Alexander Skarsgard 'excited' to play sadistic villain

Alexander Skarsgard was "excited" to play a sadistic army leader in 'The Kill Team'.

The 'Big Little Lies' star plays the role of Sergeant Deeks, an army leader who leads recruits to kill civilians during the US invasion of Afghanistan, and loved the role because it wasn't a "stereotypical villain".

He told Collider: "I got excited about the play Deeks. I thought it was a really fascinating character that was well written and wasn't the stereotypical villain."

The story follows Andrew Briggman, played by Nat Wolff, a young soldier who is morally conflicted under the direction of Deeks. It is based on the same events that inspired the 2013 documentary of the same name.

Alexander, 43, admits that he did not find it "difficult" to get into the mindset of the character.

He added: "It wasn't that difficult, which I should probably talk to a shrink about. It was more about shaping it and mapping out the trajectory of the manipulation of the young soldiers. That was something I was really excited about working on cause it's almost like a love story with jealousy."

Meanwhile, Alexander will be starring in 'Godzilla vs. Kong', which is set to be released next year.

He admitted that he was looking forward to working with lighter material after playing darker roles in 'Big Little Lies' and 'The Little Drummer Girl'.

Alexander said: "I was ready to play a character with a bit more levity and have a bit more fun in something that was not as dark or intense."

Alexander explained that he would be playing a "reluctant hero", something that interests him.

The 'True Blood' actor said: "What I liked about it that he's a reluctant hero. He's a geologist, who's not tough, or brave, or an ex-Marine, or a cool, strong leader. He's nervous and uncomfortable, and he's thrown into this crazy world he's not equipped to deal with."