In the Apple TV+ series “Murderbot,” Alexander Skarsgård plays the title character, a robot-human hybrid Security Unit who’s assigned to guard a group of scientists. The show is based on the best-selling books by Martha Wells.
Murderbot has a bit of snark as well as a bit of neurotic insecurity. Is it fun to do a robot with a funny bone like this?
“Most definitely. When I first got the scripts, I was not familiar with the ‘Murderbot Diaries,’ the series of novellas that Martha Wells wrote. So, when I first heard the title and that it was going to be a sci-fi action adventure, I think I expected a character who would be a bit more badass, a bit more of an archetypal action hero.
“It was so lovely and refreshing when I was introduced to this socially awkward android who would rather watch a space soap opera than to interact with the humans it’s been assigned to protect. It just felt really refreshing and a character that I definitely hadn’t read or seen before, so that got me quite excited about it.”
Murderbot is mostly machine metal but also has human tissue. It’s a security-guard robot, but early in episode one, you as Murderbot figure out how to override the programming that made you. What happens next?
“Well, it has all these grand plans of going on an epic adventure, and it takes the name Murderbot because it thinks it sounds cool, but then it realizes that if it just takes off, the company that owns it will know that it’s gone rogue and they would just hunt it down and scrap it for metal basically.
“So, it has to find the right moment to take off, and meanwhile, it’s been assigned to protect a group of scientists. These guys are space hippies, humans that are very different from the humans that Murderbot is used to protecting. They’re very tactile and want to hug Murderbot, they invite it into the communal area of the space station. This is all very disturbing to Murderbot… It’s kind of stuck in this place with these humans … initially it’s very, very awkward, but then slowly it reluctantly starts to form an attachment to these space hippies.”
At a certain point, your character Murderbot takes off its metallic shell, and we see you, the human or the apparent human kind of skin that looks like a human underneath. Why is that important?
“The reason the security units have organic components is to make them more relatable to the humans that they are made to protect. And also, if someone goes rogue, they have unique features so they can be easily hunted down and found.
“Murderbot is incredibly uncomfortable taking off its helmet or taking off its armor because humans don’t ask a security unit to show its face. But it also can’t say no when Mensa, for example, the leader of the expedition, she keeps asking Murderbot to lower the helmet, to show its face, but it’s something Murderbot is definitely not comfortable doing.
And it’s funny watching you play Murderbot when the helmet is off, and we can see your face and you hate eye contact. And here’s the thing, Alexander Skarsgård, you have played hunks on TV shows before. In “True Blood,” you’re this seductive vampire. In “Big Little Lies,” you’re a successful, but also abusive husband. You kind of had to dial down the masculine appeal for this show. Did you enjoy doing it?
“I loved the character from when I started reading the scripts and then I read ‘All Systems Red,’ the novella this first season is based on.
“I was coming off a couple of darker characters, darker projects like ‘The Northman’ and ‘Infinity Pool,’ so I think I was just ready for a palate cleanser, a project that was tonally different and a character that wasn’t as testosterone filled as the Viking berserker in ‘The Northman.’ It was very, very exciting to play someone who was incredibly socially awkward and wasn’t filled with testosterone and adrenaline.”
Unlike the “Murderbot” books, the miracle of TV lets us see your character binge-watching its favorite show. What is the point of that, do you think?
“When Murderbot gained autonomy, free will, it was also able to tap into the company’s entertainment channels, basically the satellites. So, it suddenly realized that it could tap into thousands and thousands of hours of entertainment.
“Which it definitely did and started to plan its great adventures but started procrastinating and it got addicted to these space soap operas, and one in particular called ‘The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon’ which is very, very over the top and very melodramatic, but, but juicy and delicious, and Murderbot loves it.
“And I think in a way, the show [‘The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon’] serves two purposes for Murderbot. One is as pure entertainment. It’s a great way to pass the time when you’re [doing] a really boring job like Murderbot does that it’s not very excited about. But it’s also a way for Murderbot to learn about itself and about humanity, but from a safe distance because again, it’s very uncomfortable dealing with humans in real life, but this is a way to watch heightened human relationships, emotions and learn and study anthropologically, but then just turn [the show] off when it gets too sappy or fast forward if it’s a love scene because anything physical is uncomfortable to Murderbot.
“But I do think, probably more subconsciously… I think it is a way for Murderbot to learn about the humanity within itself by watching this heightened soap opera.”
Murderbot is part comedy, part sci-fi thriller. Does it have you asking yourself questions about artificial intelligence, our digital age and where it’s going?
“Yeah, and I find myself kind of oscillating between moments where I am inspired by the potential of AI and artificial super intelligence and the possibilities of it, but also quite terrified of what the future might hold if we don’t successfully regulate it cause if sometimes it feels a little bit that like there’s an arms race now to kind of develop it.
“Because I’m not sure it’s going to be as pleasant as in the case of Murderbot when this Android gains autonomy, free will, and it’s just very passive and watches the space soap opera and doesn’t really cause any trouble. I don’t think we should really bet on that outcome.”
____
Emiko Tamagawa produced and edited this interview for broadcast with James Perkins Mastromarino. Tamagawa also adapted it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2025 WBUR
