The Other Vikings Character Alexander Ludwig Would Have Wanted To Play
Being at the center of some of the most critical moments of Viking history means that there's never really a dull day to be a mead-guzzling, British Isle invading pirate. Such were the perks provided to Alexander Ludwig when he took on the role of Bjorn Ironside in History's "Vikings." The eldest son of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) found himself in all manner of confrontations and noble efforts on the hit television show, allowing Ludwig to deliver an impressive performance across the 67 episodes he appeared in (via IMDb).
With that said, though, looking back on the series that provided a career-defining role, did his inner Viking hungry for riches ever take over, and was there any other part on the show that he would've killed to have instead of the one he landed? "Vikings" was rife with interesting characters that any actor would dream of tackling over the show's runtime. Still, there was one, in particular, Ludwig considered a dream role.
Ludwig always knew Ivar the Boneless was something special
During a chat with Winter Is Coming near the show's final season, Ludwig was asked which alternative role in the hit sword-and-shield-smashing show was one he'd definitely go for given a chance. Acknowledging that the impressive cast had all played their part in making roles their own, Ludwig saw the character of Ivar the Boneless as a great character to work on for whoever was fortunate to get it.
Holding his hands up to the villainous role that ended up going to Alex Høgh Andersen, Ludwig recalled that "when Ivar was first written I remember telling Michael whatever actor ends up getting this role it is such a tremendous opportunity." Though as meaty and occasionally maniacal as Ivar may have been, Ludwig still showed love for the character he'd breathed life into for an impressive six years. "I had the opportunity that no other actor on that show had, which was to show the arc from basically the inception of the character until the end. No other actor got that, and that's the great gift of playing Bjorn."