Vikings: Valhalla, the long-awaited spin-off to Amazon Prime's Vikings is streaming on Netflix now. Created by Die Hard's Jeb Stuart, the series continues the Vikings' story into the 11th century and follows the journeys of some of the most legendary Vikings. In Episode 1 of Vikings: Valhalla, audiences are introduced to Leif Erikson (played by Sam Corlett), a Greenlander who has arrived in Kattegat with his sister Freydis (Frida Gustavsson).
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina star Sam Corlett who plays Erikson, spoke to Newsweek about his character, what fans can expect, and more.
Who is Leif Erikson?
Leif Erikson was a powerful Viking born in Iceland and the son of the famous Erik the Red, the founder of Greenland. Erikson was born in 970 and is believed to have lived until 1020.
Like his father, Erikson too was an explorer and is believed to have been the first European to set foot on continental North America.
Today, the U.S. celebrates Leif Erikson Day on October 9 every year to honor the famous Viking.
According to the sagas of the Icelanders, Erikson's discovery of Vinland encouraged more Norse people to make the voyage, establishing a Norse settlement at Vinland. Today, Vinland is recognized as the area of coastal North America.
In 1963, archaeologists found ruins of a Viking-type settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows, in northern Newfoundland, Canada that correspond to Leif's description of Vinland that appears in The Saga of Erik the Red. An analysis by The University of Arizona found via the study of radiocarbon that the area was occupied between 990 and 1050, the same period Erikson was alive.
Today, L'Anse aux Meadows is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
When audiences meet Erikson in Vikings: Valhalla, he has traveled on the stormy seas from Greenland to Kattegat with his sister Freydis, seeking revenge against Olaf II of Norway (Jóhannes Jóhannesson) who sexually assaulted her as a young girl.
However, when he arrives in Kattegat, Erikson finds himself caught up in something much, much bigger — a war of revenge against King Aethelred the Unready of England who ordered the killing of the Danes in England on November 13, 1002.
Speaking to Newsweek about Erikson's journey in Vikings: Valhalla, actor Sam Corlett shared: "I play Leif Erikson and we see him coming from Greenland into Kattegat, the greater Viking world, which he is very new to, with the Greenlanders and his sister Freydis. He is over there for a particular purpose in regards to his sister but he gets dragged along into this greater Viking purpose, which is to revenge the massacre of St. Brice's day and in doing so, free his sister from being held. That's the journey. And then we come back to Kattegat and there's more than unfolds out of that."
Corlett also teased: "There's a bit of an unleashing of life at the end of season one" for his character.
Vikings: Valhalla also sees a close friendship play out between Corlett's Erikson and Leo Suter's Harald Sigurdsson, the king of Norway.
Speaking to Newsweek, Suter touched on their unique relationship. He shared: "You wonder, is it going to be a rivalry? But over the course of a season, you realize that these are two different characters with different personalities that have a lot to learn from each other. Actually, it's that Butch Cassidy/Sundance Kid kind of reference point, they really complement each other while together, they, they can do great things."
In reality, Erikson did not travel to Kattegat as it is a fictional place created entirely for the original Amazon Prime series, Vikings, and the spin-off Vikings: Valhalla.
The real Kattegat is a shallow sea area surrounded by Denmark and Sweden.
The real Erikson did travel, including making voyages to coastal North America, Iceland, and the Hebrides. However, there is no historical evidence to suggest Erikson raided Anglo-Saxon England or was a part of the Viking uprising in response to St Brice's Day, as seen in Vikings: Valhalla.
Unfortunately, despite the on-screen bromance, Erikson and King Harald never crossed paths in real life. When Erikson is believed to have died in 1020, Sigurdsson would have been just five years old.
As seen in Vikings: Valhalla, Erikson had a sister Freydis but the real Erikson also had two brothers, Thorsteinn and Thorvaldr who sadly died before making it to Vinland.
Vikings: Valhalla is streaming on Netflix now.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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