Alexander Skarsgård on doing drag: ‘I’m a lot of woman’
The actor has opened up about why he attended the début of his new film dressed in full drag, saying he did not want to miss out on “all of the fun”.
Alexander Skarsgård turned heads at the recent première of The Diary of A Teenage Girl, when he showed up on the red carpet in full drag – leaving the world impressed, but also a little confused.
Explaining his reasons for donning the outfit, the True Blood star said he “didn’t want to be excluded from the fun”, as a number of the cast members where also drag artists.
“We had a bunch of drag queen on the crew,” he told BuzzFeed.
“Our first Assistant Director was Cousin Wonderlette; the casting director for the extras was Lady Bear – who is a legendary drag queen in San Francisco; and we had Peaches Christ.
“We had a small group and we all became really close, and you know, dear friends of mine.
“And Mari [Heller, the director] wanted them to host the screening at the Castro and do a number from The Rocky Horror Picture Show before and do a big fun drag queen after-party,” he explained.
“And I just felt, I asked… I didn’t want to be excluded from the fun. So I asked if there was any way I could come in drag, and they were nice enough to say yes.
He also expressed his joy at being welcomed into a drag family, after the concept was explained to him during make-up.
“Mercedez Munro was the drag queen who did all my make up, and at the after-party the drag queens came up and said, ‘Oh, have you met my mother, have you met my daughter?’
“I didn’t quite understand what that meant, but then Mercedez told me, ‘I am now your mother.’ Because whoever does your drag makeup the first time becomes your mother.
“So I now have a drag queen mother.”
Asked about the inspiration for his drag alter-ego, Skarsgård credited the late Charlie’s Angels actress Farrah Fawcett.
“I said I want something glamorous – and they went for it. They made this dress, a wig, and fake tits with really nice nipples, and high-heeled shoes. The whole thing.”
And his drag name? Lady Libido Lushbody.
When his interviewer commented on the length of the name, Skarsgård responded in kind.
“I’m a lot of woman.”
The actor has previously spoken out in support of the LGBT community.
“We have to teach our children, not only by our words but by our actions,” he said, “that every human being has equal value and to bully someone or for society to discriminate against someone because they have a different sexual orientation is unacceptable.”
