In this Dead Man's Wire series—following Dacre Montgomery's account of playing hostage Richard Hall—Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård discusses his starring role as hostage-taker Tony Kiritsis in Gus Van Sant's film, inspired by the real 1977 Indianapolis crisis. In a Stockholm interview, he reveals how his recent portrayal of Clark Olofsson in Netflix's Clark shaped his intense performance.
Bill Skarsgård meets the journalist atop Stockholm's former PUB department store, now a luxury hotel, to discuss leading Gus Van Sant's Dead Man's Wire. As detailed in our prior coverage, the film recreates Tony Kiritsis's 60-hour ordeal holding mortgage executive Richard Hall at gunpoint via a 'dead man's wire'—a steel cable linking a shotgun trigger to both men's necks and bodies.
Director Van Sant steered Skarsgård away from photorealism despite physical differences. 'Gus wasn't interested in that. Then it felt okay,' Skarsgård says. The 19-day shoot used handheld cameras and long takes; he immersed himself in Kiritsis's real audio tapes to capture the man's raw energy.
Skarsgård drew direct parallels to his Clark Olofsson role: 'Clark had star power; Tony was never really heard. But Clark helped me unlock this.' Kiritsis was acquitted by reason of insanity and died more than two decades ago.
Post-wrap, Skarsgård headed to Northern Ireland for Little John in The Death of Robin Hood, opposite Hugh Jackman as a gritty iteration of the outlaw. He praises Van Sant as a 'master' and highlights the film's powerhouse ensemble, including Al Pacino and Colman Domingo.
