Alexander Skarsgård hits the red carpet for The Diary of a Teenage Girl in drag

UPDATE: Alexander Skarsgård stopped by BuzzFeed on Wednesday and he addressed why he attended the premiere of The Diary of a Teenage Girl in full drag. The actor revealed that there were several drag entertainers on the crew (Cousin Wonderlette, Lady Bear, and Peaches Christ), and when it came time to host a screening for family and friends in San Francisco, director Marielle Heller had an idea.

“We had a small group and we all became really close, and you know, dear friends of mine,” the actor told BuzzFeed. “And Mari [Heller] wanted them to host the screening at the Castro and do a number from The Rocky Horror Picture Show before and do a big fun drag queen after-party. And I just felt, I asked, I didn’t want to be excluded from the fun. So I asked if there was any way I could come in drag, and they were nice enough to say yes.”

His inspiration? Farrah Fawcett, of course. For more on the interview, head on over to BuzzFeed.

ORIGINAL: Alexander Skarsgård hit the red carpet for The Diary of a Teenage Girl in San Francisco on Monday dressed in drag. The actor channeled the 1970s – the era in which the film is set – posing for photos in a wig and a glittery, gold dress alongside costar Bel Powley and director Marielle Heller.

Reports indicate that the actor did not give a reason for his attire, but E! noted it could’ve been a special nod to Skarsgård’s costar Joshua Grannell, a drag performer by the name of Peaches Christ, who plays a transvestite in Teenage Girl.

The coming-of-age film – inspired by Phoebe Gloeckner’s 2002 book – focuses on Powley’s Minnie Goetze, who loses her virginity to her mother’s boyfriend, Monroe (Skarsgård). Now officially an “adult,” the act launches the San Francisco teen into a sexual evolution as she begins to obsess over sex and men. But, her mother (Kristen Wiig) is there to offer up some advice along the way.

“I’ve never cared about a project this much in my whole life,” Heller told EW. “I am telling this story from this girl’s point of view, and she doesn’t feel like she’s being taken advantage of, so we, as an audience, can’t feel like she’s being taken advantage of either.”

The Diary of a Teenage Girl premieres in limited release Aug. 7.

This post has been updated since its original publication with the addition of the paragraph concerning Skarsgård’s reasoning.