Page 32 - Real Style Summer 2017

katheryn winnick: That’s actually one
of the rst things they say: that I’m such a petite person. They picture me 6’2” maybe because I’m such a queen in my character, being a Viking and Scandinavian, since Scandinavians tend to be really tall. Being Ukrainian, and Vikings being one of the rst settlers there, I probably have Viking in my blood, even though I may not have the heig ht!
RS: But you de nitely have the erceness! when we last chatted with you, the show was just starting out and you were excited, but at that time nobody knew where that was going to go. it’s now three years later and the show is massive. how has that changed your life?
kw: It’s been incredible. It’s overwhelming just to see the worldwide attention from the different cultures and the different types of people around the world who are fans of the show. I’m happy that [Vikings] has spread internationally and people are tuning in and are diehard fans.
rs: where do you meet your fans?
kw: ComicCon is one of my favourite things to do in San Diego, because you get a chance to meet them one-on-one. Those are really great experiences, because you’re in it with the fans. Now it’s a lot harder for me to walk out my door without getting recognized. It’s crazy.
rs: do you love the attention from fans, or do you prefer being left alone?
kw: It’s really nice to see how many fans there are, from Brazil to Canada to Ukraine and Russia, even in the Asian market. I know we’re going to the Philippines and Malaysia to do ComicCon there, so it’s incredible.
rs: it also sounds like you’re due for a good couple of months off! What can we expect next from Vikings?
kw: I’m shadowing in the editing room and learning some editing [in Toronto]. I love Toronto; it is my favourite city in the world that feels like home; it is my home. It’s funny because my two brothers were with me in Ireland. We had our very rst day where we shared the screen. They’re in Vikings and
my older brother got cast as the king. On his own merit—he auditioned; he didn’t even
tell me he was auditioning for it. He will be in Season 5. My youngest brother is doing stunts as well and we shared the same frame. He was very excited about it.
rs: it’s an extremely well done show. it’s kind of like Game of Thrones, but Vikings is based on actual events and history. what do you think of that comparison?
kw: It’s hard for me to say because I haven’t really seen Game of Thrones, just a couple of episodes, which aren’t enough for me to talk about it. [Vikings] is a historical drama.
everywhere, even sitting on a chair that was disintegrating. His skeleton was formed in a way that his body was contorted, as if he was sitting on some regal chair. In just the past year, they went back and did actual testing on the pelvic bone and they found it was one of the shieldmaidens.
rs: you’ve also got this new movie The Dark Tower coming up. how excited are you about that?
kw: I’m very excited about that; I’ve been a fan of Stephen King for ages. It’s nice to actually see one of his famous books in a movie format. I know that a lot of people
“That’s actually one of the rst things they say: that I’m such a petite person. They picture me 6’2” maybe because I’m such a queen in my character, being a Viking and Scandinavian, since Scandinavians tend to be really tall.”
are anticipating it, and [the team] was working on it for eight years to try to get
it to the screen. It was a quick casting for me; it ended up taking such a small window in between episodes [of Vikings]. We had about seven weeks off in total and I spent six of those weeks in Cape Town. It was
an incredible experience. It was my second time working with Matthew McConaughey and he couldn’t be more of a genuine and personable man and actor. It was just nice to be in that environment.
RS: Can you tell us more about your character in The Dark Tower?
kw: Our hero is a young boy [named] Jake
32 Real Style Summer 2017
rs: it’s cool knowing that Vikings is based on real life. for example, Clive standen who plays rollo actually went to the castle where the real Rollo is buried. Tell us more about this aspect of the show.
kw: I had the same storyline where behind the scenes, they ew me to Sweden, just outside of Stockholm, to a small town where I worked with an archaeologist. She educated me on how they’ve just discovered this gravesite that had been around for over 1,000 years. For many years, they thought this must be a big king or somebody with notoriety who would be buried there. He was buried in such a fashion with two
horse heads with armour and shields
PhotoS, the hiStoRy channeL