Vikingdom: I Am Thor

Vikingdom is filming in Malaysia well because the tropical palm tree laden coastline of Malaysia closely resembles the ice packed fjords of Norway, well they do when you are working with KRU studios in Kuala Lumpur who have a reputation for CGI (computer graphics) and green screen techniques.

Similar to the 300 movie that was shot mainly indoors in Canada yet still had audiences on the edge of their seats as battalions of fantasy Persian troops were pushed back over a cliff into the ocean far below.

Religious Warfare

Vikingdom will also be similar to the 300 movie, and Spartacus in the violence and 'realistic' bloody fight scenes, excepting of course that as Thor, God of warfare and Thunder, that I will have supernatural abilities.

Again I managed to get this role as Thor in Vikingdom without an agents help. How?

Well I had my finger on the pulse. I won't go into details, at this stage it would be unprofessional to do so but I can say that I saw a potential 'opportunity' and approached the Producers with a potential solution.

As it turns out the solution was what was the Producers needed and I found myself winging my way to Malayasia rather quickly for meetings. As of yesterday the final contracts were signed and it is now a done deal, initial 'screen tests' are looking very, very good.

Here is the synopsis from 2010 and the AFM Film Catalog:

“Vikingdom : The Necklace of The Brisings” is the first installment of an epic trilogy based on the ancient Vikings myth and history. Based loosely on actual historical events of 8th-century Europe, the motion picture “Vikingdom” is action-packed with mythical characters, magical moments and dazzling visual-effects sequences that take Malaysia film-making to the next level.

With visual comparisons and production methods akin to blockbuster films such as “300” and “The Lord of The Rings”, “Vikingdom” promises to create a franchise that truly appeals to a wide audience, both regionally and globally.

As to the character Thor: My long held belief is that Thor was in fact an actual person, over time and retellings his achievements became more and more mythical until he was finally held up as a God. This means he must have been a man of extraordinary achievements, drive and ambition and his 'magical' hammer was likely an example of the first copper or iron weapon meeting stone age or bronze age competition - ie it was an advanced weapon at the time that shattered the armours of the day.

Now back to my years and years of previous experience playing Thor.

Back when I was fighting in the Society of Creative Anachronisms I fought and dressed as a Vandal (an east germanic tribe whom the common English term vandalism is derived so you already know the reputation for destruction these peoples had), an early land bourne relative of the Viking. As such I named myself Sigmarsson after the god (modeled on Thor) in the popular Warhammer Role Playing Fantasy game - basically claiming to be the son of Sigmar (or Thor).

I played and fought as this character in real life for my 2 year involvement with the SCA.

So when I was asked by a Producer of Vikingdom if I felt i could play the role of Thor, "the angry God of thunder" I had a small chuckle and said the role was emminently suitable.

And I must say that I have always had trouble memorising lines, except in Vikingdom. I read the script twice and i remembered my initial lines for my 'screen and makeup test', thus displaying that the memorising line troubles I have are just mental blocks that I have put in place and they do not really exist.

Thor is a role that I feel so very very comfortable in that I am sure Vikingdom will launch my career into a sorely needed professional acting direction, away from stunts and stunt work as it's main focus.

Now with a leading role in Bangkok Adrenaline (even if I did write the role in for myself thanks very much), Spartacus (albeit one episode), and now this leading role in Vikingdom I will truly be set on the path that I have desired for so long - leading/starring roles leading to the ultimate goal of starring/leading in a major 'A' grade Hollywood release and all that that entails - Like enough money to put myself on the road to buy an investment property so that my future is somewhat secure after 25 years of trying my guts out as an actor and to quote the movie Romper Stomper "but you live like shit".

Many thanks go out to Creighton Mark Johnson, Dominic Purcell (You'll want to remember that name, you'll be seeing a lot more of him in coming years), Patrick Ewald, Shireen, the Australian stunt team, the Producers and every body else taking part as the "Vikingdom" team for taking me onboard and making this happen.

Vikingdom: look out for it next year.