The Last Kingdom: A moment with Alexander Dreymon about Uhtred and Season 3

Alexander Dreymon discusses The Last Kingdom Season 3 and how this season will be much bigger and grander for Uhtred, Son of Uhtred.

The Last Kingdom Season 3 is set to arrive on Netflix Monday, November 19. Alexander Dreymon, who plays Uhtred in the series based on the Bernard Cornwell novels, took the time to talk to Hidden Remote about the upcoming season, and what fans can expect this time around.

Hidden Remote: So where is Uthred’s mindset right now? Are we finally going to get back on track and reclaim Bebbanburg?

Alexander Dreymon: Oh, tell me about it. I keep getting sidetracked. It’s getting on my nerves. Bebbanburg is still my super objective. That’s my main goal. Because I think it’s so connected to Uhtred’s identity. I think that it’s the one thing he holds onto in terms of knowing who he is. So it’s very much on his mind still.

HR: What can we expect from Uhtred this season?

Dreymon: Oh, there is some gruesome stuff coming for him this season. You wonder how he makes it through it all and stays sane.

HR: With things getting more gruesome for Uhtred, what about The Last Kingdom itself? Will Season 3 be much bigger in comparison to Season 1 and 2. For example, the battles and the all-important shield wall?

Dreymon: We definitely take it up a notch. The challenge with this show is always after you have seen so many shield walls that it becomes too much. How do you keep making it interesting? And from what I have seen so far, I am very impressed and happy with what we’ve got, I think we pulled the battle scenes off and I’m really looking forward to seeing it myself.

HR: What do you think fans are going to enjoy the most about the new season?

Dreymon: I think this season is going to feel much bigger, much grander, more epic. I think the show is really filling out, and coming into its own. I am particularly looking forward to seeing the climax of the relationship between Alfred and Uhtred this season.

HR: Alfred and Uhtred have always had an interesting relationship. They are constantly butting heads and based on the synopsis for The Last Kingdom Season 3 that looks set to continue. Will it be different this time around in anyway?

Dreymon: That relationship, in particular, is getting more intense.

HR: We have some important new characters coming into The Last Kingdom Season 3. Will we see Uhtred interacting with all of them?

Dreymon: Yes, I have interaction with all of them.

HR: Are they friend, foe, or a bit of both?

Dreymon: Ha. Um, mostly both.

HR: So how has the filming been? Fans noticed via Twitter that you have all been braving sub-zero temperatures. Did that cause any problems at all?

Dreymon: You get used to it. The cold itself is really manageable. Battle scenes are the hardest to manage, but it’s not the snow that is the problem, it’s the mud. It doesn’t matter if it has been snowing, it soon turns to mud and you soon become at least ankle deep in it.

And because it’s a battle sequence, you inevitably go down, and once you go down you’re just wet and there’s no time to go back and get changed. Your fighting the cold all day. If it’s a battle week you just know you’re going be freezing your b***s off all week.

HR: Have you got any good stories to share with the fans about your time filming The Last Kingdom? Any pranks, on set blooper moments, things like that?

Dreymon: Eh, oh, to be honest, we played a lot of pranks this year, but I really don’t think I can share any of those. Millie Brady, who plays Aethelflaed, has been hit hard with pranks this year. But yeah, I’m sorry. I don’t think I can go into it.

We have had such a great time on set. We have been filming for three seasons now. We know each other so well, we are such good friends, on and off the set. And it’s basically like coming out to play with your friends when we got to work.

HR: The Last Kingdom has been compared to other shows such as Game of Thrones. What do you think about comparisons like this?

Dreymon: I think it’s a flattering comparison because I am personally a fan of Game of Thrones. I love what they are doing. I am especially proud that with the third season we were able to pull it off, make it look much more epic, and we did that without our budget being increased. Whereas Game of Thrones has a budget that is incomparable to us.

In terms of the material being portrayed. There is a little less of a gloss to our show. It is definitely a little more gritty. And with it being based in history that is the big factor that makes it so different. Even though we touch on elements of magic there is no real magic; it’s all in peoples head.

HR: The Last Kingdom is based on the series of novels written by Bernard Cornwell. Have you read them yourself?

Dreymon: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I love the books. They were a huge influence for the character I came up with for the show. Why wouldn’t I read the books? All the research for Uhtred was done for me already so why wouldn’t I read them? And to be honest, I would read them just to read them; I am a huge fan.

What I think is difficult, is it is not easy to stick to the books because it is a TV show. It’s never possible to put as much in a TV show from the books.

Plus, Uhtred gets very old and that would be difficult for us.

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HR: Is there anything from the books that didn’t make it into The Last Kingdom that you would have liked to have seen happen?

Dreymon: When Uhtred comes back from being a slave. When he comes back, face to face, with Guthred [the man responsible for him being a slave]. That return was such an epic moment in the books. I would have loved to have us portray it in that way.

Also when he meets Siegfried. That moment was beautifully written in the books and we just couldn’t do it like that in the show. It would have meant so many changes. Those two moments for me where goosebumps moments when I read them. And I was disappointed not to be able to put them in the show.

HR: So what is next for you? Are you working on anything else right now or is it all about The Last Kingdom just now?

Dreymon: I’m actually really busy at the moment with something completely different. It’s a wildlife project that I am setting up with one my closest and oldest childhood friends, who has been working in conservation for ages. And we are setting up a wildlife project in Western Thailand to promote the conservation of tigers.

Note: The website for the project will be up soon and this will be updated as soon as it is.

The Last Kingdom Season 3 arrives on Netflix, November 19.