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Why Did Travis Fimmel Leave Vikings ?

Utkarsh YadavSep 20 . 7 min read

The Reason will surprise you Why did Ragnar leave Vikings:

Ragnar's fans may have been shocked by Ragnar's lodbrok's demise in the fourth season of Vikings but the role behind it was not, in fact, showrunner Michael Hirst originally planned to create a single 10 episode mini-series, but luckily viewers loved the series, and Ragnar so much that show was not only extended to a second season eventually up to six despite the renewals Ragnar was never meant to be with us for the entire show's run. 

Hirst admitted "when I was writing the show Ragnar died at the end of the season one but actually when we were making it I realise by the end of the season we were only the start of Ragnar's journey" and because Hirst needs to expand on Ragnar's story we were granted an additional three season with Travis Fimmel in the lead while we are super glad that Ragnar's popularity saved him from an early death. It did not mean he would be spared forever.

 Michael Hirst added, "I was never afraid of killing him off but I wanted the death to be monumental" and that monumental moment came in the fourth season, but why kill off such a popular main character? There are two reasons firstly because he was never supposed to be the show's protagonist.

"There were plenty of gloomy,doom-laden warnings that to kill off your major character will damage the show and it was a risk, but I'd sold the show on the basis that this was about Ragnar lodbrok and his sons."-Michael Hirst

So the showrunner really wanted to focus on Ragnar's children just as the mythology did and that brings us to the second reason for Fimmel's departure from the show. According to Mythology, Ragnar died between 852 to 856 BCE, at the hand of King Aelle and his creative venomous snake pit, as he went to avenge the death of his brother Aethelwulf. At least we know that his death scene wasn't just the workings of a dark mind it actually happened, the perfect man for the job.




How did Aethelwulf die ?

According to Mythology, Aethelwulf was dead on December 13, 902 AD. Athelwulf is highly allergic to bees. He is stung by a bee and dies in the 9th Episode of Vikings Season 5.




How did Fimmel end up being cast as Ragnar?

After submitting an audition tape that was filmed in his kitchen a mere week before filming was due to start he got the part hilariously he did not dress up or do an accent in his audition video he wore shorts and used his Australian accent, But Hirst was impressed despite having a huge amount of actors audition for the part, he thought that they all tried too hard. So Fimmel's laid-back attitude and kitchen audition got him on a flight the next day literally for a face-to-face audition and they knew they'd found Ragnar. 

Hirst recalls that "Everyone loved what he did when he came over to Ireland and we cast him, although a lot of people were full of trepidation. But he is perfect".

Some may consider it fate but Fimmel admits that he only got into acting because there's just no money in farming at all, who would have thought playing the right part and playing it right. Considering that Fimmel signed up for a 10 episode run which ended with his death the actor was not exactly surprised at his demise even if it came much later than he expected in an interview with entertainment weekly he explained that "I was meant to die at the end of the first year but I ended up staying around for three more", and it seems that he enjoyed every minute except for the time spent in hair and makeup when he thinks back to the time spent applying for hair extensions a whopping nine hours and wardrobe changes the actor said I should have gotten into porn at least you don't have to change your outfit every 10 seconds but jokes aside he's pretty vocal about having enjoyed being part of the show. Hirst admits that he really enjoyed working with Fimmel and valued the actor's help in the character's evolution but he did not want to only focus on a single storyline especially one represented by such a passionate actor who really tried to get into Ragnar's mind.

 Showrunner told, I loved writing for Travis but my saga was always going to be about Ragnar and his sons with Ragnar gone from the show Hirst could spend more time perfecting their storylines until the end of the sixth season and if you are wondering why only six seasons it's because the writer has confirmed that he is satisfied with the story he is told in Vikings and that he is taken the show as far as he can without it becoming deluded and boring but Does that mean we have to say goodbye to Norse adventures forever? Probably not, if rumors are anything to go by he is busy writing a Viking sequel for Netflix called Vikings: Valhalla which is set a century after the original show. Despite fans initially being hopeful that it could be a chance to see some of our favorite characters return, Hirst has confirmed that it will feature an all-new never before seen cast so watch this space.




Fimmel's personal life:

Talking about Fimmel's personal life he is the son of Jennie, a recreation officer for the disabled, and Chris, a cattle farmer. How tall is Travis Fimmel? Travis's height is 1.83 meters. Is Travis Fimmel married? if we discuss Travis Fimmel wife I just want to let you know that Travis has not been married. 

Travis has two brothers, Travis Fimmel brothers picture




From Calvin Klein Model to 'Vikings' Star:


More than just pretty face it was because he needed cash that he became a celebrity at all. 

The first male to secure a six-figure deal for Calvin Klein.

Before becoming an actor, he was an underwear model for Calvin Klein, Klein himself has spoken about his first meetings with the unknown blue-eyed hunk. 

"So he walks into my studio, and it was like drop-dead.. his presence was jaw-dropping. I called Steven Klein right away and said, 'Don't do anything. just put him in the underwear and put him up against the window' "- CALVIN KLEIN

He was named one of the world's sexiest bachelors by the People magazine in 2002.

The modelling job gave him the cash and the visa to allow him to pursue acting despite never having aspirations to be an actor in fact he is still adamant that he does not want to be an actor but is just making bank until he can afford to buy a farm in Australia. 

In an interview, Travis said "Shit mate, if I had the money, I’d have been home two years ago. You need a fair bit of money now to get a big farm in Australia – it’s so expensive. Unbelievably expensive. I’d love to be back – but I’ll be here for a few more years", According to GQ, Fimmels dislikes most things about acting from the audition to the publicity the pretentiousness of some of his colleagues but no names were mentioned this guy is a gentleman at all. 

Not only he has regularly insisted that he's not going to be acting forever but he has long-term plans that don't involve Hollywood, When at Large Magzine asked him what he would be doing if he was not an actor he immediately said he'd still be a farmer. He added "I go home every year for a few months. That's where I'm happy."




Travis fimmel scar:

He was sporting a bushy beard, was clearly displaying a large pink scar on his right cheek a new facial injury as he posed for photographers at the first international event dedicated to watchmaking - the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH).




10 Best Travis Fimmel movies and tv shows:(According to IMDB rating):

Vikings

Raised by Wolves 

Warcraft

Danger Close

Dreamland

The Beast

Lean On Pete

Finding Steve McQueen

The Baytown Outlaws


Currently, he is working on project El tonto directed by Charlie day. The release date of the El tonto charlie day trailer is expected soon.

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