Alex Skarsgard on his drag look: ‘Some of my dear friends are drag queens’

As we covered earlier this week, Alexander Skarsgard brought his drag game to the San Francisco premiere of The Diary of a Teenage Girl. Some famous local drag queens appeared in the film and attended the premiere too, so it seemed like Alex didn’t want to be left out. I know some of you feel like Alex shouldn’t be praised for simply showing up for feminism and sex-positive politics, but I do feel like he’s a truly progressive breath of fresh air. Alex chatted with Us Weekly about his decision to go full-drag at the premiere and his whole attitude is very positive. It makes me happy.

Golden goddess! When Alexander Skarsgard arrived at the San Francisco premiere of his latest flick, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, on Aug. 3, he certainly made a lasting impression. The True Blood alum walked the red carpet in a glitzy gold gown and towering heels, complete with voluminous blonde hair and a full face of makeup. Although he was previously mum about his motivation behind his glam style, Skarsgard, 38, reveals it was all about fun.

“Some of my dear friends are drag queens and they were hosting the screening, so I just felt like, ‘If we’re gonna do this, let’s go big or go home!'” Skarsgard told Us Weekly at an NYC screening of The Diary of a Teenage Girl on Wednesday, Aug. 5. “I knew what I wanted [for this look]. I had a vision,” Skarsgard—who also revealed that he couldn’t have completed the persona without a makeup artist—told Us. “I wanted to go full-on Farrah Fawcett!”

But Skarsgard, who plays Kristen Wiig’s boyfriend who has an affair with her teen daughter in the film, freely admits that the look was not as easy to pull off as his regular attire. “It was not comfortable, I’ll tell you that!” the star said. “The shoes, the hair, everything. It was incredibly painful.”

When asked, despite the uncomfortable stilettos, whether or not he’d don the look again, he told Us, “Yeah, absolutely!”

[From Us Weekly]

There’s a larger discussion happening around trans issues, sexual agency in art and life, celebrity culture, sexuality and the culture of consent and sex-positive culture. I think Alex is right there and he should be applauded for it. He’s showing pop culture what it looks like to be a straight man who is comfortable enough to self-identify as a feminist, to have close friends who are drag queens, to have close LGBTQ friends and more. He didn’t dress up in drag as a joke – he dressed up in drag because he wanted to look beautiful, like Farrah Fawcett.

Photos courtesy of Getty.

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21 Responses to “Alex Skarsgard on his drag look: ‘Some of my dear friends are drag queens’”

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  1. Little Darling says:

    Yum. This man is the stuff of legends.

    (Snarky note I can’t believe he stayed with the Bos for so long!)

  2. Sullivan says:

    He looks a bit like Laura Dern.

  3. Lana says:

    I was definitely nervous for him to promote this movie, considering his character is a grown man having a sexual relationship with a teenager. And the way other male (and female) celebs have been making asses of themselves lately, I was worried. But everything he’s said so far has been completely on point. I love him.

    • Lori says:

      This is what I was thinking too. Really a great way for him to distance himself from the character he was playing.

  4. Lucy2 says:

    I saw a photo of the heels he was wearing. Between those and the hair he must’ve easily broke 7 feet!
    I love it they all dressed up for the SF premiere and had fun. Really looking forward to seeing the film, it got raves at Sundance.

  5. Deb says:

    I kind of love him now, for this. 🙂

  6. mom2two says:

    I think it just shows how confident Alex is in himself. You can bet no other male actor would do that on a red carpet. He was having fun. I don’t know if this movie will be a hit but he’s been great promoting it.

  7. Astrid says:

    Team Skars!

  8. Lucy says:

    Boyfriend goals. That is all.

  9. INeedANap says:

    I appreciate that he went Full Drag, rather than just throw on a sloppy dress. RuPaul would have critiques, but she would take him seriously.

  10. Ankhel says:

    Kaiser, stop putting up these photos. Really. Pretty please. I’m confused in my feelings, and refuse to entertain any more fantasies involving gilded vikings in gowns. They were … very nice, but still. Thanks!

  11. lolavie says:

    Cool.

  12. Minx says:

    He is absolutely wonderful, and I can’t wait to see Diary. That is all.

  13. Beth No. 2 says:

    He looks fab.

  14. Fluffy says:

    I had a sex dream after seeing these pictures.

    No shame.

  15. Cricket says:

    I wonder if Alexa helped him with his fashion, make up choices. lol!