The Last Kingdom: 13 Interesting Facts You Didn't Know About Alexander Dreymon (Uhtred)

Summary Dreymon is fluent in French, English, and German, thanks to his upbringing in various countries.

Dreymon learned to perform most of his own stunts for the epic battle scenes in The Last Kingdom.

Dreymon's fascination with martial arts and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has influenced his physical performance as Uhtred.

As The Last Kingdom's stoic protagonist, actor Alexander Dreymon has gained a lot of interest among fans for bringing the character of Uhtred to life. The Last Kingdom is a historical drama that tells the story of Uhtred's attempts to reclaim the throne that is his birthright. Having been captured by Danes and subsequently raised as one of them, Uhtred returns to his home to avenge his parents and remove his plotting uncle from the seat of power that belongs to him.

Dreymon played Uhtred over the course of five seasons of The Last Kingdom as well as the movie, Seven Kings Must Die, where he became the breakout star of the show. Dreymon's movie and television career only started in the 2010s, but he has already amassed a strong following among fans who seek to know more about the actor and his work on The Last Kingdom. From his background as an actor to his work behind the scenes on the epic series, there is a lot to explore about Uhtred's actor Alexander Greymon.

Related Seven Kings Must Die: 9 Biggest Last Kingdom Book Changes Explained The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die adapts the last three of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories novels, making nine major changes to the books.

Dreymon Is Fluent In French, English, And German

Dreymon Was Born In Germany But Grew Up In Several Different Countries

The Last Kingdom features many locations with an extensive map of England in the seventh century, however, English is the language spoken throughout the series. Had the show required some more extensive languages to be used, Dreymon could have come in handy as the actor is fluent in three languages.

Dreymon was actually born in Germany as Alexander Doetsch and grew up with German as his native language. However, Dreymon grew up in a lot of different countries as well, including England, France, the United States, and Switzerland.

This unique upbringing introduced him to a lot of different languages and gave him an impressive skill to bring to his acting work. In an interview with The Guardian, Dreymon spoke about the difficulty of moving so often and having to learn new languages. However, as he grew older, he came to "welcome the possibility of discovering new cultures and languages."

Dreymon Performs Most Of His Stunts Himself

Dreymon Credit His Stunt Team For Helping Teach Him How To Perform Those Aspects

The Last Kingdom's epic battle scenes help make for an impressive action series. Of course, as the heroic lead, Uhtred is typically at the center of most of these fights. While Dreymon credits his stunt double Tamás Katrics and the show's stunt coordinator Levente Laezsák with teaching so much about the world of stunt performing, Dreymon has taken pride in performing many of the show's stunts on his own.

Finding this out not only adds to the authenticity of the shots and action sequences but also shows how Dreymon is determined to make sure that his portrayal of Uhtred is as authentic as possible. With Uhtred being such a physical character with fighting as a big part of his life, being able to take on some of that no doubt helps Dreymon's performance. In an interview with Muscle & Fitness, Dreymon explained:

"You feel a connection with the animal that goes way beyond anything I imagined - you can influence its behavior by controlling your own energy. That's one of my favorite parts of the show."

Dreymon Has A Martial Arts Background

The Actor Studies Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Uhtred is certainly shown to be a fearsome and intimidating fighter with an animalistic, often vicious nature in battle. This is something that Dreymon had to learn himself for the role, however, he did have some prior fight training to feed off of for this aspect of his performance.

Martial arts is one of the main hobbies Dreymon picked along the way during his adventurous upbringing (via Muscle and Fitness). Dreymon revealed that Brazilian jiu-jitsu is one of the main forms of exercise that Dreymon participates in when not filming.

He explains that he practices an hour a day in this technique. While it is a very different style to anything Uhtred uses on the show, it is not hard to see how this would become a valuable tool for performing the very physical aspects of his performance.

Dreymon's Early Career

Dreymon Began Acting On Screen In 2010

Despite his determination to make acting his ultimate career endeavor, Dreymon had a hard time landing major roles when he graduated from drama school. He appeared in a couple of plays in France and the UK, but nothing big came until 2010 when he starred as Alexandre in the 2010 French film Ni Reprise ni échangée.

2011 came with Dreymon's debut on the big screens when he got the role of Casper in the BBC's Christopher and His Kind in which he starred opposite House of the Dragon star Matt Smith. In 2011, he continued to find screen roles such as in the Welsh war movie Resistance, which also starred Andrea Riseborough and Michael Sheen, as well as the short movie Who's Watching Who and the vampire drama Blood Ransom, which was his final movie role before landing the part of Uhtred.

Dreymon's Embarrassing Brush With The Law

Dreymon Revealed Some Of His Wilder Stories

Uhtred is a very stoic and serious character, which doesn't leave a lot of room for humor in his life. However, Alexander Dreymon seems to have a better sense of humor and enjoys having a good time. It reached the point where he has admitted to sometimes getting a little carried away with his goofing around, which almost led to an embarrassing brush with the law.

In an interview with Evening Standard, Dreymon revealed that he had gone streaking with his friends while studying at London's University of the Arts. Dreymon admits he was the one who made the initial challenge as he and a friend ran across the street naked. However, the situation got more serious when the police arrived and Dreymon had to hide in some bushes to avoid getting caught. It is hard to imagine Uhtred doing such a thing.

Dreymon's Other Roles Outside The Last Kingdom

Dreymon Appeared In The American Horror Story Franchise

Before becoming Uhtred in The Last Kingdom, Dreymon played Luke Ramsey in the third season of American Horror Story: Coven. His time in the American Horror Story franchise helped him prepare for a more demanding role as well as being on a production that was bigger than the small projects he had previously been involved in.

