Cursed star Gustaf Skarsgård talks season 1, Merlin and beyond

Gustaf Skarsgård, star of Netflix’s Cursed, talks Merlin and more

Gustaf Skarsgård, star of the new Netflix original series Cursed, spoke with Netflix Life in a virtual roundtable interview about the new series, his character, Merlin, and what it means to play such an iconic character.

Cursed is based on the illustrated novel of the same name by Tom Wheeler and Frank Miller. The story is a re-imagination of Arthurian legend, and it focuses on Nimue, played by Katherine Lanford, who is destined to become the Lady of the Lake. Nimue must deliver an ancient sword to Merlin, who is played by Skarsgård.

All 10 episodes of Cursed are now streaming on Netflix.

We meet Merlin at King Uther’s court, and Merlin is, well, not looking so good. Clearly, the character has seen better days. What happened to Merlin? That’s largely one of the mysteries of the first season.

From Merlin’s first scene, it’s also clear that his version of Merlin is a very different version than we’ve ever seen before. Merlin is, in Skarsgård’s words, “a drunk” in a “very decrepit state” when the story begins.

“What I think is so funny about this take is that there are so many different archetypes at play at once,” Skarsgård says. “At first, when we pick him up, he’s sort of like the joker character, the joker archetype. And then all of a sudden, he goes out on this quest and you’re like ‘what’s going on here?'”

Over the course of the season, we learn more about Merlin, see his different sides, and begin to understand why this Merlin is the way he is as more of the character’s backstory is revealed. Skarsgård shared episode six is the episode he’s most excited for fans to see because it reveals more of Merlin’s backstory.

“Merlin has always been able to distance himself from his role in this universe,” Skarsgård says. “All of a sudden, he has something, you know, that is worth fighting for. And, that’s thrown him on a completely different course than he actually anticipated.”

While Skarsgård doesn’t know if Cursed will be renewed for season 2, he did mention the big cliffhanger at end of season 1, the possibility of season 2, and wanting to find out what happens to the characters.

“So, I just really hope for a second season and, you know, time will tell,” Skarsgård adds. “But I need to find out what happens to these people.”

We’ll continue to let you know more about Cursed on Netflix and the future of the series!