Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling embrace the bizarre, erotic, and emotionally fraught in Pillion, a film that’s as much a tender romance as it is a kink-informed journey of self-discovery. Directed by Harry Lighton in his feature debut, the movie features Melling as a nice suburban London boy who opens up, in more ways than one, when he begins a relationship with Skarsgård’s leather-clad biker, becoming his submissive. (The film’s title refers to the seat occupied by the passenger riding behind the driver on a motorcycle and, in the U.K., is also queer parlance for a bottom.)
Pillion, which premiered in Cannes‘ Un Certain Regard section and bows at the Zurich Film Festival on Sept. 29, leans hard into authenticity, embracing the awkward transitions of intimacy rather than sanitizing them. As The Hollywood Reporter‘s review notes, “abuse, low-key cringe humor and unexpectedly sweet romance somehow co-exist” in Lighton’s almost rom-com about consent, devotion, and identity.
Skarsgård and Melling sat down with THR to talk about intimacy, love, and why they want to bring “awkward sex” back to the movies.
Let’s talk about sex. There’s a lot of it in this film, some quite intense scenes. What was that like for both of you?
Alexander Skarsgård: Actually, I was quite excited about the sex scenes.
Harry Melling: Me too, very excited.
Alexander Skarsgård: I was excited because they’re interesting. And that’s quite rare. Most sex scenes on screen are quite boring and sanitized. Here, we really leaned into the authenticity, the awkwardness of sex, which I thought was really funny and sweet. It’s quite rare to have a sex scene that actually has an emotional journey. There’s stuff happening, and it’s like erotic and sexy, but then it’s awkward, and then it’s funny. I think Harry [Lighton] instilled a lot of trust in us. We just felt very comfortable. There was no trepidation going in. Quite the opposite. We were excited to jump in.
Harry Melling: It’s also quite nice that, like Alex said, there’s so much narrative laced into the sex. It’s not just like there’s a film and then here’s a sex scene. They are so much a part of the movie, certainly for [my character] Colin’s journey in going from inexperience to being a bit more experienced. Threading that narrative in there, and getting all the clumsy beats and the awkward beats, felt like a continuation of the narrative. It was thrilling to continue Colin’s journey within these very detailed sex scenes.
Were there any scenes that went too far that got cut out of the final version?
Alexander Skarsgård: Oh yeah, we’ve got some extra scenes we’ve saved for the Christmas Special edition, a triple X version for the kids. No, we shot some stuff that was a bit more graphic, that Harry decided not not use, but nothing too crazy.
Harry, why did you want to do this role? Colin is probably the sweetest character you’ve ever played.
Harry Melling: Well, I’d argue my guy in The Queen’s Gambit gets quite sweet towards the end, but yes, Colin does feel incredibly delicate, especially when we first meet him. He’s so inexperienced, but he still desperately wants something to happen to him. Which is what leads him to [ Skarsgård’s character] Ray and the moment of flight that he gives him. You’re right, Colin is quite different from a lot of the characters I’ve played; he’s certainly a million miles away from my character in Harry Potter [Dudley Dursley], but I think I’ve played a few nice guys scattered in between.
Alexander, what was the appeal in playing Ray for you?
Alexander Skarsgård: I thought it was an incredibly fascinating character and totally something I hadn’t seen or definitely hadn’t been part of before. He’s such an enigmatic character. I was like: ‘Who is this guy?’
The film offers zero backstory for Ray. Did you develop any yourself to understand him?
Alexander Skarsgård: Nope. I did zero homework. I just walked in and did it. I never do any homework. But this time, I actually had an excuse. I could say: ‘Well, the character is an enigma, even for me.’
In your characters’ last scene, it looks like something is happening to Ray, just behind the eyes, some sort of revelation.
Alexander Skarsgård: Yeah, when we were shooting that scene, I thought I might be discovering some things I didn’t expect to discover in Ray. There are cracks in his façade — we can tell that there might be something hidden, maybe there is a desire for something else, or something from his past that has affected his choices. But again, I didn’t do any research, so I don’t know what that was.
What surprised me most about this film is how sweet and romantic it is. It feels almost like a rom-com in disguise.
Harry Melling: I don’t think we’ve done a rom-com but the film uses rom-com tropes, for sure, and then sort of turns them into something else, which is what I found so appealing about the script. The thing I loved about it was the fact that it feels familiar in terms of its structure. It has that rom-com structure, but it’s looking into something that is unfamiliar to a lot of people.
What did you two learn about the BDSM / biker / subdom community?
Harry Melling: I learned about boot licking. Very early on, I went and hung out with the GB MCC, the Gay Bikers Motorcycle Club, which isn’t a kink organization; they are just a club for gay bikers. We hung out, and they were so generous with their time, and began telling me little details. I started asking about boot licking and things like that. For some people, going into a community like that could be quite intimidating, but it was the complete opposite. They were so welcoming, and they wanted to share their information. They play the other bikers in the film, which was amazing.
What did it mean for you to have them embrace the film?
Alexander Skarsgård: It’s really special, because they were so instrumental in shaping that world and giving it authenticity, and so generous and patient with us idiot actors. It really meant a lot to me to see that they felt it was a truthful depiction of their culture, of their world. Obviously, our relationship [in the film] is specific — it’s not like: “Here’s what all BDSM or subdom relationships are like.” But the fact that they embraced it and felt happy to have been part of it meant the world to me.
Do you think this film could change people’s opinions about this community, or at least surprise them?
Alexander Skarsgård: I think at the core of it, hopefully, is the love story — or whatever you want to call it. The relationship is actually very accessible. It might not be your traditional rom-com, but it’s structured in a way that I think is relatable. I think most people, regardless of who you fancy, will find Colin’s journey interesting and beautiful, and relatable. The feeling of falling in love for the first time and exploring that, figuring out what you want in life and from a partner — I think everyone can relate to that, whether or not you’re into BDSM.
Harry Melling: I think one of the beautiful things about this movie is that, although we’re looking at something that a lot of people don’t know much about, it feels to me so relatable, so accessible. It’s a love story. Colin adores Ray, and Ray, in return, offers Colin something he needs. That was the hook I came back to. If people can access that, then I’m really happy.
So, do you think sex is coming back to movies?
Alexander Skarsgård: We were trying to bring awkward sex back.
Harry Melling: Yes, returning clumsy, awkward sex back to the movies.
Alexander Skarsgård: Exactly. Awkward sex is the new black.
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