Vikings, and given the glimpses fans have seen of Season 6, it has paid off. In the teaser trailer, you can tell that Lagertha has aged many years, although gracefully.
Considering all that Lagertha has endured through the years, it is a wonder that it has taken so long for it to catch up with her. The cast has previously opened up about how it feels for their characters to be getting so much older than they are in real life.
Katheryn Winnick did not just apply her dedication to Vikings by spending hours enduring the makeup process. She also stepped behind the camera for Season 6. Yes! Winnick will make her directorial debut in the final season.
Of course, I have a million questions about why she helmed the particular episode she did. Does it have any significance with what will happen on-screen? We will all have to wait and see. Katheryn Winnick opened up about putting on her directing hat for Vikings by saying:
This is my directorial debut. Vikings 608. To be there with my fellow cast mates and read every script and know the inside out and know them as people and getting a chance to really dig deep behind the camera and push them as an actor was so amazing and I'm so proud of it, and I can't wait for everybody to see it. So, 608 is my directorial debut.
You count me among the countless Vikings fans excited to see it! What is interesting is that Katheryn Winnick will be directing the eighth episode of Season 6. That episode will arrive before what is traditionally the penultimate installment of a Vikings Season A. Season B is the second half. There are usually ten episodes in each half.
What will happen in Episode 8? Well, I doubt it is the episode where that fan-favorite character meets their fate. If you know who that character is then Katheryn Winnick directing that episode would be a bit odd. Still, this is Vikings, and anything tends to go.
Vikings’ Alexander Ludwig, who plays Lagertha’s son Bjorn, recently hinted Season 6 is coming soon. A release date window is not the only thing he teased about it either. Katheryn Winnick has provided her share of teases for what is to come. The wait to see Lagertha redefine her final chapter continues!
History has not released a premiere date for Vikings Season 6, so stay tuned. You can currently watch Seasons 1 through 5 of Vikings (including Lagertha) on Amazon Prime Video. For non-Vikings content, check out this summer’s premieres.
