Interview with Katheryn Winnick (Lagertha)

Lagertha - warrior, proud mother and ex-wife to Vikings chieftain Ragnar – she is not a woman to be messed with. Neither is the actress that plays her, Katheryn Winnick.

Ukranian-Canadian actress Winnick began martial arts at the age of seven, and achieved her first black belt at just the age of 13.

In fact, Winnick strongly identifies with her character on many levels. “Like her, I refuse to play second fiddle. She won’t sit at home and take care of the kids while he goes out to explore. No way – she goes out and fights,” Winnick says.

And she also says that what makes Lagertha so unique and relatable as a female character is that she is multi-dimensional, and not without her flaws.

“Lagertha is strong, but she also has faults…what I love about Lagertha is that she has conflicts and flaws and she questions things…she’s not just a strong vixen.”

As for series 3, we will see Largertha evolve and strengthen as a character.

“Lagertha has gained more status. She’s changed a huge amount. When I signed on, she was just a famous wife. In this season, she emerges as her own person even further.”

But as with all the characters on Vikings, she admits her character is never entirely safe from getting killed off.

“It’s Vikings, so any of us could go at any second! But if she does go, I hope that Lagertha has a monumental death and goes out still strong.”

A global hit series, Winnick's gained fans around the world and retells an encounter she had with a couple of mega-fans when she was disguised under a mask at Comic Con.

“One couple came up to me dressed as Lagertha and Ragnar. She told me she had spent a year creating her Lagertha costume. At the end of our conversation, I lifted up my owl mask and revealed who I was. She started shaking and crying. It’s amazing to see you have affected so many people that they want to dress up like you!”

The show has opened the door to many new exciting opportunities, so much so that's she's even had to turn down some offers.

However, she has just completed filming a documentary about Vikings, which she particularly resonates with as, “they have found the remains of a warrior with a shield there. They have discovered that it is a woman because of the shape of the pelvis. It’s very nice to have our experience validated in that way.”

Winnick is currently filming sci-fi fantasy film The Dark Tower which also stars Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, set to be released in 2017.