Alexander Skarsgård Ruined Multiple ‘Murderbot’ Finale Scenes by Crying

Season one of Murderbot wrapped up in a way that was sad yet hopeful—read io9’s recap here—with the underlying joy for fans that the Apple TV+ series will be returning to adapt more of Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries stories. And Alexander Skarsgård, who plays the title character, felt plenty of human emotion welling up while he was portraying the self-aware robot in the finale.

Speaking to Collider, the actor, who’s also one of Murderbot‘s executive producers, spoke about the scene, in which his character shares a moment with Gurathin—his foe turned ally played by David Dastmalchian.

At the very end of episode 10, “The Perimeter,” Murderbot decides it needs to strike out on its own, rather than accept the help of the human team it’s been working with—and protecting from certain murder—all season. Instead of saying “good-bye,” Murderbot reverts to a phrase it repeated over and over during its term of service.

“To have that scene with David and to say, ‘I need to check the perimeter,’ just felt very emotional because we all became very close over the course of those six months of shooting the season,” Skarsgård said. “Obviously, when you do a show, you don’t know if you’re going to get picked up for a second season, so you don’t know if you’re going to have an opportunity to come back and do it all again, or if this really is goodbye. So, it was a very emotionally charged moment. Murderbot obviously doesn’t cry, but I was really struggling.”

“Often, as an actor, you try to get those tears, but this is very much the opposite, where I was desperately trying to keep them in. I blew a couple of takes because I started crying—because it really got to me, that moment with David. It really moved me.”

As we now know, Murderbot will be back for season two—though given we see the main character departing for adventures unknown after bidding farewell (in his own way) to Gurathin, it’s likely a new supporting cast will come aboard as part of that.

You can (and should!) watch Murderbot season one on Apple TV+.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.