Vikings season 6: Who plays Alfred the Great, King of Wessex? Who is Ferdia Walsh-Peelo?

Vikings season six will premiere on Wednesday, December 4 on History US and on Thursday, December 5 on Amazon Prime. In the new series, the sons of Ragnar Lothrbok (played by Travis Fimmel) will be fighting over control of Scandinavia, whilst King Alfred Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) tries to hold his rule over Wessex. Express.co.uk has everything you need to know about the actor who plays the King in Viking season six.

Who plays Alfred the Great, King of Wessex?

Ferdia Walsh-Peelo plays Alfred the Great, King of Wessex in Vikings.

Alfred first appeared in season three of Vikings as a young boy and by the end of season five, Alfred was the King of Wessex and Mercia.

He is the illegitimate son of Judith (Jennie Jacques) and Athelstan (George Blagden) and was protected by the late King Ecbert (Linus Roache) before he took his own life.

During the first year of his reign, his crown came under threat from his noblemen and the Vikings.

In a turn of events, he managed to secure an alliance with Ubbe (Jordan Patrick-Smith) and Bjorn Ironside (Alexander Ludwig), two of Ragnar’s sons and Ragnar’s wife Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick). 

Alfred agreed to give the Vikings refuge in Wessex and agreed to give them lands in East Anglia, in exchange for protection against invading Vikings and King Harald (Peter Franzén), who were planning to attack Wessex.

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Ubbe and Torvi (Georgia Hirst) were baptised by Alfred and soon, Ubbe became Alfred’s trusted military adviser.

In Vikings season five, Alfred successfully defeated the Vikings and King Harald at the Battle of Marton and remained the ruler of Wessex.

He did not travel to Scanadvia for the Seige of Kattegat, where Bjorn Ironside was crowned the ruler.

For now, it remains unclear what is next in store for Alfred the Great in Vikings season six.

Throughout season five of Vikings, Alfred battled an unknown illness, so he may meet an unfortunate end in the final series.

The real King Alfred died in 899 at the age of 50 due to an undiagnosed illness.

Up until his death, the real King Alfred continued to fight off the Vikings, so viewers are likely to see Alfred in numerous battles in the final series.

In Vikings, Alfred’s biggest enemy is Ivar the Boneless (Alex Høgh Andersen) and Walsh-Peelo has teased an upcoming battle between the pair.

In April his year, Walsh-Peelo shared a video of him re-recording some of his dialogue for the upcoming season with his 90,000 followed.

The actor is heard screaming: “Come on and fight you coward, Ivar.”

Captioning the video, Ferdia’s post reads: “‘Love screaming my head off in ADR for @historyvikings #class I have no voice anymore.

“But I’m still coming for you @alexhoeghandersen bro.”

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Who is Ferdia Walsh-Peelo?

Ferdia Walsh-Peelo is an Irish actor and musician from Ashford, County Wicklow, Ireland.

Before becoming an actor, Walsh-Peelo had embarked on a music career as a soprano.

He won many awards as a young boy and starred in productions of Mozart’s Magic Plute and as Miles in Benjamin Britten's Turn of the Screw.

The 20-year-old’s breakthrough role was as Cosmo in the 2016 Golden Globe-nominated film Sing Street, starring alongside Lucy Boynton and Aiden Gillen.

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Shortly afterwards, he joined the cast of Vikings as King Alfred the Great.

Walsh-Peelo will star as Rez in the upcoming film, Here Are the Young Men, alongside Anya Taylor-Joy, Finn Cole and Emmett J Scanlan.

Outside of acting, Walsh-Peelo is an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland's program 'Emergency Lessons', aimed at providing education to children caught up in emergencies

Vikings season 6 premieres Wednesday, December 4 on History and Thursday, December 5 on Amazon Prime