In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, The Hunger Games star Alexander Ludwig -- who currently plays Bjorn Ironsides on the hit History TV show Vikings -- talks about his role as Bjorn Ironsides, and also got us to thinking: how did this sleeper show, which really isn't talked about the way, say, The Walking Dead is, become so successful? 

This season of Vikings is set four years into the future, and it makes all the difference in Bjorn's world. Not only is Bjorn now a fully grown man, but he's a warrior ready to blaze his own path in Viking lore. "This entire season is really about finding his place in the Viking community and laying down the foundation for the legend of Bjorn Ironside. You see him come into his own as a young man and build the legend. He was a real guy, and arguably did more than his father before him," he said.

Björn's most famous accomplishments was his semi-legendary raid into the Mediterranean which began in around 860 AD. Following in his father's footsteps, Björn and his brother Hvitserk (the eldest of Ragnar's children with the Princess Aslaug) raided northern France. However, at the end, instead returning to Norway, upon hearing of the rich lands of the Mediterranean Björn and his brother decided to venture onward. The two brothers raided the Spanish coast all the way round the straits of Gibraltar and all the way up into southern France where they spent the winter.  

Ultimately, the infamous "Viking legacy" of conquer and pillage was left by Bjorn Ironsides, not by Ragnar Lothbrook.

And the reason that Vikings is so successful -- when it doesn't have the "buzz" of a Walking Dead, or a reality show-type flavor, or gratuitous sex and nudity and violence -- is, according to Ludwig, because of the women on the show. "When I come back to America, it's nuts. I've been really pleasantly surprised with how well the show has been received even with the younger audiences, especially amongst young girls, and I think it'll only grow. There are some really badass female characters and they're only going to grow as this season continues," he said.