It is also interesting seeing him play a more innocent character compared to Uhtred. Since joining the cast of The Last Kingdom, he has appeared in films such as the mystery drama Guys Reading Poems, the crime drama Heartlock, and the action thriller film Horizon Line with Allison Williams.

His time in The Last Kingdom has, however, been the most significant time in his career. Since returning as Uhtred in the movie The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die in 2023, Dreymon has not appeared in another project.

Dreymon's Love Life

Dreymon Is Engaged And Has A Child

Uhtred's romances in The Last Kingdom were always a well-known part of the character's life but there was a long time when Dreymon's personal love life was kept secretive from the public. Throughout much of his time on The Last Kingdom, there were only rumors of his romantic relationships such as dating Skyfall and Hercules actor, Tonia Sotiropoulou, as well as The Last Kingdom costar Eliza Butterworth, who plays Lady Aelswith.

However, Dreymon has now found himself in a confirmed and serious relationship as he is engaged to actor Allison Williams. Having met on the 2020 movie Horizon Line, the couple began dating before having a son in 2021 and announcing their engagement in 2022. Williams is known for playing Marnie on Girls as well as Rose Armitage in the Oscar-winning horror movie Get Out.

How Dreymon Feels About Being A Celebrity

Dreymon Struggles With Privacy In The Real World

The Last Kingdom was a big hit for its five-season run and with Alexander Dreymon as the face of the series, it certainly raised his profile as an actor. While Dreymon might not be a household name, he has earned a celebrity status which can come with a lot of benefits as well as a lot of challenges.

Dreymon seems to be well aware of both sides and seeks to find a balance in this new aspect of his life. He confessed in an interview with The Carousel that he doesn't like it when people point and call him out in public because of his role.

He once denied being Uhtred when people claimed to have seen him on TV while he was on the subway. However, Dreymon pointed out that his character's look is also different from his own, which allows him to go unnoticed some of the time.

Dreymon And Emily Cox Instantly Clicked When They Met

Uhtred And Brida's Chemistry Came Easily

Uhtred has had many great relationships on The Last Kingdom, but one friendship that had a special place in the fans' hearts was Uhtred and Brida's. Although Brida eventually considers herself to be Uhtred's enemy, there was a time when they considered each other "soulmates."

They may have been on opposite sides of the war but fans always appreciated that they would come rushing to the other's aid. They also bounce off of each other and gel quite well. A big part of what makes the relationship work so well is the chemistry between the actors.

In an interview with Entertainment Focus, Dreymon revealed that he and Emily Cox were instantly able to capture Brida and Uhtred's bond as soon as they met. Both actors ended up screen testing with each other before they were cast with Dreymon explaining that there wasn't much work to do.

Dreymon Almost Broke A Colleague's Nose On Set Of The Last Kingdom

Dreymon Expressed Guilt Over The On-Set Accident

Uhtred is a merciless warrior on the battlefield, but that is just another way the character and actor Alexander Dreymon are different. Though Dreymon takes pride in doing his own stunts and works hard to do them right, there are things that go wrong on set from time to time. This certainly proved to be the case for Dreymon when he was filming season 1 of The Last Kingdom as he revealed to Express that he almost broke the nose of one of his colleagues.

Dreymon revealed that during the climactic battle sequence at the end of the first season, he misjudged one of his movies and accidentally kicked someone in the face, nearly breaking his nose. Dreymon discussed the guilt and fear he had in the moment, insisting that it is far worse injuring someone on set than getting hurt. Luckily, the stunt performer was okay.

Why Dreymon Was Drawn To Uhtred

Dreymon Enjoyed The Character's Complexity

Considering that many people auditioned for the role of Uhtred, including Erik actor Christian Hillborg (via Express), there had to be a reason why everyone was drawn to the role. For Dreymon, the actor revealed that he was mainly drawn to the part because of Uhtred's complexity. Many of the greatest protagonists on television are the ones who are not the ideal heroes but rather have layers and faults that they have to overcome. Dreymon revealed how he saw Uhtred as one such character (via The Guardian):

"He's not perfect. He's charming, but he's got flaws. I like his cheekiness and the fact that he gets himself in messed up situations. He's impulsive, and that's fun to play - even when he's faced with a life or death situation."

Fans would certainly agree that Uhtred was quite reckless when they first met him in season 1 as he hardly thought about the consequences of his actions. Part of the thrill of watching the series was seeing his evolution over time as he began to realize his reckless ways and become wiser with age and experience.

How Dreymon Prepared For The Role

The Actor Draws From The Source Material

While not as well-known as the adaptations of George R.R. Martin's epic novels that became hit shows like Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, The Last Kingdom is another series based on books.

In bringing Bernard Cronwell's book series to the small screen, there are obviously a lot of changes that need to be made. However, Dreymon found that the source material was essential in preparing for his role as Uhtred.

Though Dreymon doesn't physically resemble the way Uhtred is described in the books, the actor drew on the books to have a base for the character to draw from that is not necessarily explored in the show (via Entertainment Focus). This deeper exploration of the character allowed Dreymon to be connected to the character in a deeper way before filming even began.

His Favorite Character On The Last Kingdom

It's Not Himself

Unfortunately, Uhtred is one of the most popular characters on The Last Kingdom and a lot of it has to do with Dreymon's performance. However, there are a lot of other great characters in the series that get plenty of love as well.

In fact, Dreymon confessed that he has his own favorite character outside of Uhtred. During an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Dreymon revealed that he had a special place in his heart for Beocca since he was a great father figure and "quite funny."

Another one of the original characters on The Last Kingdom, like Uhtred, Beocca was played by Ian Hart. Beocca was one of the most lovable characters on the show who would offer wise advice to Uhtred, taking him away from a darker path. It is not hard to see why Dreymon had affection for him given their relationship on the show but with Beocca's selflessness, he is a character that everyone could easily love.