The other day, I said that The Legend of Tarzan was probably going to be a gigantic hit because I have a bad box-office-picker and I think the film looks like a steaming pile of garbage. Guess what though? I think the general critical consensus is that the film is no bueno. Rotten Tomatoes has it at hovering around 32-33%, and some of the reviews are flat-out ghastly. Still, I bet people do see the film, mostly because it’s PG-13 and I bet parents will take their tweens to see it or whatever. Family-ish film. Anyway, Alexander Skarsgard is still hustling for Tarzan, and he covers the new issue of Mr. Porter. If I was the studio publicist, I would have aimed for a more mass-market magazine? Like, GQ, Esquire, Men’s Journal, Men’s Fitness, etc. But sure, Mr. Porter it is. You can see the full piece here, and here are some highlights:

Growing up in an artistic hippie community: “It was an incredible childhood, it really was. No one ever locked the doors. We didn’t even have keys. My cousins were in the apartment above us, so the kids would just run up and down. And Grandma and Grandpa lived across the street. My dad is a very social guy. He loves to cook. We always ate together as a family every night.”

His father left his mother for a younger woman, but everything was fine: Even after his parents divorced and his father married someone much younger with whom he has two more sons (that’s seven sons and one daughter – are you keeping up?), they remained best friends. So much so that they still dine together as a large and loud extended family most evenings and even bought holiday homes 200 yards away from each other. “It’s very unusual. I’m very aware of that and how lucky we are. Almost all my siblings live within a four-block radius and every night my dad will cook for whoever swings by. There’s a big dinner party almost every night of the week.”

Why he joined the Swedish military: “I grew up in a very Bohemian hippy-dippy environment,” he says. His entire family are artists and pacifists – wine-drinking, pot-smoking people who hate the idea of the military. “Maybe, age 19, [signing up] was a reaction to that. I wasn’t going to get sent to a war zone. In Sweden, our last war was 200 years ago, so it was more of a personal challenge. Obviously if you enlist here in the States, it’s a different conversation.”

His 2014 South Pole trek to the South Pole with Prince Harry: “He’s an incredible storyteller, so I think he’d be a very good actor.”

He’s more of a city guy: “I’m definitely a city guy, but I love the contrast, to get away for a complete break, with no phone. That recharges my batteries.”

Turning 40: “Yeah. I’m not married, I don’t have kids… I feel OK about it. No midlife crisis yet.”

[From Mr. Porter]

This feels like the third interview I’ve read with Alex in just the past month where he’s been saying the exact same things. I think that’s one of the problems that The Legend of Tarzan faces too: the lack of off-screen charisma from the leading man. Don’t get me wrong, I like Alex a lot, and I think he’s an interesting, woke, liberal guy and a wonderful ally to many groups. But that doesn’t come across in these middle-of-the-road interviews. He’s promoting a big-budget family film, so no one asks him about how he’s friends with tons of drag queens or how he feels about American politics. Mr. Porter does note that Alex signed a three-picture deal for Tarzan, meaning that if the film is a hit, he’s on the hook for two more Tarzan movies. So if it is a hit, we can expect more flavorless Skarsgard for years to come.

Photos courtesy of Mr. Porter.