Alexander Skarsgård says he wanted to impress his dad by taking on the role of Tarzan.
Alexander Skarsgård
Skarsgård is the latest actor to take on this iconic role in The Legend of Tarzan, which is released next week.
And the actor revealed that it was his father that introduced him to the Edgar Rice Burroughs-created character.
Speaking to Men's Health about the role, the actor said: "I just wanted to impress my dad - he was more excited than I was. My dad loved Tarzan.
"When he was a kid he'd go to the local cinema and watch the Johnny Weissmuller films. So my introduction to Tarzan was through my father. Tarzan was my hero; he was the coolest guy."
We have seen Tarzan depicted on the big screen many times over the years and Skarsgård hints that this time around, we are going to get a Tarzan that we don't 'expect.'
He continued: "It's about the beast within and letting it out rather than taming it. It's not the Tarzan we expect. It's not the apeman in the loincloth and the 'Me Tarzan, you Jane' caricature. We did try yodelling a bit. David [Yates], the director, wasn't a big fan of that."
The movie sees Skarsgård team up with director David Yates for the first time. This will the first of two movies for Yates this year - the second being Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Yates is no stranger to the blockbuster genre with a string of Harry Potter movies already under his belt.
A fantastic cast has been assembled as Skarsgård stars alongside Margot Robbie, Christoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson.
As for Skarsgård, we are going to see him back on the small screen later this year with new TV series Big Little Lies.
The full interview is available in the August issue of Men's Health, on sale now.
The Legend of Tarzan is released 6th July.
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