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The Northman director Robert Eggers has revealed some surprising information about the Viking epic's finale.
In the film's final battle, Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård) and his uncle Fjölnir (Claes Bang) face off against each other sans clothes, in full Viking berserker mode. However, despite what appears to be full-frontal nudity in the scene from the two male leads, there are no real testicles on display.
"The berserker warriors, who are bear warriors, and the Ulfheonar, they're wolf warriors – their nudity is scary to people," Eggers told EW. "Other Vikings wear armor. They are naked to show their ferocity, their invincibility. This naked sword fight is at the gates of hell and is this full circle of this revenge. The duel itself is a ritual and the ferocity of the nudity is, again, this elemental thing that I wanted."
The two actors were not fully naked – Eggers revealed that they were wearing G-strings. "We had to put in some CG testicles every now and again to finish the illusion of full nudity," he added.
Alongside Skarsgård and Bang, the movie also stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Willem Dafoe, Ethan Hawke, and Björk. As well as directing, Eggers co-wrote the movie with Icelandic writer Sjón. This is the filmmaker's third feature film – he previously directed 2016's The Witch and 2019's The Lighthouse.
The Northman is in cinemas now. If you've already seen it, check out our list of the upcoming movies that we think should be on your radar in 2022 and beyond.
