This ‘Vikings: Valhalla’ Star Showed Up to the Hospital Covered in Blood
Vikings wrapped up its sixth and final season in 2020, but Netflix wasn’t about to let the show’s hype die down. After the original show ended, the streamer decided to make a spinoff, Vikings: Valhalla, which has become incredibly popular. The show has several action scenes requiring a lot of stunt work. Some of the actors prefer to do their stunts themselves, but one of the show’s stars recently said in an interview that doing her stunts led her to the ER covered in blood.
Model Frida Gustavsson plays Freydis Eiriksdóttir
Frida Gustavsson began her modeling career in 2008, moving to Japan that same year to pursue her career. Gustavsson opened the Valentine Haute Couture Fall 2012 in Paris and has since walked for major brands like Alexander McQueen, Fendi, Calvin Klein and Hermés.
She has also appeared on the cover of major publications, including Elle, W, Vogue and L’Officiel and done ad campaigns for Marc Jacobs, H&M and Prada. Gustavsson received Elle Sweden’s Model of the Year Award In 2011.
Gustavsson took a break for five years and returned for the Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring 2020 show. As of 2023, she is one of the cast members of the Netflix hit show Vikings: Valhalla playing Freydis Eiriksdόttir.
Her character is based on the famous Icelandic woman of the same name who figured prominently in the Norse exploration of North America. Her brother Leif Erikson is credited with the first European contact. Freydis is mentioned in the Saga of Erik the Red and the Saga of the Greenlanders. Although both sagas offer differing accounts, she is depicted as a strong woman in both.
Frida Gustavsson went to the hospital in full costume, covered in blood
Vikings: Valhalla takes place over a century after the events of its predecessor. The series follows a time when tensions were very high between the descendants of the Vikings and the English.
The series constantly features heavy action and war as each side tries to overpower the other and gain control. Many of the actors in the show, including Gustavsson, do their own stunts. Unfortunately, sometimes this puts them at risk of injuries. In a recent interview with Kelly Clarkson, Gustavsson recalled a stunt going wrong and leaving her in a hospital.
“There was one time we were about to shoot, where we’re doing the last rehearsal. I have this big takedown, it’s a six foot seven big man, and I’m strangling him with my bracelet, and we’re doing this big wrestle takedown, and of course I slip, and he lands on my elbow,” she recalled. Gustavsson said the accidental fall resulted in her arm fracturing and requiring immediate medical help.
Since she didn’t have time to change out of her Vikings costume, Gustavsson said she went to the ER in full costume, including a bloody face and body and recalled everyone looking surprised by her appearance. No one from the show took her to the hospital due to COVID-19 protocols, so she couldn’t explain why she was dressed like a Viking.
Season 2 of ‘Vikings: Valhalla’ tests the bonds between friends and family
After the fall of Kattegat in Season 1 of Vikings: Valhalla, Freydis, her brother Leif and Herald find themselves fugitives in Scandinavia. Season 2 also follows Freydis as she deals with survivor’s remorse.
The new season of Vikings: Valhalla landed on Netflix on January 12, 2023. The new season was immediately popular, debuting at number 4 on the streamers’ top TV chart.
