There’s almost nothing more exciting than a young auteur filmmaker who uses the cool cache of their first few successes to parlay bigger actors to play in their bizarre sandbox. Take filmmaker Robert Eggers who parlayed the success of “The Witch” into another weird, strange, artistic effort in “The Lighthouse,” but securing heavyweight actors like Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe to star. He’s doing it again with his next film, “The Northman,” an ambitious Viking revenge film that has a spectacular cast of Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgård, his ‘Witch’ star Anya Taylor-Joy, his ‘Lighthouse’ star Willem Dafoe and Claes Bang. But there’s more, today, revealed in a social media casting notice (see below)—an overseas trainer/actor boasting about working on the film, it seems—it was revealed that Icelandic singer Björk has joined the cast. She is playing the Slav Witch, but that doesn’t mean much since there aren’t many details out about the film. The casting reveal also shows that Kate Dickie is part of the cast, known for roles in Andrea Arnold‘s “Red Road,” “Prometheus” (2012), “Filth” (2013), and, of course, “The Witch” (2015).
What is known is that “The Northman” is a Viking revenge saga set in Iceland at the turn of the 10th century. I guess getting a famous Icelandic singer/actor doesn’t hurt. Icelandic poet and novelist, Sjón co-wrote the script with Eggers.
READ MORE: Claes Bang Joins The Cast Of Robert Eggers’ Upcoming Viking Revenge Film ‘The Northman’
What is known is that “The Northman” is a Viking revenge saga set in Iceland at the turn of the 10th century. I guess getting a famous Icelandic singer/actor doesn’t hurt. Icelandic poet and novelist, Sjón co-wrote the script with Eggers.
Björk is obviously acclaimed for her extremely eclectic music career, but she’s no stranger to film either. She starred in Danish filmmaker Lars Von Trier’s dark musical, “Dancer In The Dark” in 2000. The film received the Palme d’Or at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival, and Björk received the Best Actress Award for her daring and brave role in the movie. Björk hasn’t acted much since and it’s possible because of the experience she had with Von Trier—a terrible one that she’s subsequently gone on to talk about and the filmmaker’s abusive and harassing behavior on set.
READ MORE: Björk Further Details “Paralyzing” Sexual Harassment By Lars von Trier
She actually began her acting career very early on starring in “The Juniper Tree” (1990) when she was only 24 years old. She also starred in Matthew Barney’s experimental film “Drawing Restraint 9” (2005), during their time as romantic and creative collaborators.
READ MORE: The Movies That Changed My Life: ‘The Witch’ Director Robert Eggers
No release date on “The Northman” and considering the film is just starting to reshoot again after a COVID-19 delay in March, it’s unlikely we’ll see it any time until deep into 2021, either the fall or winter. Presumably, it’ll turn up at a major fall film festival if such a thing exists next year.
