Graham Norton Show Features Wicker and Wild Horse Nine Guests

The Graham Norton Show featured Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri and Orville Peck on BBC One on 9 October, with guests discussing films including Wicker, Wild Horse Nine and Clarissa, according to entertainment listings.

The episode brought together actors promoting new projects and musician Orville Peck, who performed Too Little, Too Late live in the studio before joining the conversation.

Skarsgård and Colman discussed the romantic fantasy comedy Wicker during the program. Skarsgård described his reaction to receiving the script for the film.

"When I was sent the script, I thought it was The Wicker Man, the horror movie, so I thought it was going to be scary. Turns out it was a comedy with lots of sex." said Alexander Skarsgård, actor.

Colman also spoke about making Wicker and the unusual elements involved in the production.

"It is a wonderful and magical and it has everything in it – including lots you don’t expect. We had a lot of fun making it and we struggled a lot not to laugh. We had lots of vigorous love making but luckily there were no splinters!" said Olivia Colman, actor.

Skarsgård discussed portraying his character and the detailed costume created for the movie.

"There is a purity to his soul that felt very foreign to me. I realised it is hard playing a nice guy – it was definitely uncharted territory for me." said Alexander Skarsgård, actor.

The actor explained that the costume was created by artists who also worked on Lord of the Rings and took 18 months to complete.

"It was real and made by the same artists that worked on Lord of the Rings. The suit was exquisite and it took them 18 months to make." said Alexander Skarsgård, actor.

He added a humorous comment about keeping part of the costume before presenting it as a gift to Graham Norton.

"I particularly liked the nipples – they had extraordinary craftsmanship, so I kept them," said Alexander Skarsgård, actor.

Colman also reflected on appearing on the catwalk during Paris fashion week after being invited unexpectedly.

"They just called out of the blue and I can’t believe I did it. I can’t believe I said yes as it’s very un-me. But I thought, ‘52, grey hair, f**k it!’

It was so nice to be asked, and my teenage self was saying, ‘Do it!’ It was terrifying but I loved it." said Olivia Colman, actor.

Malkovich discussed Wild Horse Nine, in which he plays an ageing CIA agent in Martin McDonagh's dark comedy.

"Martin is a great writer, and great writing demands a lot of work – a certain level of work that actors like to do but it doesn’t happen much as a lot of what you read is quite a distance from great. But when it is good you want to work and as we filmed on Easter Island all we did was work as there wasn’t a whole lot else to do." said John Malkovich, actor.

Malkovich also addressed the film's reception and his reaction to its critical response.

"It is very nice that people like it and I am very pleased about its reception but since my covid jab, I cry at everything even when I am super happy." said John Malkovich, actor.

He recalled accepting a role in Con Air after initially dismissing the script.

"I was working on a screenplay with Nicholas Shakespeare when the script arrived. I took one look at it, guessed it was about convicts on a plane, and chucked it across the room. Nicholas asked me if he could read it and the next morning, he said, ‘I am delighted to be working with someone that has the integrity not to do something so terrible.’" said John Malkovich, actor.

Malkovich continued with his explanation of why he eventually accepted the role.

"I said, ‘What are you talking about? I don’t need to read it, I got it. It’s Jerry Bruckheimer, Nick Cage, and John Cusack, it’s called Con Air, and all the characters are named after Victorian poets – that’s a $500 million movie – of course I am doing it!’" said John Malkovich, actor.

Edebiri discussed Clarissa, an adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway set in Nigeria, and her role in the project.

"It is an amazing undertaking – a reimagining of the story in Nigeria. It is beautiful and poetic, and it felt very special and spiritual going to the place where my father was born." said Ayo Edebiri, actor.

She also spoke about performing with a British accent and her work on The Bear.

"I have done it once before in I Love LA. For some reason I go bitchy when I do British." said Ayo Edebiri, actor.

Edebiri said The Bear had completed its run but described the series as an important part of her career.

"It is done – I don’t think there will be any more, but who knows. We had a nice run, and I am glad we went out in a way that made us all very happy. The role was obviously and completely life changing for me." said Ayo Edebiri, actor.