LONDON — Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård are no strangers to eccentric characters, but the two actors say their new film — in which Mr. Skarsgård transforms into an Adonis woven from wicker — is "in quirkiness levels, quite high."

In Wicker, an absurdist romantic comedy set in a medieval village, Ms. Colman plays an outcast known as the Fisherwoman who longs for a companion. She approaches a basket weaver, played by Peter Dinklage, the Emmy-winning star of HBO's "Game of Thrones," who creates a supernatural husband for her.

Initially jeered by villagers, the wicker man surprises both the Fisherwoman and the judgmental community with his sensitivity and skills, gradually turning life in the conservative settlement upside down.

"I'd just never seen anything like that before," said Ms. Colman, who won the best actress Oscar for her performance in 2018's The Favourite. "It was totally original."

Designing Mr. Skarsgård's suit took artists at the Weta Workshop in New Zealand around 18 months. The facility, whose hand-crafted creatures and armor helped define "The Lord of the Rings" films, worked with its leading man from afar: the Stockholm-based actor followed the costume's creation through e-mails and video calls before trying it on roughly two weeks before shooting began in Budapest.

"That was definitely a moment I'll never forget, when I got to step into him," Mr. Skarsgård said. "I really want the audience to know that it was practical and that it wasn't CGI… It was a masterpiece."

Mr. Skarsgård credited the team for shortening the costume and make-up application process from an initial "quite a few hours" to under two hours. Acting in it was a learning curve, he said, and required accentuated movements.

"It had different pieces, elements to it, glued to my face, and little added lips and eyelashes made out of flax and hair," he said. "It definitely didn't feel very organic because you had to really exaggerate everything."

That hands-on approach is the film's calling card: every flax eyelash on screen was physically made and worn by the actor rather than rendered digitally.

The film is adapted from Ursula Wills-Jones' short story "The Wicker Husband." Elizabeth Debicki, the Australian actress known for "The Crown" and "Tenet," plays the Tailor's Wife, who takes the lead in a campaign against the Fisherwoman and her unconventional husband.

"There are some lessons in the film that are done very gently," said Ms. Colman. "The position of women, which is getting challenged in certain quarters, alarmingly so, and it's just a lovely comment on an equal relationship and kindness and the patriarchy and feminism. It's also enormous escapism, which is also really important at this time."

"It's a commentary on our society and the world we live in," added Mr. Skarsgård, "but hopefully done in a very entertaining way."

Wicker begins its global cinematic roll-out on Wednesday, carrying its hand-built leading man from an 18-month workshop process in New Zealand to screens worldwide. — Reuters