Getty Images; startraksphotoVampires versus the royals!
True Blood hunk Alexander Skarsgård has joined the American team for the Walking With the Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge, an upcoming trek that seeks to raise funds for military charities.
The sexy HBO star is expected to race against Prince Harry's British team, as well as Dominic West's Canadian-Australian team on the 208-mile journey to the South Pole this November, which will see three teams of wounded military personnel competing against each other in a race from South Africa to the South Pole.
"I'm honored to be working and training alongside these soldiers to raise money and awareness for this very worthy cause," Skarsgård said in a statement (obtained by USA Today).
The 37-year-old actor has already begun training with the U.S. team, and his teammate Ivan Castro recently blogged about his experience preparing for the trek with the True Blood hottie.
"What a great complement to our team!" Castro writes after meeting the group's final teammate. "I am even more confident that we have a winning combination now."
Prince Harry, who has served as patron of the charity since 2011, has also been busy preparing for the month-long trek, and he will soon spend 24 hours in a cold chamber as part of a training exercise.
On Monday, Sept. 16, Harry is expected to join members of Britain's Walking With the Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge team "inside MIRA's whole-vehicle environmental test chambers which simulate the extreme conditions they will face in the South Pole," according to a release from Kensington Palace. "He will acclimatize with the team, test equipment and practice the routine for the South Pole, including skiing and setting up camp."
"These men and women have given their all in the cause of freedom," Harry said in April at the launch of the South Pole Allied Challenge in London. "That they should once again step into the breach, this time facing down the extreme mental and physical challenges of trekking to the South Pole, just underlines their remarkable qualities: toughness of mind, an unquenchable spirit that refuses to say 'I am beaten.'"