Alexander Skarsgard in June/July Issue of Interview Magazine 2011-05-31 11:09:28

Alexander Skarsgard steamed up the pages of Interview's June/July issue with a sexy, suggestive photo shoot alongside a topless model. The actor, who also posed for GQ's latest cover, will return to the small screen June 26 in True Blood's fourth season premiere. In the magazine, Alexander opened up to Arcade Fire's lead singer Win Butler about the love he feels for his fans and why he has no problem facing failure. Alexander doesn't have much falling short to worry about lately, though, with his small-screen success now affecting his movie career. His new film Melancholia was a critical hit at the Cannes Film Festival and the upcoming Straw Dogs remake hits theaters this Fall. He met his girlfriend, Kate Bosworth, on the latter shoot, but didn't discuss their relationship in the issue. Alexander Skarsgard said in Interview:

• On why he's not tired of True Blood: "I still love it. I was nervous when I first started True Blood because if you do a play or a movie, you know the complete arc of the character. You can see the end. But with a show like True Blood, you don't know what's going to happen. I didn't know how it would be to live with a character for years, because I've never experienced that before. What happens if you wake up after two years, and you're like, 'Oh, God. I'm over this guy?' But the writing is so good, and they keep surprising me."
• On why he's not afraid to fail: "Failure is awesome. There's a Beckett quote, where he said, 'Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail better.' I love that quote. I think that's what it's all about. Failure is definitely underrated. Just fail again. Fail better."
• On why he loves his fans: "I think that meeting fans who feel like they know you and they know everything about you is actually very flattering. It means a lot to know that what you're doing actually means something to someone. But the thing that I feel to be a problem potentially is that you become that character, that in the industry, people associate it too closely with who you are and what you can do. I do get a lot of scripts sent to me where they basically want me to play Eric from True Blood, but just a different name in a different movie."

Photos courtesy Steven Klein for Interview