Vikings: Valhalla's Leo Suter Had A Harder Time Growing Out His Hair Than Growing Muscle For His Role
Netflix's "Vikings: Valhalla" is a sequel to the highly popular historical drama "Vikings" and focuses on a brand new generation of Norse warriors during the final years of the Viking Age. Where the original series focused primarily on the legendary figure of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), "Vikings: Valhalla" tells the story of three more heroes pulled straight out of Norse legend: Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), Freydís Eiríksdóttir (Frida Gustavsson), and Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter).
Like Ragnar Lothbrok, each one of these characters is based upon actual figures from Norse history –- including Harald Sigurdsson, who is modeled after a real-life King of Norway named Harald Hardrada. History tells us that Sigurdsson must one day achieve his goal of becoming the ruler of Norway. Throughout the first two seasons of "Vikings: Valhalla," he has already established himself as a capable warrior and a natural-born leader. He is slowly evolving into the legendary figure he is based upon. It certainly helps that he looks the part with his Viking warrior physique and wild facial hair.
As it happens, constructing this particular look was actually very difficult for actor Leo Suter, not because of the workout regimen but because of the beard.
Leo Suter found his quarantine exercises much easier to manage than his beard
While discussing the physical transformation he underwent in order to play Harald Sigurdsson in "Vikings: Valhalla," Leo Suter told Netflix.com that he actually finds it much easier to build muscle than to grow hair.
"Well, that's one of the other funny things. You can build muscle, and if you work hard and go to the gym more often, you'll get bigger. You have some control over it," explained Suter. "Hair, on the other hand, you have to sit, wait, hope and eat your crusts. In many respects, growing the hair and the beard was much harder than growing the body." Suter also discussed how he spent the first four months of the COVID-19 pandemic just working out on Zoom with a physical trainer named Pat Henry, eventually building up the impressive physique that would define Sigurdsson's ferocity on the battlefield.
Suter also joked that "everyone looked a little bit like a Viking" by the end of quarantine and admitted that he didn't even realize his hair was curly until he grew into his Viking style. Although there are no doubt plenty of people out there who would rather work on a beard than hit the gym three times a week, it's clear that Leo Suter found the workouts to be the easiest part of the ordeal.