Alexander Richard Ludwig (born May 7, 1992) is a Canadian actor and country musician. He first began his career as a child, and then received recognition as a teenager for starring in the films The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007), Race to Witch Mountain (2009) and he is also known for starring as Cato in The Hunger Games (2012).

He is also known for his supporting roles as Shane Patton in Lone Survivor (2013), Christopher "Chris" Ryan in When the Game Stands Tall (2014), Jameson in Final Girl (2015), Dorn in Bad Boys for Life (2020), Alex Singleton in Heart of Champions (2021), Sgt. Declan O'Brady in Guy Ritchie's The Covenant (2023), Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) and Rome Archer in Marked Men: Rule + Shaw (2025). He starred as legendary Viking Björn Ironside in the History Channel series Vikings (2014–2020) and had a lead role in the Starz drama series Heels (20212023). As a musician, Ludwig released his debut album Highway 99 via BBR Music Group on August 26, 2022.

Early life Alexander Richard Ludwig was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Sharlene (née Martin), a former actress, and Harald Horst Ludwig, a businessman and former co-chair of Lionsgate Entertainment. He has three younger siblings. Ludwig was drawn to the profession, saying in an interview, "I have a big imagination. I love performing."

Despite his mother's early career as an actress, Ludwig had to convince his parents to support his desire to pursue acting as a child. His parents believed that child actors "can get sucked into a life that isn't reality." They prioritized education, and so he attended regular school while pursuing his acting dreams. "It was definitely challenging to juggle school while filming," he reflected in the same interview. "My school wasn't used to it, and I wasn't used to it. It was the most amazing experience, but it was really hard." Ludwig studied at the University of Southern California (but left before graduating), where he was in the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.

Career Ludwig began his career at the age of nine when he featured in a Harry Potter toy commercial, a job that enabled him to sign on with an agent and obtain more commercial work. Later he was cast in movies such as Air Bud: World Pup (2000), MXP: Most Extreme Primate (2003), Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy (2005), Eve and the Fire Horse (2005), The Sandlot: Heading Home (2007).

In addition to cinema, Ludwig has also worked in television. He has performed in movies made for television, such as A Little Thing Called Murder (2006), and television series such as The Dead Zone. Ludwig obtained his leading role in The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007) after a "gruelling audition process." By his count, he had 16 auditions before being cast. Ludwig was in Grown Ups 2 with Adam Sandler.

Ludwig's next lead role came in the part of Seth – one half of a teenage, alien brother-sister duo – in the film production of Race to Witch Mountain (2009), also starring Dwayne Johnson. Seth is the part originated by Ike Eisenmann in the 1975 original, Escape to Witch Mountain. The film opened at number one at the box office the weekend that it premiered, with receipts estimated at $25 million. Despite his early casting success with The Seeker, Ludwig indicated in an interview that it was his intention to attend university. In another interview, the actor said that the most challenging thing about filming The Seeker was trying "to juggle school while filming." He stated: "My school wasn't used to it, and I wasn't used to it. It was the most amazing experience, but it was really hard."

In the movie adaptation of The Hunger Games, Ludwig played Cato, the fierce male tribute from District 2, the primary threat to the protagonists' lives during the 74th Hunger Games. The film was released worldwide on March 23, 2012. Ludwig won the award for Best Fight on 2012 MTV Movie Awards along with Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, as well as the award for Best Villain at the 2012 Teen Choice Awards. Ludwig released his first single "Liv It Up (Teenage Wasteland)" on March 1, 2012.

In 2013, he co-starred in the films Lone Survivor and Grown Ups 2. In 2014, he became a part of the main cast of the popular TV series Vikings, playing the character of Björn Ironside, the son of Ragnar Lothbrok and Lagertha. In 2015, he had the male lead in both the horror films Final Girl and The Final Girls, which are unrelated to each other. He played the pacifist hacker Dorn in 2020's Bad Boys for Life, and also appeared in The Band Perry's music video for "Gentle on My Mind" alongside Teen Wolf actress Shelley Hennig.

Ludwig signed with the country music label BBR Music Group/BMG in May 2021. His self-titled EP was released on May 21, 2021. On August 18, 2022, it was announced that Ludwig would appear in Nicki Minaj's music video for her single Super Freaky Girl. On August 26, 2022, Ludwig released his debut album Highway 99.

Personal life Ludwig was a competitive freestyle skier, and has participated in skydiving."Vancouver's Alexander Ludwig gets big Vikings plot line he's been waiting for" . Toronto Star, Victoria Ahearn, The Canadian Press Nov. 30, 2016 In February 2019, Ludwig disclosed issues he experienced with depression, anxiety, alcoholism, and substance abuse starting at the age of 14."ALEXANDER LUDWIG 'Bites the Bullet' To Share His Secret Struggle With Addiction" . BITE THE BULLET Stories, BITE THE BULLET Stories. 12, 2019

In 2020, he married Lauren Dear.'Vikings' Star Alexander Ludwig Marries Fiancée Lauren Dear After suffering three miscarriages, Dear gave birth to their first child, a daughter, on April 27, 2023. They had a second child, a son, on June 12, 2024.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2000 Air Bud: World Pup Actor Uncredited 2004 MXP: Most Xtreme Primate Child Direct-to-video2005 Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy Jimmy Voice Eve and the Fire Horse Kevin Uncredited 2006 A Little Thing Called Murder Young Kenny Kimes2007 The Sandlot: Heading Home E.J. Needman Direct-to-video The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising Will Stanton 2009 Race to Witch Mountain Seth 2012 The Hunger Games Cato2013 Grown Ups 2 Braden Higgins Lone Survivor PO2 Shane Patton 2014 When the Game Stands Tall Chris Ryan2015 Final Girl Jameson The Final Girls Chris Briggs Blackway Nate2019 Midway Lieutenant Roy Pearce Recon Marson2020 Bad Boys for Life Dorn Operation Christmas Drop Captain Andrew Jantz2021 Night Teeth Rocko Heart of Champions Alex Singleton National Champions Emmett Sunday 2023 Guy Ritchie's The Covenant Sgt. Declan O'Brady 2024 Bad Boys: Ride or Die Dorn 2025 Marked Men: Rule + Shaw Rome Archer 2026 Unabomber Leo Driver Killing Castro Post-production Post-production Post-production Hal Donaldson In production

Television Year Title Role Notes 2014–2021 Vikings Björn Ironside Main role (seasons 2–6) 2017Swerve Dr. Delucchi Main role; 6 episodes 2021–2023 Heels Ace Spade Main role; 16 episodes 2024 Earth Abides Isherwood "Ish" Williams Main role; 6 episodes Main role (season 4)

Music videos Year Song Role Artist 2014 "Gentle on My Mind" Guy/TravelerThe Band Perry2022"Super Freaky Girl" KenNicki Minaj

Discography

Studio albums Title Details Highway 99 Release date: August 26, 2022 Label: BBR Music Group

Extended plays Title Details Alexander Ludwig Release date: May 21, 2021 Label: BBR Music Group

Singles Year Single Peak chart positions Album CAN CountryReferences for Canada Country: "Let Me Be Your Whiskey": 2022 "Let Me Be Your Whiskey" 38 Highway 99

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result2012MTV Movie AwardsBest Fight (with Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson)The Hunger Games Teen Choice AwardsChoice Movie: Villain Choice Movie: Fight (with Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson) 2014Razzie AwardsWorst Screen Combo (with cast)Grown Ups 2 2015Golden Maple Awards Best Actor in a TV series broadcast in the U.SVikings

References

External links