Alexander Skarsgård is virtually unrecognizable in the first trailer for the upcoming film "Wicker," where he plays the titular Wicker Husband.
The film, slated for release in October, features Skarsgård alongside Olivia Colman, who portrays a Fisherwoman. The trailer depicts her character commissioning a basket maker, played by Peter Dinklage, to weave her a spouse. Skarsgård, 49, told media outlets that playing the Wicker Husband, a role he described as a "dream come true," involved prosthetic nipples made of wicker. "Most male actors dream of playing Hamlet at some point in their career. I never did," Skarsgård quipped. "My dream was always to have nipples made out of wicker."
Directors Eleanor and Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson lauded Skarsgård's performance, noting that "it’s really the marriage of [Skarsgård’s] prosthetic and performance that sells the whole" movie. They described his role as technically and physically challenging, while Colman praised his "breathtaking" portrayal, calling him "funny, intelligent, and beautiful anyway" and stating that he "fills the Wicker Husband with a beautiful soul."
"Wicker" is adapted from Ursula Wills-Jones' 2016 short story of the same name, which also inspired a musical in 2020. The film will premiere in select theaters on October 23, with a wider release the following week. The cast also includes Elizabeth Debicki as the Tailor's Wife. Social media reactions to the trailer have highlighted the unusual concept, with some users commenting on the Skarsgård family's tendency to play unconventional characters and others joking about the practicality of ordering a custom spouse.