Turns out, not everyone was saying yes to the dance routines on the set of Mamma Mia!. Christine Baranski just spilled some behind-the-scenes tea that proves even beloved Hollywood actors can feel rhythmically challenged when ABBA is involved — and Stellan Skarsgård might top that list.
During her May 7 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Baranski, 73, took a nostalgic detour while promoting the new season of Nine Perfect Strangers, reminiscing about her time filming the 2008 musical hit alongside Stellan Skarsgård, Pierce Brosnan, and Colin Firth.
When Colbert reminded her of the Mamma Mia! days and even flashed a photo of the cast, she didn’t hold back from sharing the hilarious details of how each leading man handled the film’s high-energy musical numbers.
Apparently, Brosnan was fully on board with the upbeat vibe.
“Pierce was game,” Baranski said, noting his enthusiasm. “He would skip down the hill multiple times” during the filming of Dancing Queen.
As for Firth, well, he brought a different kind of energy. “Colin meant all of his moves ironically,” she added with a laugh.
But when it came to Skarsgård, the dancing fun hit a bit of a speed bump.
“Stellan hated it,” Baranski revealed. She described how the cast had to dance their way down a hill and land on a dock as the big musical number wrapped up.
“Then it was the end of the number. The camera would move around, and it usually would avoid Stellan,” she said, clearly still amused by the memory. But then, the director had other plans.
“Finally, Ol Parker, the director, said, ‘Stellan, okay, it’s time for your close up. You have got to do the moves now. You have simply got to do the moves,’” Baranski recounted.
And that’s when things really got theatrical — just not in the way you’d expect.
“He let out a string of expletives,” she laughed. “It’s as if Ol had asked him to do Arabic poetry while jumping rope. He was like, ‘I can’t do that.’”
But in true professional fashion, Skarsgård rose to the occasion.
“He did it,” Baranski said, smiling. “It was so funny. I love Stellan. He’s just the greatest. He’s a wonderful actor. He was a great colleague.”
Even if his dance moves weren’t exactly worthy of a disco ball trophy, it’s safe to say Skarsgård gave fans a performance to remember — expletives and all.
