In AMC's stark drama about the construction of the transcontinental railroad, Heyerdahl plays Thor Gundersen -- the ruthless and creepy Norwegian head of security known, typically for the callous Old West, by his misnomer of a nickname, "The Swede."
With the Swede, Heyerdahl parlays his talent for intimidation, creating the perfect antagonist for the revenge-driven Cullen Bohannon -- more nuanced and more dangerous than the ostensible villain, the Swede's boss, Thomas Durant, and clearly carrying his own agenda and his own means for acting on it.
It's this kind of deep and complex menace that will make Heyerdahl's sadistic machinations on True Blood that much more involving.
