In the world of Vikings: Valhalla, usually the better warrior or warlord takes the victory. Taking place a hundred years after the events of the original series, the new Netflix historical epic charts the conflict that erupts between the Vikings and the English during a tumultuous time. Despite the brutality of combat, there's still room for some crafty figures to make their mark on the world. Among their ranks is Godwin, a survivor at heart who soon finds himself trying to use his wits to stay ahead of bickering royals and brutal power plays.
During an exclusive interview with CBR ahead of Vikings: Valhalla's premiere on Netflix on Feb. 25, David Oakes revealed how he approached the crafty Godwin in a world of vicious Viking warriors. He described the joys of discovering elements of a character that he never saw coming, and how Godwin's morality and mission make him a deceptively complex character.
CBR: These are historical, landmark characters. As the cast of the show, you have to make them feel true to their roots while also making them accessible to modern audiences, finding the middle ground between the two. How did you ground Godwin's character with that in mind?
David Oakes: The truth is, we haven't really changed all that much at all. We've got rid of them speaking in old dialects and old languages, but the truth is we haven't learned anything from the past. We're still brutishly invading other countries, we're still having gender bias, and we're still thuggishly burning down the villages of people we don't like. We haven't changed. So in terms of trying to make it accessible to a modern audience, I think there are enough parallel themes that are there. I think the truth is what we're trying to do is hopefully make people go, "Hahaha, we should really try to change that."
Godwin is in a world where everybody else is almost defined by their ability to swing a sword real good and not take an ax to the head. Godwin is surviving and thriving by being the thinker, being the talker. What excited you about getting to take on one of the more cerebral characters in a setting like this?
For one, the great thing about [Godwin] is that he can wield a sword just as good as anybody else. He just manifests a situation where he doesn't necessarily need to, but it is that thing. He is the Saxon in a Viking world. The one lesson that he has learned is to be slower, to choose your moments, to learn from other people's mistakes, and to sometimes help people make those mistakes. He's a gift of a role. He really is. I mean, the tagline is that he's a survivor, but he's more than that. He has an ambition that is not defined by simply sitting on a throne and wearing a crown and having the biggest army. His ambition is about honor and legacy. It's about repairing the mistakes of his father and enabling his children to live a freer existence.
Now, you might not necessarily agree with some of the things he does to get there, but what I think you can agree with, by the time you finish watching this season, is that he commits fairly dastardly acts, but also does some really, quite touching things... He's not pindownable. He will keep you guessing. I can guarantee you that is the trend of his arc as it goes on, across any potential other series that we may have already shot.
As production goes on and you're getting to bounce off of the other performers, there's always going to be some unexpected discoveries about the character that you maybe didn't see going in. Is there anything about Godwin that really surprised you across production?
Not yet. [Showrunner Jeb Stuart] was always very open with me at the screen test, about the ambition that he had for Godwin's arc, for where he wanted to go, and where he wanted [the character] to end up. I knew before I even signed a contract that certain events would be happening. I think that is what I really like about Jeb. There's nothing off the table, but if he does choose to do something fairly out of character from what you might expect, there's normally a pretty good reason for it.
I'll put it this way: I'm very excited to see how he develops. I'm also open to changes. I've learned over the years, not to be too prescriptive about telling people, "I think my character is like this, I think he should do this or that. I know him better than you 'cause I've been playing him for two years now." No, I think the more you think you understand someone, the less you really do. As we should've all accepted as human beings, the more years we get to live on this planet, the more we realize that we didn't know anything last year. Only now are we starting to get a better idea. Then the next year it's, "Oh no, I was so completely in the dark."
To see Godwin scheme his way to the top, check out Vikings: Valhalla on Netflix on Feb. 25.
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