PARK CITY, UTAH – Alexander Skarsgård has noticed a difference between the men and women's coming-of-age tales on screen, particularly when it comes to sex. And that's what the “True Blood” actor found refreshing about his latest “Diary of a Teenage Girl.”
The actor was on hand to walk the red carpet for the premiere of the Sundance film, alongside co-stars Kristen Wiig and Bel Powley, plus director Marielle Heller. He said it was because of the graphic novel and Heller's adaptation that he was turned onto the project, about a 15-year-old girl (Powley) growing up in San Francisco in the '70s who has an affair with her mother's boyfriend.
“There's been tons and tons of coming-of-age stories, but I've never read a book or seen a film about a young girl that is so real, and not sentimental, and it's not judgemental,” Skarsgård said, calling diary “unique.” “It's actually a girl that's allowed to think about sex. You see that with boys a lot in films, but when it comes to girls, they're always portrayed as they're waiting for that prince to come and save them.
“I thought it was real refreshing when I read the script. When i met mari, how raw it was how real it was, and visceral.”
Watch our interview with Skarsgård above. “Diary of a Teenage Girl” plays all week during Sundance.