The actor departed 'Vikings' midway through season 4.
Travis Fimmel is rooting for the Vikings team as they prepare for their swan song. The actor -- who starred on the History series as Ragnar Lothbrok until his departure midway through season four -- thinks the show's upcoming finale is "going to be great."
"Best of luck to them," Fimmel tells ET while promoting the launch of his new HBO Max series, Raised by Wolves. "I never watched the show when I was on it. I'm not big at watching stuff that I'm on, but the show did amazing after I left, and best of luck with the spinoff. I think it's going to be great."
Following Ragnar's death in season four, the show focused on the character's sons, including Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig), Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith), Hvitserk (Marco Ilsø) and Ivar (Alex Høgh Andersen). The sixth and final season of Vikings premiered last December, and its final 10 episodes will debut on History later this year. A sequel series, Vikings: Valhalla, is in development at Netflix.
"The thing is Michael [Hirst] wrote every episode on that show, which is just unbelievable," Fimmel says of the Vikings creator. "He didn't have a team of writers. He wrote every single episode for 70 episodes -- there's actually more than that. I think there's 80 or 90. But he's just a remarkable, remarkable writer."
Fimmel had a close collaborative relationship with Hirst during his time on the show, influencing key scenes and storylines for his character. Things work a little differently on Raised by Wolves, the actor says.
"I just tried to do it through acting here. Michael and I had an extraordinary relationship on Vikings, and it's a different set up here," he explains. "But the scripts have been great, and with Ridley [Scott] running the ship, I'm just very proud of it."
The HBO Max drama is the first TV show that Scott -- known for sci-fi hits like 1979's Alien, 1982's Blade Runner and 2015's The Martian -- has directed in decades. He also serves as executive producer on the Aaron Guzikowski-created show.
Raised by Wolves centers on two androids, Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubakar Salim), who are tasked with raising human children on a mysterious new planet after the Earth was destroyed by a great war. As the burgeoning colony of humans threatens to be torn apart by religious differences, the androids learn that controlling the beliefs of humans is a treacherous and difficult task.
Details of Fimmel's character, Marcus, have been kept more under wraps.
"Our characters have been together for a long time in a world that's just full of war and destruction and we've relied on each other. And then my character convinces her to go on another journey and infiltrate a religious group that we absolutely despise and hate," Fimmel explains of his and Niamh Algar's characters. Through that journey, the characters end up adopting a child. That, and other aspects, "takes its toll on our relationship," he teases.
The first three episodes of Raised by Wolves are now streaming on HBO Max.
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