Are Alexander Dreymon And Arnas Fedaravičius From The Last Kingdom Friends In Real Life?
"The Last Kingdom" had a pretty solid run across its 46 episodes. Airing on BBC Two for the first 2 seasons, the show was picked up by Netflix for the remainder of the series. Now, as the show has wrapped up its fifth and final season, its massive ensemble cast will soon be moving on from the action-packed historical epic.
Based on "The Saxon Stories" book series by Bernard Cornwell, "The Last Kingdom" follows the conflict between the Saxon and Viking forces as the latter continue to invade and conquer much of England. Each season covers two of the ten novels of Cornwell's series, with the fifth season and an upcoming movie, "Seven Kings Must Die," ending the story once and for all.
Arnas Fedaravičius and Alexander Dreymon play Sihtric and Uhtred in the series, a couple of unlikely friends who become bonded through war and blood. With this in mind, some fans might be wondering if the actors who play these characters have a real-life friendship that mirrors that of their onscreen counterparts.
The actors behind the Saxons became fast friends
Arnas Fedaravičius sat down with Winter is Coming to talk about his character, bastard-turned-warrior Sihtric, and the friendships he's formed while working on "The Last Kingdom." Though Alexander Dreymon has previously discussed how tight-knit he is with Fedaravičius (via Stack), the actor behind Sihtric offered his own thoughts here by talking about his friendship with Dreymon and other cast members. "I feel like, we didn't really intend it that way in season 2, but then as soon as we met up and were introduced to each other, we became really close friends, really fast," Fedaravičius recalled. "We started spending so much time together off-screen, working out, having dinners, helping each other with tapes. Just lots and lots of time together. And bit by bit, we started realizing that's what gives life to the show," the actor concluded.
Fedaravičius is right about that. Anyone who has watched "The Last Kingdom" will note the authenticity that accompanies the comradery between the warriors in the series. Furthermore, the chemistry between the characters helps make the world and its denizens feel more authentic and nuanced.
"I think it's a blessing to work with actors that are so open. Some of us have a hundred ideas a day; Mark [Rowley] has a hundred ideas a day," Fedaravičius said of his co-star. "Not all of his ideas can land, but we're so open to them that it just creates this space, so I'm happy to hear the chemistry play out," he finished. Though the series has come to an end, it sounds like many members of the cast of "The Last Kingdom" have developed friendships that will continue to bond them outside of the world of the show that they worked on together for so many years.