Alexander Skarsgård
☼ Born on 25 December 1976, in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden
Biography
Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård was born in Stockholm, Sweden and is the eldest son of famed actor Stellan Skarsgård. Among his siblings are actors Gustaf Skarsgård, Bill Skarsgård, and Valter Skarsgård. For most of his formative years, his father was an acclaimed actor in Europe but had not yet achieved the international fame that came after his star turn in Breaking the Waves (1996). Young Alexander was raised under modest circumstances in a working-class Swedish neighborhood as his parents wanted their children to have as normal an upbringing as possible. He began his acting career at the age of eight and continued working in films and on Swedish television until he turned sixteen and decided acting was not the career for him. Life under a microscope lost its charm and perhaps due to the influence of My Skarsgård, his physician mother, he stopped working as an actor, to continue his education.
Instead of continuing college, at the age of nineteen, he entered compulsory military service (military conscription). He used the time to contemplate his future. He studied at the Leeds Metropolitan University then moved to New York where he enrolled at Marymount Manhattan College to study theatre. After six months in New York, a romantic entanglement lured him back to Sweden but the relationship was short-lived. Despite having a broken heart, Alexander decided to stay in Sweden and, with a bit of life experience under his belt, began his acting career again. He appeared in
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a number of Swedish productions and became a star in his native country but was interested in broadening his horizons and working outside of Sweden. A visit to Los Angeles landed him both an agent and a part in the Ben Stiller movie, Zoolander (2001). After that Alexander returned to Sweden where he continued honing his acting in film and theatrical productions including "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Bloody Wedding". He also co-wrote and co-directed an award-winning short, To Kill A Child (2003), (To Kill a Child), which was shown at both the Tribeca and Cannes Film Festivals.
His first big break was with the miniseries Generation Kill (2008). Alexander spent seven months broiling in the desert of Namibia but it was well worth it. His portrayal of Marine Sgt. Brad "Iceman" Colbert astonished critics and audiences, alike. Thanks to the writer's strike, after completing Generation Kill (2008), he was cast in the role of "Eric Northman", a 1,000-year-old Viking vampire on the hit series, True Blood (2008). The series was created by Alan Ball, the man behind Six Feet Under (2001). True Blood (2008) was adapted from the "Sookie Stackhouse' novels by Charlaine Harris' and rode to success on quality scripts, great acting and the public's obsession with the vampire genre. In addition to True Blood (2008), which begins its third season in 2010, Alexander has a number of film projects in the works including the remake of Straw Dogs (2011), Melancholia (2011), written and directed by Lars von Trier, action Sci-Fi film, Battleship (2012), and The East (2013), directed by Zal Batmanglij.
In the role of actor
Lee (27/09/2024)
The story of war photographer Lee Miller is told in Lee. In 1977 at the Farleys Farmhouse, an elderly Lee Miller (Kate Winslet) talks to her son Anthony Penrose (Josh O’Connor) about her career as a photographer in World War II. The story begins in 1938 France where former model Lee is vacationing with her […]
Infinity Pool (01/02/2023)
A novelist discovers the dark secret of the country he is vacationing in Infinity Pool. James Foster (Alexander Skarsgård) is a novelist suffering from writer’s block who is on vacation with his wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) in the island country of La Tolqa. James meets a fan named Gabi Bauer (Mia Goth), who asks James […]
The Northman (18/04/2022)
A Viking prince seeks revenge against his murderous uncle in The Northman. In AD 895, Viking King Aurvandil War-Raven (Ethan Hawke) returns home from battle to his Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman) and young son Amleth. Shortly after participating in a coming-of-age ceremony for Amleth conducted by Heimir the Fool (Willem Dafoe), Aurvandil is betrayed and […]
Long Shot (08/05/2019)
Sparks fly when an unemployed journalist is hired as a speechwriter for the Secretary of State in Long Shot. Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) is a journalist for a left-leaning publication, who is forced to quit his job after learning that the newspaper was acquired by wealthy mogul Parker Wembly (Andy Serkis). Joining his best friend […]
The Aftermath (22/03/2019)
The wife of a British colonel in post-war Germany develops a relationship with the owner of the house she’s living in The Aftermath. Five months after the end of the second World War in 1945, Rachael Morgan (Keira Knightley) travels to Hamburg to join her husband Lewis (Jason Clarke), who is a colonel helping to […]
Hold the Dark (13/09/2018)
A wolf expert is brought into an isolated Alaskan town to search for a missing boy in Hold the Dark. Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright) is a grizzled author and wolf expert, who is called into a remote town in Northern Alaska by Medora Slone (Riley Keough), who believes her son has been taken by wolves, with Medora asking […]
Mute (24/02/2018)
A bartender who cannot speak tracks down his girlfriend in the underworld of Berlin in Mute. Leo (Alexander Skarsgård) is a man who lost the ability to speak after a childhood accident. Leo works as a bartender at the bar, along with his waitress girlfriend Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh). One night, Naadirah mysteriously disappears without a trace and […]
The East (08/06/2013)
Writer/actress Brit Marling (Another Earth, Sound of My Voice) reteams with Sound of My Voice writer/director Zal Batmanglij for the thriller The East. The film stars Marling as Sarah, who is an operative for an elite private intelligence firm. Sarah is sent undercover to infiltrate an eco-terrorist organization named The East, who use an “eye […]
The Kill Team (30/04/2013)
At one point in Dan Krauss’ war crime documentary The Kill Team, one of the film’s subjects has this to day about the situation he is in: “From the day you join, to the day you’re out, your job as infantry is to kill everything that gets in your way. Why are you pissed off […]
Melancholia (20/11/2011)
Melancholia was without a doubt one of the most bleak and depressing films I have ever seen. I guess that’s not too much of a surprise, considering the fact that the film was directed by Lars Von Trier, who isn’t really known for making happy-go-lucky films. The story is split into two parts, with each part […]