Compared To Vikings, Bad Boys For Life Was 'A Dream' For Alexander Ludwig
Vikings fans are familiar with Alexander Ludwig for his role as Bjorn Ironside, the son of the series’ original protagonists, Ragnar Lothbrok and Lagertha. Ever since that Season 2 time-jump, Ludwig has played the older version of Bjorn on the History channel TV series. While Season 6 is still unfolding, the show is ending, and Ludwig is continuing to pursue his film career with a role in Bad Boys for Life.
In the much-anticipated third installment in the popular Bad Boys franchise, Alexander Ludwig plays Dorn. How is it different to do a TV show compared to a blockbuster movie like Bad Boys for Life? Alexander Ludwig weighed in and revealed some significant differences, telling Collider:
Wow. Alexander Ludwig revealed that Vikings only called production twice, and it took a hurricane to stop it one of those times. And I thought Bjorn initially getting left out of that major scene in the latest Vikings episode was brutal! Television sounds intense, but Ludwig credits it with being a “master class” for acting.
It was clearly rough to film Vikings. Thus, I have an even more heightened appreciation for its cast and crew. Despite the conditions, Alexander Ludwig seems appreciative of what Vikings taught him. The rush and pressure to get things done was just one of the differences between doing Vikings and Bad Boys for Life. Ludwig continued, saying:
I am guessing there was not a lot of improvising while filming Vikings. Is that because of the tight production schedule? Based on what Alexander Ludwig is saying, there was not a lot of time to go with the flow. The strict schedule and weather conditions, among other things, made it tricky. Not a lot of time to focus on fan theories.
On the set of Vikings, there was not a lot of ability for Alexander Ludwig to try different takes on the King of Kattegat. When it came to Bad Boys for Life, there was more freedom for things to naturally unfurl. That does not mean everything improvised made the final cut, though. Ludwig said:
The extra time to let the scenes come together proved to be a dream for Alexander Ludwig. Time is not an element that Vikings gave him a lot of. Hence, Ludwig’s gratitude for having the ability to explore. Interestingly, Ludwig shares that only 10% of improv actually makes it into the final cut.
CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER
Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News
Alexander Ludwig clearly appreciates what his experience on Vikings and Bad Boys for Life gave to him. While he continues to pursue feature film work, he has more TV in his future. The actor has signed on to co-star with Arrow’s Stephen Amell in the upcoming wrestling drama, Heels.
Bad Boys for Life is now in theaters! New episodes of Vikings air Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on History. The historical drama has been one of the shows airing new this winter.
Like a contented Hallmark movie character, Britt happily lives in the same city she grew up in. Along with movies and television, she is passionate about competitive figure skating. She has been writing about entertainment for 5 years, and as you may suspect, still finds it as entertaining to do as when she began.