The Movie star Sam Corlett is preparing for his next job “Norse explorer Leif Eriksson” to get his wish making Vikings: Valhalla.
In the new show premiering Feb. 25, a sequel to the hit History series, the Australian actor, 26, plays Norse explorer Leif Eriksson, portraying the reluctant warrior with a mix of fierceness and primal grace.
Corlett started every Vikings shoot day with meditation, a 7K run and a swim in the cold waters of the Irish Sea , followed up by weight lifting every night. “It was quite a militant thing”
He says: “I stayed in a cabin by a river for a week and just dove into what I thought [Leif’s] memories may be and imbued the whole world of his existence.”
Corlett studied drama in Australia for three years and studied with acting coach Les Chantery.
He went on to star in the 2020 Aussie drama with Eric Bana, and then gained attention on the series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
The actor admits he was originally unsure about joining Vikings: Valhalla, which has already shot two seasons, because “it’s a long commitment and to do the same role for a long time was kind of scary because variety is what excites me as an artist. As a series lead or regular, you sign for six or seven [seasons].”
“That hesitation,” he continues, “was completely blown out of the water when I started reading more and more scripts; the character evolved so much and it was nice to share that journey with him.”
Corlett told about being vegan on set, a writing project he’s working on and anticipating Vikings‘ global release.
Some things that drew Corlett to the role of Leif Eriksson
He was the son of Erik the Red, notoriously one of the most violent Vikings of all time.
[Leif] grew up in a household that was very different to Corlett upbringing but not to too dissimilar to his mom’s.
He has always seen himself as kind of wanting to absolve a bit of the trauma that had come through his family.
And he felt like Leif wanted to do the same, with his father being exiled from Norway. He felt a lot of responsibility to kind of absolve that pain and a calling for something greater.
My dad and I used to watch the original series when I was younger. So I knew that his one would excite dad.
I remember when I sent the tape off, I sent it to my family, ‘I put this [tape] down.’
And my mom messaged me saying dad’s watched that about 15 times. So that was really nice. Corlett said.
I hadn’t worn leather in a long time. The costume at the start was all leather, and so that was quite overwhelming. Gratefully, Susan O’Connor Cave, our amazing head of costume, she ended up designing a vegan armor for me. So that was really beautiful. I think it was cactus leather. It’s a funny mix because you want to be as authentic as possible which makes sense but also, you know, the values come in sometimes. Corlett added.
Corlett was writing a lot of reminders to himself, like, “Be steady, Sam.” All this stuff.
He ended up doing it every night, and then all of a sudden he had like six books full.
So he has just typed them up, and done all the art for it. So he will be able to release some of these little soul reminders, which is what he calls them.
He has always been attracted to the spiritual, whether it be [writers like] Alan Watts or Eckhart Tolle.
He loves their succinct way of making the macro micro and the micro macro. That really fills his cup.
I was grateful to spend some downtime up in Byron Bay [in Australia] last year and this year, and I was able to have a lunch with Matt Damon. He was there shooting Thor [Love and Thunder] with Taika [Waititi]. the world around you may change, but you don’t change.” He’s a really good example of just staying steady. Corlett said.
Shooting in Ireland
Corlett told that the Irish people [are] absolutely beautiful, like such kind hearts. Funnily enough, where he was put up in this village. It’s called Greystones. All these people who weren’t on set ended up like being absolute family to me.
These guys swam every morning at sunrise: rain, hail, or shine. There’s a duo called The Happy Pear who are quite popular in Ireland for being vegan chefs and I’m vegan myself so it was convenient to have their cafe nearby. And there’s a lady, a 72-year-old ex-Catholic nun, a lesbian, who stills sends me quotes whether it be Rumi or [poet] John O’Donohue. To have that sense of family over there was very much welcomed.
It’s so beautiful. You can travel down the coast and there’s these beautiful beaches, amazing walks and hikes and then there’s these incredible mountains. And then you go down to the Spanish point down the bottom and you can see sunrise and sunset on either side of the beach. A lot of Aussies have Irish heritage and you can feel a sense of lineage when you arrive on the land. He said.