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Alexander Dreymon down for more of The Last Kingdom

Vikings isn’t the only epic history hit, and Last Kingdom’s star is ready for a fight.


With The Last Kingdom having just completed its second-season run in the UK, star Alexander Dreymon is waiting to hear if his show will be renewed.

With each season of the historical saga comprising 2 books from the 10 book series The Saxon Stories, there’s plenty of room for more and Dreymon is in for the long haul.

“I really enjoy working with the crew in Hungary, so as long as we can keep those guys, I’m game for however like it takes,” he told TV Tonight.

“They’re so professional, completely kind and hard-working. I’ve made a lot of friends there.
“If we go back into production it will be in November.”

Dreymon plays Uhtred of Bebbanburg, the orphaned boy wishing to reclaim his birthright. Set against the backdrop of the history of King Alfred the Great, it is full of action, redemption, vengeance, and self-discovery.

“It’s based on a series of books by Bernard Cornwell, so it’s about the creation of England more than the Viking side. It’s about the conflict between the Vikings & Saxons, Pagans & Christians. So it’s based on historical fact. Uhtred is a fictional character and it’s told through his eyes. But all the battles you see, all the kings and lords that you meet are historical figures.”

But comparisons with Vikings are obvious.

The Last Kingdom pretty much kicks off where Vikings ends, in terms of timeline,” Dreymon explains.

Vikings is a really cool show but I haven’t watched that much of it. You don’t want to steal anything from the show or keep yourself from doing anything that you might have seen in that show.”So I try not to watch it even though I’m sure I would enjoy it.”Yet The Last Kingdom has it’s own fans, through BBC Two and Netflix in other territories. Dreymon is lucky he has managed to keep some anonymity.

“I’m quite lucky that I don’t sport the same look, so I can stay quite private,” he explains.

“Since it’s based on Bernard Cornwell’s books and there are quite a few people who are hardcore fans. It’s not always easy to satisfy everybody because you can’t put everything from the books in the series, which is difficult to stomach even for me. I’m a fan of the books too.”

While avoiding fervent fans is one thing, the show itself has its share of challenges, from action scenes to weather and personal health.”The cold is a challenge for sure, not so much in the second season because we shot in the summer. But the first season there were some very cold moments,” Dreymon admits.

“During the third and fourth episode I had a broken foot. Normally I keep myself warm by running up hills or jumping up and down, so I had to stay pretty just immobile.”I really enjoy the action so it’s not daunting. We have a brilliant stunt team surrounding us.”In the second season having given his sword to King Alfred, Uhtred embarks on his voyage north to reclaim his own fate: to avenge Earl Ragnar’s death and recapture his ancestral lands of Bebbanburg.

“We have a lot more characters so it feels more epic. There are more storylines and a larger scale. Uhtred tested quite a bit. He goes through a few ordeals, which should be fun to see.”

The Last Kingdom
screens on Netflix and Season 2 is now available on DVD.

2 Responses

  1. I wish there was a little more advertising here in the USA. I literaly have not seen one commercial or print ad about this show. I constantly comment on Face book but it is hard when no one has heard of it. Is there anyway that I could write to the powers to be about how well the show is liked and a few suggestions? I doubt they would listen to me but you never know. I will say that I absolutely cannot stop watching the show and cannot beleive that I may have to wait another year at least for another season if at all. I also wish they would do a more traditional season if 10 to 13 episodes.

    Anyway,I have complained a lot thanks for listening.

  2. I’m not sure what ratings the BBC requires to authorise a new season of ‘The Last Kingdom’ but I would suggest that with a cashed up Netflix having the show as a popular choice in it’s program list it has a good chance of renewal. We will have to see whether the BBC in conjunction with Netflix will maintain the current number of episodes, a limited episode season may indicate a finishing up process.

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