Clive Standen is fastly becoming a household name. He won our hearts as Rollo on Vikings and more recently has shown a more domesticated side to himself on Council of Dads .
In order to help you better get to know the man behind the beard, here are 10+ cool things about Vikings star Clive Standen that fans didn’t know.
Clive worked his fair share of normal jobs before breaking into Hollywood.
“When I was struggling I had no pride in terms of what jobs I would take: I drove vans, passed out things on the street, waited tables, did bar work, cleaned houses…. the mortgage doesn’t pay itself.”
His dog Plissken is his best friend.
Plissken the dog makes regular cameos on Clive’s Instagram. As you can see from this incredible image above, the two are practically inseparable.
Whether Clive’s hanging out in his backyard or hiking in the mountains, Plissken isn’t far behind.
Respect is everything, according to Clive.
“You have to respect the character that you’re playing. You don’t have to like him. Like in Vikings, Rollo, I don’t like Rollo, but I definitely respect him. And as an actor, you need to respect the character that you’re playing, because you need to know where he comes from.”
Clive is a bibliophile.
A quick scroll through Clive’s Instagram reveals that he’s a lover of literature ! When he isn’t conquering and pillaging, he enjoys cuddling up with his dog and a good book to read!
He knew that Rollo was an intellectual deep down?
He has a passion for Viggo Mortensen!
“Well if I was going to have any acting hero, it would be Viggo Mortensen , but on screen.”
Clive admits that he’d be totally starstruck if their paths were to ever cross. Make it happen, Hollywood!
Clive loves the great outdoors!
“Hiking the path less traveled today in the heat! We took masks but saw no humans and the rattle snakes [sic] didn’t seem too concerned so we did without them ;)”
Rattlesnakes? Count me out! I like the indoors just fine.
He has an incredibly humble definition of success:
“Quite simply, being happy . Success is doing something that makes you happy.”
Those are words to live by, Clive! We should all be so lucky to be able to pursue a career that feeds our souls and our bellies.
Clive rolls just like Rollo.
Are you kidding me? I wonder how many ax-throws it took before he was able to hit the bullseye?
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Here’s a question for you: who would win in an ax-throwing competition between Clive and Jason Mamoa?
His character Anthony on *Council Of Dads* was based on a very famous chef.
“Well I based him really, and the showrunners and writers did, on Anthony Bourdain sort of.”
Anthony Bourdain was a world-renowned chef and world traveler . A troubled, larger-than-life Renaissance man who battled addiction and his own personal demons his entire life.
He actually learned how to cook for *Council Of Dads*.
“I did a Japanese cookery course and I was awful at that kind of cooking. Italian cooking with fresh pasta and pasta sauce, I took to that very quickly and I carry it on.”
Clive has a type when it comes to the roles he selects.
“I am definitely drawn to characters with fires in their bellies. I like characters with layers. I like the flip side of the coin: I like characters that aren’t what they first seem.”
He has a great passion for NASCAR.
Clive attended a race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and snapped a picture with NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney. Clive captioned the photo “Great day and great race .”
Ryan competes full-time on the NASCAR Cup Series.
Clive was even selected to be the honorary pace car at the FanShield 500!
“I’m looking forward to being a part of all the excitement at Phoenix Raceway for the Fanshield 500 “, Clive said. “Being on the track with all the top NASCAR stars will be a unique and thrilling experience.”
He never stops working — even in-between scenes!
“My workout routine naturally takes a lot of time for me to look the part of Rollo. But I didn’t want to do that during family time, so I get my workouts done using 15-minute bursts between scenes.”
Clive originally auditioned to play Ragnar!
“I auditioned to be Ragnar, and when Travis Fimmel got the role, Michael changed the part of Rollo to suit me. Making Ragnar and Rollo brothers was a license we took; Michael initially wrote him as Ragnar’s hard drinking [sic], wisecracking, slightly psychotic fifty-ear-old cousin.”
