When I think about the challenges that might come with filming sex scenes, the inherent awkwardness of acting out intimacy and wearing very little to no clothes come to mind. However, one of the primary hurdles Wicker dealt with had to do with…well…wicker. That became clear when the man behind the wicker, Alexander Skarsgård, spoke about what it was like shooting sex scenes for this project on the 2026 movie schedule.
As Olivia Colman described, her Wicker co-star, Skarsgård, was “wearing a basket” throughout the making of this film, and that made him less mobile. During an interview with EW, the beloved Wicker Husband actor explained how that restriction informed the intimate sequences they were filming:
The restriction of the costume would inform the sex scenes a little bit because again, we shot those scenes very early on. It was the first couple of days. So I was still figuring out the physicality and what the limitations were of wearing the suit. So there were certain things like in bed, you’re not super nimble, so it’s like, all right, maybe that didn’t quite work. Let’s do it this way instead, and then you figure out a way to make it work.
No matter the circumstances, I’d imagine it’d be hard to get accustomed to performing while covered in wicker. The idea of shooting sex scenes becomes challenging too, because it sounds like the wicker totally changed how Skarsgård was able to move. So, as he and Colman worked through them, he was also figuring out how exactly he could move as the Wicker Husband.
However, it all worked out. The reviews about how horny Wicker is prove that. The chemistry between the two actors proves that too, as Colman noted that while she was embarrassed to be filming such intimate scenes, she also fully trusted Skarsgård, the directors, and the intimacy coordinator. And ultimately, the moments were “so much fun” to film.
Now, as when it comes to the wicker Skarsgård was working with (and yes, you do see all his wicker in this movie), it was designed by Wētā Workshop, and it took him about two hours in the makeup chair to get it on each day. According to him, it was constructed in a very specific way too:
It was made with a combination of organic materials and synthetic, and they had to weave it in a specific way considering how muscles and body parts would move.
I would imagine that, like the Wicker Husband, Skarsgård didn’t give anyone splinters with his costume. However, there’s no denying that there was a learning curve and some challenges when it came to moving around in all that wicker (and yes, that does include the movement required for his intimate scenes with the Fisherwoman).
Overall, Alexander Skarsgård did such a great job as the Wicker Husband, and it was very easy to fall head over heels for him. If you’d like to see him covered in wicker and falling for a Fisherwoman, you can catch Wicker in theaters now.
