Alex had a cameo in last night's season finale of
Atlanta (May 19, 2022):
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Atlanta EP Breaks Down That Wild Celebrity Cameo in Van's Parisian Adventure
The surprisingly twisty Season 3 finale brought the comedy full circle
by
Chancellor Agard
May 19, 2022,
Before the season premiered, Donald revealed Ryan Gosling was almost on the show. Was he supposed to play Alexander Skarsgård's part?
Yes, this is the role we tried to get him to do — not to say that we settled for Alexander Skarsgård. I feel like there were like three people we were like, "Oh my gosh, it would be so perfect if we could [cast them." Alex was one of them. Ryan Gosling was one of them. I forget who else might have been in the mix. But, we were so lucky to get Alex. Now watching the episode, it couldn't have been anyone else but him. He commits so well to the comedy and self-deprecation. He's so funny to watch, and I can't wait for everyone to see him. [Laughs] Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous.
In your mind, how does the Alexander Skarsgård character fit into what you wanted to explore in this episode but also in the season as a whole, because there have been several cameos?
There wasn't anything deep to it other than we thought it would be funny. [Laughs]. That's just one of the things where it's like, "Wouldn't it be funny if we don't hear or see Van for a while and then we sort of crash-land into this new life that she's made for herself and she's friends with Alexander Skarsgård. How jarring and abrupt would that feel?" And the nature of their relationship being twisted and weird, and kind of unhealthy. That was just pure comedy. I think for a lot of those cameos, at least from my recollection, [came from asking], "Wouldn't it be funny if?" And then we just write it and see if we can do it. What you see is what you get.
I especially loved the detail of him being obsessed with Ashanti's "Rock Wit U" and wondering if Ashanti and Nelly were still together. How did you come up with that?
It's a good one. I love hearing him say that. When I wrote it, I wrote "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado. I think we weren't able to do it for rights issues and I think that Nelly Furtado ultimately passed on it being included in the episode for personal reasons, which is completely fair and I respect. Donald and I went back and forth quite a bit about what the song could be. We had a pretty big list of songs that could work, but then ultimately, the Ashanti is perfect because number one, I love the song, but it also has that mid-2000s field to it that we wanted to go for. Like this idea of Alexander Skarsgård is getting tipsy in his hotel room, not necessarily listening to the song of the day, but it's almost like he's racking his brain and going back in the catalog. It felt weirdly right and added some depth to the character.
Source:
https://www.tvguide.com/news/atlant...d-celebrity-cameo-in-vans-parisian-adventure/
