Plus, the actor reacts to his June Squibb Oscar moment.
The Avenue
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You shotLockedafter finishingNosferatu.
What was it like moving from the intensity of that project to this one?
Bill Skarsgård in ‘Locked’.Credit:The Avenue Entertainment
But I read the script forLockedaround the tail end ofNosferatuproduction.
And it’s more fun that way.
You’ve been known to undertake fairly intense preparation strategies forNosferatuand other projects.
Bill Skarsgård in ‘Locked’.The Avenue
How did you prepare for this particular role?
I liked this street weasel quality about Eddie.
I felt like I’d never really done that before.
Bill Skarsgård as June Squibb and Scarlett Johansson at the 97th Academy Awards in 2025.PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty
This kind of urban deadbeat dad, little street weasel.
Did you see that segment?
It was a transformative performance.
Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins in ‘Locked’.The Avenue Entertainment / Courtesy Everett
That’s one of my three the big three performances.
But it was awkward being alone for so long.
You’re like, “Okay, where do I look?
Bill Skarsgård in ‘Locked’.The Avenue Entertainment
The camera’s here, and I’m not looking at a person.”
All of Anthony’s dialogue is spoken through the car.
And it got to the point where there’s some really intense stuff happening throughout the movie.
You have to perform it.
That’s not always easy.
It literally can be a quite torturous journey when your character’s tortured throughout the journey.
But the car was never actually on, so it didn’t have a functioning AC.
And then, in the scene where Eddie is sweating profusely, I’m actually freezing.
That sort of summarizes the whole experience.
It was some real acting gymnastics.
Was there one particular scene that was especially difficult to shoot?
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
The scene where William remotely controls the car to chase Eddie’s daughter.
Because I was doing that in a car that was on a stage it wasn’t even moving.
So all of this is literally me acting on eye lines of a f—ing tape cross somewhere.
You’re just by yourself in an unmoving stage car acting with tape.
That was the hardest, for sure.
The Avenue Entertainment / Courtesy Everett
What was it like working with Anthony Hopkins?
Did you rehearse with him at all before shooting began?
It was an absolute treat to meet him and work with him.
I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m really looking forward to this.’
He couldn’t hear me, and I had a hard time hearing him.
It was a very awkward thing.
But then eventually, when he did show up in person, that was one of the high points.
That scene that we have together at the end was a joyous moment of production.
It ended up becoming very improvised.
So he was improvising, I was improvising, and the scene just kind ofbecame.
To get to play and improvise with one of the greats was a special thing.
What were you reacting against?
So it was a mix of both those.
I actually don’t think we had the earpiece in the first couple of days of shooting.
And I think he had a fun time with it.
He got to sort of play off of the scenes as he was watching them.
I think that must have been pretty fun for him.
Lockedis now playing in theaters.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
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