Alexander Skarsgard, who stars in Harry Lighton’s debut Pillion, said he is not put off by projects from “inexperienced” filmmakers. 

“Not for a second did I hesitate or feel that it was it was a gamble to work with an inexperienced filmmaker,” Skarsgard told Screen International, noting that Pillion’s screenplay, also written by Lighton, first piqued his interest. “To me, it was incredibly exciting to work with a young filmmaker who was so enthusiastic and excited to tell this story.”

Skarsgard stars as a mysterious biker who forms a BDSM relationship with a timid gay man, played by Harry Melling. Pillion premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard, where it won the screenplay award, and is nominated for 10 Bifa awards this Sunday (November 30). 

Melling recalled the first time the duo met, moments before they were set to film an intimate wrestling scene. “We shook hands and we literally got to it,” the UK actor revealed. “It wasn’t long conversations around backstory and who these people were, it was just jumping in and seeing what happened in the moment.

“In a way, it was the best way of entering this relationship [between] Colin and Ray.”

“Sex scenes are often quite boring”

The actors worked with intimacy coordinator Robbie Taylor Hunt, whose previous credits include Prime Video’s gay romance Red, White & Royal Blue.

“For me, it wasn’t about feeling comfortable with [Melling] or [Lighton] or being unsure about what we were trying to achieve,” Skarsgard explained of the experience. “It was more about having a narrative in those scenes. 

“Sex scenes are often quite boring on screen because there’s a lot of drama and tension and build up to the moment of like ‘oh are they going to jump into bed together?” he continued. “But then the drama is almost gone.”

Melling added that Hunt was “instrumental” in shaping the emotions and narrative of the sex scenes in Pillion. “It wasn’t like a pause for a sexy moment, it was such an important beat of storytelling and Robbie was instrumental in refining that for us,” he said.

Pillion was produced by Element Pictures’ Emma Norton, Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe with Lee Groombridge, with financing from BBC Film and BFI, in association with Fremantle, Picturehouse Entertainment and September Film. Picturehouse Entertainment releases the film in the UK and Ireland this Friday (November 28). 

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