Who is Katheryn Winnick in Vikings? What does she play? Character Breakdown.
Fans must have seen her in Vikings, playing the ShieldMaiden, Lagertha. Yes, we are talking about Katheryn Winnick. Katheryn is a Canadian actress, material artist, director, and producer.
Katheryn Winnick
Katheryn is originally from Ontario. She was born on December 17, 1977. The 43 year old actress has some amazing works in her filmography. Katheryn has worked on critically acclaimed series Vikings, Amusement, Bones, Polar, The Dark Tower, Art of The Steel, Wu Assassin etc. Katheryn also debuted as a director for one episode ‘Valhalla Can Wait’ in Vikings season 6.
Winnick in Vikings
In Vikings Katheryn Winnick plays the character Lagertha. Lagertha is the 1st wife of Travis Fimmel’s Ragnar Lothbrok and the mother of Alexander Ludwig’s Bjorn Ironside. Lagertha is a strong moral woman, who is fierce and destroys whoever comes on her way.
Character Breakdown
The shieldmaiden was betrayed by her first husband Ragnar and beaten by her second husband Sigvard. As a revenge, Lagertha took Sigvard’s one eye. Lagertha is obedient to her ex-husband Ragnar. She protects the throne and her family. Later on Ragnar’s one of the sons Hvitserk kills Lagertha after mistaking her as Ivar.
The 66-year-old Lagertha is a symbol of femininity. She faced many realistic issues faced by women throughout the ages. Lagertha is a victim of rape, miscarriage, domestic violence and unhealthy divorce.
In season 2, Lagertha’s first husband Ragnar was caught cheating on her with Princess Aslaug. And he revealed Aslaug is pregnant with his child. As a reaction Lagertha didn’t lose her mind, she accepted the fate. But later on, Lagertha took revenge by Killing Aslaug.
Lagertha was not happy either with her 2nd husband Sigvard. He was abusive to her. But when similarly Knut was trying to abuse her, Lagertha protested and killed Knut by stabbing him. Finally fans get to see how fierce she can be.
Actress Katheryn Winnick was not happy with Lagertha being always the victim. She insisted to make sure the characters evolved and finally she succeeded. According to Winnick: “A lot of relationships of domestic abuse, especially now with the #MeToo movement, you see a lot of it coming forward. These women are strong.”
Fans have seen many sides of Lagertha. She is altogether an independent woman with her own sexual orientation. She had a one night stand with King Ecbert. She never went deep into that relationship. She has control over her feelings. She even flirted with Astrid. Lagertha is a warrior, she defeated King Herald and fought with Nordic men.
Lagertha was a would be queen. Her strength throughout her journey naturally makes her true successor to the throne. But due to the villain Ivar’s treachery, she lost her life and her journey didn’t get the recognition and praise she deserved in the story of Vikings.
