HOW MUCH IS A PINT OF MILK?

ALEXANDER SKARSGARD Me Tarzan, you semi-skimmed

Who’s the most famous person in your phonebook?

My father [Stellan Skarsgård].

What’s your favourite word in the English language?

Hippopotamus. In Swedish it’s “svin”, which means hog. It just feels good to say it.

What’s the worst thing you’ve put into your mouth?

Probably a goat’s-brain stew in a restaurant in South Africa. I consider myself quite adventurous and when I travel I like to try the local specialties, but this wasn’t delicious. It was a grey slop. I’ve tried worms, ants and crickets, which I quite enjoyed, but goat’s brains weren’t for me.

Who was your first movie crush?

Jessica Lange in Tootsie, and I was very, very young. It was not only my first movie crush, it was my first crush. I remember it vividly. I felt very strange and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Have I met her? No.

What’s your karaoke song of choice?

I tried The Final Countdown once, because I thought it was a good sing-along song, but I hadn’t realised how difficult it was to sing until it was too late. It’s easy to sing the [breaks into

song] “It’s the final countdown!” bit, but the chorus is incredibly high-pitched. There was a great vibe in the room for the intro, but it all went downhill. I completely butchered it!

What character were you in your first school play?

I was a knight that got turned into a tree by a witch. She cast a spell on me in the first scene of the play and I stayed on stage for the duration. I got three minutes of acting and the rest of it I was petrified wood. The princess slayed the dragon in the final scene and released me from the spell, so it was very progressive. My parents loved it. I was hooked for life.

How much is a pint of milk?

I’m guessing $1.75. I buy half-gallons of milk, which is usually about four bucks.

What one thing are you better at than anyone else you know?

I’m kinda mediocre at most things, to be honest. As a teenager I tried to find something else to do because I didn’t want to follow in my father’s footsteps, but I couldn’t find anything I was good at. I thought, “Ah shit, I’ll be an actor.”

On a scale of one to ten how hairy is your ass?

Eleven. I just played Tarzan. Why do you think they called him the Ape Man?

Do you have any tattoos?

I have one. When I was in my twenties, my much younger brother doodled a bird on my calf with a green marker. I took a picture of it and a year later had it done as a tattoo. I hadn’t seen him for three or four months and was very excited to go home to Stockholm and show him it. I thought it would be this really emotional moment, but when I rolled up my trouser leg to show him it, he just stared at it and said, “What the fuck is that?” He was not impressed at all.

Do you have a signature dish?

I like to cook stews. Coq au vin or beef bourguignon — those stews that take hours.

When have you been the most starstruck?

It’s when I meet the players of my football team, Hammarby. Meeting actors or musicians doesn’t phase me; it’s the 22-year-old kid who plays for my shitty team that turns me into a real fangirl. I’m in awe. I still go to Hammarby whenever I’m in Stockholm and sing along. It’s like therapy.