Alexander Skarsgard celebrated Tarzan casting during Atlantic crossing

Alexander Skarsgard found out he was set to become the next big screen Tarzan as he was preparing to set sail on a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.

The True Blood star was just about to turn his cellphone off for a three-week, off-the-grid adventure when director David Yates called with the good news about new movie The Legend of Tarzan.

"I was on a sailboat in the Canary Islands about to sail across the Atlantic," the actor tells WENN. "I was looking forward to three weeks of being off the grid completely with no email or cellphone.

"I was on the boat getting ready to push off when David called me and said, 'It's looking good. I think we're gonna do this'.

"I was pretty stoked when I turned off the phone and set course to sail for America across the Atlantic. It was an incredible moment that I celebrated sailing for three weeks."

Skarsgard now joins the likes of Christopher Lambert, Ron Ely, Miles O'Keeffe and Johnny Weissmuller, who have all portrayed the ape man.

The actor admits Weissmuller is his favorite Tarzan, because his father, Mamma Mia! star Stellan Skarsgard, was such a big fan.

"I was very excited when I heard about the project," Alexander adds. "I was a huge Tarzan fan of the old Johnny Weissmuller movies because of my father, who is one of the biggest Tarzan fans out there. Every Saturday he would go to the matinee in Sweden and watch the movies, so he introduced me to Tarzan. That's how I fell in love with him and the jungle and that whole world."