Spoilers ahead for Episode 8 of Murderbot Season 1, called "Foreign Object" and available streaming with an Apple TV+ subscription now.
Murderbot is quickly approaching the end of its first season in the 2025 TV schedule, and Alexander Skarsgård's SecUnit increasingly has to deal with the humans in his charge putting themselves in danger and keeping him from binge-watching more episodes of Sanctuary Moon. As episodes pass, we get to see more of the leading man without his mask, but that doesn't mean Skarsgård is suddenly dressed in comfortable clothes like the rest of the cast. He told CinemaBlend about the long process of putting that SecUnit suit on, but prefers practical effects to a CGI suit anyway.
When I spoke with Alexander Skarsgård for Apple TV+'s Murderbot press junket, I had to know: what was his experience with practical effects vs. CGI for a sci-fi project that uses some of both? The Stand alum (who had a hot take on Stephen King) shared:
Practical effects are fun… Before that, I did a movie called Infinity Pool with Brandon Cronenberg, and he's all about practical effects because it feels more visceral. It's more kind of [like] you're in there and it's fun to play around with, I think. That also means several hours in the chair every day, but whenever you can do it practically, I prefer that. I'd say.
Infinity Pool was another sci-fi project for Skarsgård, although it certainly leaned more into horror than the comedy of Murderbot. Back in 2023, the actor opened up about a specific sequence from Infinity Pool that was "very creative and innovative and tactile" to film because Brandon Cronenberg was determined to do it on set "as opposed to in post with CGI." Skarsgård definitely had that experience with practical effects before Murderbot, but it sounds like the Apple TV+ show required plenty of patience to gear up as SecUnit. He went on:
Quite a bit was done on camera practically. [laughs] Obviously not all of it. There's quite a bit of special effects as well, but... whatever we could do practically, we did.
There are elements of Murderbot that are easily identifiable as CGI, such as the giant alien monsters that the team encountered on the planet, but I'm now curious about whether there were any practical effects to SecUnit killing Leebeebee. Actress Anna Konkle surely wasn't injured, after all, although Alexander Skarsgård explained why she had him "struggling" on set while filming.
Skarsgård did demonstrate exactly how complicated the process of suiting up as Murderbot was while filming the series. While the TikTok video is less than a minute and a half long for fans to watch, the sixteen-step process (with the aid of somebody to help yank up the pants, strap on the armor, and get his feet in those SecUnit boots) is sped up quite a bit. Take a look:
Clearly, a lot of work went into getting Skarsgård set to play MurderBot, but he did seem to be having fun for at least part of the process. By the end... well, I can't blame him for needing a drink of water. I do love that the leading man did in fact play the android throughout the season, even when his face wasn't visible and a stand-in could have been in the suit. For example, Pedro Pascal stopped putting on the suit for The Mandalorian at a certain point while still voicing the Star Wars bounty hunter. Not so for Skarsgård!
There are still a couple of episodes left in Murderbot Season 1, and remains to be seen if a second season will happen. Check out Apple TV+ now for the first eight episodes, and find new episodes on the streamer on Fridays.
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