Alexander Skarsgård is responding to speculation about his sexuality.

The Big Little Lies actor can next be seen in Pillion, in which he plays a biker gang member who begins a BDSM relationship with a shy young man (Harry Melling). While promoting the film at the Zurich Film Festival in the fall, Skarsgård’s choice of words — which included a reference to Pillion having some connection to “what I’ve done in the past” — led to online conjecture about his sexual orientation.

Now, the True Blood actor is clarifying those comments. “That it resonated with my past? It was definitely not an intended statement,” Skarsgård told Variety. “I don’t know what I was talking about. Maybe it has to do with — there’s a lot of focus sometimes on me as an actor. Maybe it was trying to shift the focus more to the story and these characters. And the importance of telling the story like this.”

Alexander Skarsgård in London on Nov. 28, 2025.

Jeff Spicer/Getty

Skarsgård’s original comments about Pillion in Zurich elicited some confusion about his sexual history.

“I found that in this case, it’s not really relevant what my background is. I mean, I do have a kid, but what I’ve done in the past, who I’ve been with, men, women,” the actor said at the festival. “To me, what was important was that this felt like an opportunity to tell a story about a subculture I hadn’t seen portrayed this way — with so much authenticity.”

Skarsgård told Variety that he cherished traveling the world during his early career. Before “I lived on the road,” he said. “I love that aspect of the industry — you’re a traveling circus.”

However, the Northman star now shares a child with actress Tuva Novotny, and said that he’s adjusted his lifestyle for his family’s sake. “Now, I need to balance that with family life and making sure I can be present for my kid,” he said. “I can’t be as selfish and narcissistic as I was before.”

Skarsgård previously spoke with Entertainment Weekly about what attracted him to Pillion.

Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård in ‘Pillion’.

A24

“Sometimes you’re too respectful and it’s too sanitized or it’s like the Cruising version of the film where it’s the dark subculture, but it’s dangerous and it’s a threat,” he said. “This was so beautiful ’cause it felt so warm, sexy, funny, awkward, and weird.”

The actor said that he wants Pillion’s audience to share the curiosity that he felt while first reading the screenplay for the film.

“I hope that they’ll walk away feeling the way I felt when I was reading the script,” he said. “I really cared about all these characters. I felt with them and for them, and I was invested in their journey.”

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Pillion hits theaters on Feb. 6.