Robert Eggers’ ‘Northman’ Terrifies Kidman, Taylor-Joy Says You’ve Never Seen Anything Like It
Zack Sharf
Production on Robert Eggers’ 10th Century Viking epic “The Northman” is continuing through November in Ireland after a months-long production shutdown earlier this year. Cast member Nicole Kidman recently told Collider she’d be heading to the “Northman” set this month to film her scenes. Eggers’ cast also includes Alexander Skarsgård, Willem Dafoe, Ethan Hawke, Björk, and Anya Taylor-Joy. Skarsgård plays a Nordic prince who set outs on a mission of revenge after his father is murdered.
“I’m pretty terrified right now,” Kidman said about starting work on “The Northman. “I sound calm but you shouldn’t see what’s going on inside.”
Kidman will use the fear to her advantage, as she said her best acting comes from jumping into the role and not overthinking it too much in prep. “I would love to say that I do know what I’m doing but a lot of times, I make very spontaneous and rather bold decisions with very little caution or thought,” the actress added. “There’s a lot of abandonment and just going, ‘Okay, I’ll give it a go.'”
For Taylor-Joy, “The Northman” will reunite her with Eggers after “The Witch,” which served as the industry launching pad for both artists. The actress told Collider she’s “over the moon” about working with Eggers again.
“Robert and I have now been friends longer than we have been co-workers,” Taylor-Joy said. “Getting the opportunity to create art together again is amazing. We have both grown so much apart and now we get to grow back together. I am so proud to be a part of this project. Every moment on set I am proud. I think we will be presenting to the world something it genuinely hasn’t seen before. I just feel so humbled I get to be a a part of it.”
When asked if “The Northman” will continue the painstaking attention to historical detail that Eggers showed off in “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse,” Taylor-Joy responded, “It’s Robert Eggers! People showed up the first day of set and I was like, ‘You’re going to be cold, you’re never going to be comfortable, but it’s going to be amazing. That’s just the way it is.'”
Focus Features will release “The Northman” domestically with Universal Pictures distributing internationally. No release date has been set for the film.
