Alexander Skarsgård makes it clear whether he came out as bisexual
Alexander Skarsgard addresses comments he made about his sexuality while promoting his new BDSM film, Passenger.
Skarsgård, 49, was asked at the 2025 Zurich Film Festival what he brought from his own life to the upcoming film, which follows the timid Colin (Henry Melling) as he meets confident biker Ray (Skarsgård), who initiates him into a submissive relationship.
“I mean, I do have a child, but what I’ve done in the past, who I’ve been with, men, women…,” Skarsgård explained at the time. “What was important to me was that this felt like an opportunity to tell a story about a subculture that I had not seen depicted in this way before – with so much authenticity.”
Some fans took the actor’s statement as confirmation of his supposed bisexuality. However, when asked in an interview with Variety Published on Tuesday, January 20, Skarsgård clarified that he was merely trying to de-center his own personal experience when explaining the film’s premise.
“Oh. That it resonated with my past? It was absolutely not the intention,” says the Big little lies star told the outlet when asked about his previous comments. “I don’t know what I was talking about. Maybe it has to do with – there’s a lot of focus on me as an actor sometimes. Maybe it was trying to shift the focus more to the story and these characters. And the importance of telling the story this way.”
This isn’t the first time Skarsgård has made headlines with his comments about the film. The Real Blood alum previously opened up about why he was “excited” to film Pillion’s graphic sex scenes with his co-star Melling, noting that the film deviates from the typical construction of what intimate moments on screen often look like.
“I was excited because [the sex scenes] are interesting [in Pillion]”, he said The Hollywood Reporter in September 2025. “And that’s quite rare. Most of the sex scenes on screen are quite boring and sanitized.”
Skarsgård added that the sex scenes don’t shy away from the “awkwardness” of many intimate situations, which he appreciated.
“We really delved into the authenticity, the awkwardness of sex, which I thought was really funny and sweet,” he explained. “It’s quite rare to have a sex scene that actually goes through an emotional journey. Things happen, and it’s erotic and sexy, but then it’s awkward and then it’s funny. I think [director Harry Lighton] has given us a lot of confidence. We just felt very comfortable. There was no fear. On the contrary. We were excited to jump in.”
When asked if sex scenes were deemed too explicit for Pillion’s final version, Skarsgård said with a laugh: “Oh yes, we saved some extra scenes for the special Christmas edition, a triple X version for the kids.”
Pillion is based on the author Adam Mars-Jones’ 2020 Fitzcarraldo Editions novel award-winning novel Box Hill. The book was also shortlisted by the Royal Society of Literature as one of the best British novels of 2021.
Alexander Skarsgård revealed that he gets “quite turned on” when shooting “graphic” sex scenes. The Big Little Lies alumnus, 49, and costar Harry Melling have several intimate scenes in their critically acclaimed romantic drama Pillion, which chronicles a BDSM relationship between a motorcycle gang leader (Skarsgård) and a shy young man (Melling) who lives with his terminally ill husband. […]
In the months he spent promoting the film, Skarsgård was praised for his methodical fashion choices, often appearing on red carpets in bondage-themed attire. While you’re talking to Variety On Monday, he admitted that clothing isn’t his usual strong suit, but something he’s been playing with lately.
“I never buy clothes. If you see my closet, my wardrobe is very limited,” he admitted. “I’m not a big fashion consumer. I don’t spend money on expensive brands. I really enjoy the creativity of it, but it’s not like I’m shopping for these outfits. I think it’s something I’ve started paying more attention to lately.”
Passenger will be released in theaters on February 6.
