Travis Fimmel doesn’t do things by the book—unless that book involves wrangling snakes to promote beer or cutting half his lines because “the more you talk, the more you give away.” Sitting in front of the camera, the Vikings star is here to talk about his new role in HBO Max’s Dune: Prophecy, his DIY beer venture “Travla,” and how exactly he fumbled his way into acting. “Just f***ing stupidity,” he grins.
Set 10,000 years before Paul Atreides gets angsty about sandworms, Dune: Prophecy is HBO’s attempt at building a franchise prequel that doesn't immediately feel like a cash grab. And Fimmel? He’s Desmond Hart, a mysterious, morally ambiguous soldier who may or may not be good, depending on which scene you’re watching. “He’s doing some very bad things,” Fimmel admits, “but every bad guy thinks they’re good, right?” That’s the thing about his characters—they're slippery, like the literal snake he nearly kissed on Instagram while pushing his beer brand. “We got no budget, mate. Startup company. Guerilla style.”
The beer, Travla, isn’t just a vanity project. It’s a grassroots effort with 28 of his farming buddies pooling their money for a shot at the big monopolies of the beer world. “Nobody’s wealthy. We just wanted to have a crack at something we all drink,” he says. “I didn’t even have social media before this. Suddenly I’ve got mates’ money in it, now I’m chasing snakes and talking to a phone.” According to Fimmel, beer is beer—taste is all in the marketing. “You put ten lagers in glasses, no one can tell the difference. But show them the can, suddenly they think they can.”
When he’s not playing snake charmer or brewery mogul, he’s diving headfirst into projects like Dune: Prophecy, fully aware of the massive shoes he’s filling. “There’s definitely weight on your shoulders,” he says of following Denis Villeneuve’s cinematic juggernauts. “But we’re on different planets, different worlds, 10,000 years before. It shouldn’t be that much like the film.” He plays it off like it’s no big deal, but there’s reverence in his tone for the “mood” of Dune, something he compares to the eerie vibe of Blade Runner. Just don’t expect him to overthink it. “It’s always the same basic emotions,” he shrugs. “You want to be loved. You feel hate. You want to kill some people—some of these shows let you live that out.”
Fimmel claims he likes to mess with people, especially in character. “First thing I ever do on a job is cut lines. The more you talk, the more you give away,” he says, laughing about how he dreads being the only one speaking in a room. “It’s like going to school naked.” And yet, there he was, delivering a heavy-hitting council speech in Dune: Prophecy, his least favorite kind of scene. “I’ve got the worst memory in the world. Takes me forever to learn lines.”
Despite playing coy about his path, there’s no shortage of work behind the scenes. “Studied for years,” he insists. “There’s no easy way. I probably missed the easy way.” And when he’s not on set, he’s back to farming roots and championing the country folk. “Farmers get forgotten. We wouldn’t eat if it weren’t for them. Every beer’s made in the city, then taken to the country. We want to give city people a taste of the country.”
Travis Fimmel: the reluctant actor, accidental entrepreneur, and guy who might still be wondering, “Where did it all go wrong?” But don’t worry—he’ll get through it with a cold one in hand and maybe a snake or two nearby.
Watch the interview above and then check out the trailer below.
