Alexander Skarsgård has revealed how a drunken, expletive-laden outburst at a Swedish football match in 2013 unexpectedly helped launch his career, rather than damage it. The Swedish actor feared the viral video, in which he swore at a crowd of thousands, would harm his professional reputation, but it instead caught the attention of casting teams looking for exactly the raw, uninhibited energy he had displayed.

Speaking to The Guardian, Skarsgård explained that he had been extremely drunk while attending a match at Hammarby Fotboll's home ground in Stockholm, where he led a chant that included calling the crowd "fucking c**ts". Footage of the incident, viewed by more than 500,000 people, reportedly reached Warner Bros while they were casting a "primal" lead for The Legend of Tarzan (2016), and also caught the eye of the director of the comedy War on Everyone, resulting in Skarsgård landing both roles.