‘Big Little Lies’ Star Alexander Skarsgard Says He’ll ‘Never Get Another Job’ After Playing Perry Wright

“But if you ever need an abusive a–hole, I’m your guy,” actor jokes

Big Little Lies

(SPOILER ALERT: Read at your own risk if you haven’t watched the series finale of “Big Little Lies.”)

“Big Little Lies” star Alexander Skarsgard played abusive husband Perry Wright in the HBO limited series that concluded Sunday night, a role which he believes will be his last.

“I have a feeling this is going to be my last interview ever because after Perry Wright, I’ll never get another job,” he said to Entertainment Weekly. “But, hell, it was worth it.”

Laughing, he added, “I’ll never play leading man, that’s for sure… but if you ever need an abusive a–hole, I’m your guy.”

On the surface, Perry’s relationship with his wife Celeste (Nicole Kidman) is picture-perfect: They have a stunning home and adorable kids, and they seem more in love than anyone else in the city. In private, Perry abuses Celeste to the point where she needs to hide her bruises from her friends and find a new apartment for when she actually decides to leave him.

However, Skarsgard said he never shied away from the terrible and tormented character.

“I’m either drawn to material or I’m not. It’s a visceral reaction,” he said. “There isn’t a strategy to it. I don’t think about what it’s going to do to my career. I always know instinctively if I’m right for something or I’m not. If I’m not intrigued by the character, I shouldn’t do it. In this case, it was easy. The material was so well written. It was such a fascinating character, albeit incredibly, incredibly dark. And I was drawn to him. He wasn’t a one-dimensional bad guy. It was very interesting.”

“Big Little Lies” also starred Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley and Laura Dern. It was directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and written and produced by David E. Kelley, based on the bestselling novel by Liane Moriarty.

Read his entire interview with EW here.

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