Alexander Dreymon thanks fans as The Last Kingdom wraps
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Icelandic actor Eysteinn Sigurðarson is best known for portraying the Viking warlord Sigtryggr in the final two seasons of the wildly popular BBC and Netflix historical drama. After the final season of The Last Kingdom dropped on the streamer in March, Eysteinn recently revealed he wasn’t completely truthful during the audition process for the role.
Eysteinn admitted he falsely claimed he could ride a horse when he first auditioned to play Sigtryggr.
As a key part of the cast of the gruelling medieval drama, Eysteinn often had to ride horseback into battles and on long journeys.
However, The Last Kingdom star revealed he had little to no experience of horseback riding when he originally signed on.
“It’s just been a humbling experience to come on this show,” he first explained.
“When I got this job… I shouldn’t tell this story but I will. When I got this job I did what a lot of actors do.”
The actor was asked about his experience with horses, and Eysteinn didn’t want to admit the truth for fear of missing out on his breakthrough role.
“You beef up your resume, I guess,” he told The Screen Chronicles podcast.
“They asked me, like, ‘How are you with horses? Can you ride horses?’”
“And I told them, ‘Yeah, course, I’m from Iceland. I’m basically a horse person. I love horses, I grew up with horses.’”
Not only was Eysteinn not an expert rider, he actually avoided horses on a day-to-day basis before becoming part of The Last Kingdom.
“When the reality is… I think I might have allergies to horses,” he continued. “I’m terrified of them!”
Thankfully, Eysteinn had the expertise of horse trainers Panka Bálint and Kitty Bakó to help him adjust to the demands of the role.
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Eventually, the Sigtryggr star was just as accomplished a rider as Uhtred of Bebbanburg (Alexander Dreymon) and his fellow The Last Kingdom warriors by the time it came time to shoot the series.
“It was a humbling experience to come on this show,” he added.
“I had done some stagecraft training during my acting school days, but they whupped my a** into shape, and they taught me to do it.
“Like any challenge that you meet in life, if you go into it telling yourself, ‘I can’t do this,’ you’re not going to do it.
“You just have to go in there and be like, ‘F**k yeah, I’m going to be the best fighter here.’”
Sadly, Sigtryggr’s time on the series came to an end in suitably brutal fashion after he’s sentenced to death following an attack on Aethelhelm (Adrian Schiller).
In order to ensure his safe passage to Valhalla, Uhtred mercifully steps in to deliver the final blow at Sigtryggr’s own request.
His death unfortunately means Eysteinn most likely won’t be returning for the upcoming feature film to round out the series, Seven Kings Must Die.
However, there’s no doubt the Icelandic star will be back on screens soon – on horseback or on foot – after his stunning breakout performance as the Nordic warrior.
The Last Kingdom seasons 1-5 are available to stream on Netflix. Seven Kings Must Die will be released in 2023.
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