It’s not every day you get the opportunity to interview a Viking but Men’s Fashion Post landed the rare opportunity so we ran with it. We chatted it up with “Vikings” star and country music artist (yep, he also sings!) Alexander Ludwig to talk all things career, true love in a pandemic and the serious ways “Vikings” fans show up.
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Listen, 2020 was super rough for everyone and 2021 isn’t proving to be much better. But 29-year Ludwig chose to transform the tough time into what he calls “a period of introspection. Covid made me grateful for what I had.” And what he had was his partner-in-love, Lauren, next to him every step of the way. So it’s no surprise the two decided to elope on a mountaintop in Utah earlier this year with their dog Yam right next to them, serving as their witness.
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Ludwig publicly marked the sweet occasion on an Instagram post with the following caption, “Life is too short And I didn’t want to spend another day without calling this beautiful woman my wife.” Together they locked in what they knew to be the only thing that mattered in a pandemic full of uncontrollable chaos … love. And listening to the way Ludwig talks about Lauren, calling her the “greatest human” he’s ever met, reveals a softer side to the fiercely fit 6’2” actor.
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Ludwig is a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie who loves skydiving but nothing’s as thrilling as running into die-hard “Vikings” fans. Ludwig remembers a time when he was at a restaurant in Italy, desperately trying to get the attention of a waiter. When he notices the waiter’s arm – covered in a tattoo of his “Vikings” co-star Travis Kimmel (who played Ragnar). Once the waiter recognized him he was in total shock. Ludwig laughs just thinking about the moment saying it serves as a reminder of how his work and the work of his colleagues transcend borders.
But before the world became obsessed with Ludwig as Björn on the History Channel series, Ludwig enjoyed a steady stream of success in big blockbusters like “The Hunger Games” and “Bad Boys for Life.” Ludwig says “I was always a performer as a kid. It was always my passion. I knew what I wanted to do right off the bat.”
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Ludwig was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada and has three younger siblings. He credits his father’s climb to success from scratch as a guiding standard and calls his mother, a former actress, his north star. Ludwig says she drove him to all his auditions as a kid and he couldn’t be more grateful for the unrelenting support his family provided. “There’s no formula for success. You just put yourself in the best position to get lucky.” And maybe his luck was written in the stars, I mean, how else do you explain being born on May 7th, weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces at 7 minutes to 7? We call Jackpot!
Today his luck and hard work have led him to pursue another longtime talent – his love of country music. His says his earliest memory of country music is listening to Alan Jackson’s “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” on repeat. And ever since then he’s been drawn to the storytelling country music delivers but this time he’s the one doing the telling, recording and releasing his first self-titled EP. And let’s just say the 5-song album is a perfect selection of easy to enjoy hits. Just get in your car, hit play on “Summer Crazy” and drive around with the windows rolled all the way down. A good time for sure.
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If you can’t get enough of Ludwig check out “Heels” on Starz. Ludwig plays Ace Spade, the younger of two brothers and rivals who wrestle for national attention in a small town in Georgia. And later this year you can catch Ludwig in “National Champions” starring Stephan James and J.K. Simmons. It’s a movie about college football players and their fight for fair compensation.
Photography by Raul Romo
Words by Linda Hosmer Spain
Grooming by Sydney Sollod
Fashion by Evan Simonitsch
Produced by Eff Ulloa