Sat Oct 04 09:40:00 UTC 2025: **News Article: Alexander Skarsgård Champions Authenticity in Gay Biker Film “Pillion”**

**Zurich, Switzerland** – Alexander Skarsgård is enthusiastic about his role in “Pillion,” a new film directed by Harry Lighton that explores a dominant/submissive relationship within a gay biker subculture. The film stars Harry Melling (“Harry Potter”) as Colin, a young man who becomes entangled with Ray (Skarsgård), the charismatic leader of a biker gang.

Speaking at the Zurich Film Festival, Skarsgård emphasized the importance of authenticity in portraying this world. “I wanted to tell a story about a subculture I hadn’t seen portrayed this way,” he said, contrasting the film’s approach with depictions he found stereotypical, such as the “dark” and “scary” portrayal in films like “Cruising.”

The film employed Robbie Taylor Hunt as an intimacy coordinator, but Skarsgård noted the comfort level on set allowed the scenes to be more about a dramatic narrative than solely about physical acts. “We wanted it to be clumsy and weird…sex can be awkward and funny.”

Skarsgård praised director Harry Lighton’s approach, saying he “embraced the awkwardness” and ensured the sex scenes weren’t gratuitous. He appreciated that Lighton “didn’t put on silk gloves to tell this story.”

Attracted to the film’s original premise, described as “wallflower Colin meets Ray from a kinky gay biker gang, and this is the beginning of a strange, odd, beautiful love story,” Skarsgård embraced the enigmatic nature of his character, Ray. He also drew comparison to intimate scenes with Nicole Kidman in “Big Little Lies”, highlighting how the intimacy in “Pillion” felt more like “throwing themselves in the ring” as opposed to needing to build a trusted relationship like with Kidman.

“Pillion” has been well-received by the Gay Bikers Motorcycle Club (GBMCC) from the U.K., members of whom attended the film’s Cannes screening. Skarsgård described the celebration, which included a joint after-party with a Nigerian film, as “beautiful.” This made the event and the film even more poignant as the Nigerian film had homosexuality as illegal. For Skarsgård, the warm reception from members of the subculture made the experience deeply meaningful.

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