Travis Fimmel played Ragnar Lothbrok in Vikings, but that wasn't his only appearance in the series – here's where you can find him too.
Travis Fimmel was the lead of Vikings throughout most seasons, and he had a second, secret appearance in the series that everyone missed – and here’s where to find it. The branch of historical drama has become very popular on TV, and one of the most recent and popular titles from this branch is Vikings, created by Michael Hirst. Vikings covered the first years of the Viking Age, and it introduced various characters either based on real-life people or taken from sagas, myths, and more, as is the case of Ragnar Lothbrok.
Vikings initially followed the travels and raids of legendary Norse figure Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) alongside his Viking brothers, but as the series progressed, it shifted its focus to Ragnar’s sons and their own journeys. After Ragnar’s death in Vikings season 4, his sons Björn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd, and Ivar took the lead until the final episode of the series, but Ragnar’s legacy wasn’t forgotten. Ragnar continued to appear sporadically through the final seasons of Vikings, whether in flashbacks or visions, but Travis Fimmel had another, secret appearance in the series, and it’s a very easy-to-miss one.
Although Vikings is based on historical records and more, Hirst and company took many, many creative liberties to build the show’s stories and characters, but there were still many historically accurate details throughout the show. The production crew of Vikings paid a lot of attention to small details like the characters’ hairstyles, clothes, and the weapons they used, and of course, there was a lot of work involved in the impressive ships shown in the series. A very special case is the ship Ragnar sailed in in Vikings season 3, which was decorated with the decapitated heads of 40 Mercian warriors – and among those was Travis Fimmel’s head.
In Vikings season 3, Ragnar and company fought for the restoration of the throne for Mercia for Princess Kwenthrith, and though they won the battle, Torstein was injured and died shortly after. When sailing towards the coast, Ragnar hung the decapitated heads of 40 Mercian warriors on his ship, which was a major challenge for the design crew of Vikings. In an interview with SBS in 2017, makeup and prosthetic designer Tom McInerney spoke about the experience of making 40 heads in record time for that specific scene. McInerney explained that to speed the process up, they enlisted “any cast and crew” they could find, and so one of those many heads hanging on Ragnar’s ship was Fimmel’s. Although Vikings had their own rituals and more, it’s unclear if they hung the heads of their enemies in their boats, though these usually had animal heads carved at the front in order to protect the Vikings from hostile spirits.
Of course, Ragnar hung the heads of his Mercian enemies in order to instill fear and establish himself (and his crew) as someone to fear, and as shocking as seeing all those heads hanging on the ship is, it’s fun to know that among those heads is Travis Fimmel’s. Vikings is packed with small but interesting details like this one, and there are surely more waiting to be discovered.
Next: Vikings: What Illness Ragnar Lothbrok Had After The Siege of Paris
