Since the 1960s, disgruntled moviegoers at Cannes have voiced their displeasure via a chorus of boos during the credits of a flop, lovingly referred to as ‘le Booing’. Now, at the festival’s 2025 edition, Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård is introducing a new tradition to proceedings – the much sexier and altogether more sordid le Bootlicking.
Arriving at the press junket for new film Pillion, Skarsgård looked every inch the leather daddy in tight pants and biker boots from Loewe, plus a pair of all-black aviators that hid his disapproving glare. Completing the look was a t-shirt from London vintage store JERKS, showing a print of a moustachioed man cosying up to the sole of an anonymous leather boot.
Later that same day, on the red carpet, Skarsgård got rid of the printed scene and brought le Bootlicking IRL. Stepping in front of the flashbulbs, the actor donned a double-breasted Saint Laurent suit, decidedly kinked up by the thigh-high black leather stompers he wore below. The subversive look was taken from January’s AW25 men’s runway, where designer Anthony Vaccarello paid tribute to Robert Mapplethorpe’s kinky ways with practically every model in a pair. When the collection first dropped, we asked who might be brave enough to wear them, and it seems that freaky deaky Skarsgård gladly took up the mantle.
Elsewhere, the actor is no stranger to a perverted red carpet moment. In 2023 he wore a leash to the Sundance premiere of Infinity Pool, and in 2016 went completely trouserless at the MTV Movie Awards. But there’s a method to his madness: Pillion, the film he’s premiering at Cannes, is actually a BDSM flick, so the outfits make a lot of sense. What seemed like Skarsgård’s attempt to freak-up Cannes increasingly strict dress code is actually another bout of red carpet method dressing, courtesy of the actor and stylist Harry Lambert.
Based on Adam Mars-Jones’ book Box Hill, Skarsgård plays Ray in the film, a charismatic biker who takes Harry Melling (Dudley Dursley from Harry Potter) on as his submissive. And, though it sounds like a very sordid affair, there’s no need to worry about le Booing – the film received an eight-minute standing ovation at its premiere.
Scroll through the gallery at the top of the page to see all the best looks at Cannes so far