Stellan Skarsgård
☼ Born on 13 December (year unknown), in Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden
Biography
Stellan Skarsgård was born in Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden, to Gudrun (Larsson) and Jan Skarsgård. He became a star in his teens through the title role in the TV-series Bombi Bitt och jag (1968). Between the years 1972-88 he was employed at The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, where he participated in "Vita rum" (1988), August Strindberg's "Ett drömspel" (1986) and "Mäster Olof" (1988). Simultaneously Skarsgård did outstanding film roles, notably in The Simple-Minded Murderer (1982) by Hans Alfredson and with Fred Ward in Noon Wine (1985). The fantastic performance gave him both a well-earned Guldbagge and Silver Berlin Bear. He portrayed the Skagen-painter Sören Kröyer in Hip hip hurra! (1987) and the Swedish ambassador Raoul Wallenberg in God afton, herr Wallenberg (1990), both directed by Kjell Grede. Codename Coq Rouge (1989) and The Democratic Terrorist (1992) he played Jan Guillou's Swedish superagent Carl Hamilton. He also had the leading part in the Oscar nominated The Ox (1991) directed by the world-famous cinematographer Sven Nykvist. Skarsgård did his first (but small) role in an big American film with The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). The role of Captain Tupolev in The Hunt for Red October (1990) was at supposed to be biggest part in a Hollywood-film, but unfortunately it was cut down. His breakthrough instead came with Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves (1996) opposite newcomer Emily Watson. After that Skarsgård got several supportin
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g roles in American films, such as in My Son the Fanatic (1997), Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting (1997) and Steven Spielberg's Amistad (1997).
In the role of actor
Dune: Part Two (01/03/2024)
Sean Kelly on Movies Podcast Dune: Part Two Play Episode Pause Episode Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds 00:00 / 00:06:16 Subscribe Share Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify RSS Feed Share Link Embed Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 00:06:16 | Recorded on March 5, 2024Subscribe: Apple Podcasts […]
Dune: Part One (24/10/2021)
A new adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel hits the big screen with Dune: Part One. In 10191 A.G., Duke Leto I (Oscar Isaac) of House Atreides is assigned by the Emperor to the desert planet of Arrakis to takeover harvesting of the precious substance melange, also known as “spice.” Leto’s son Paul (Timothée […]
City of Ghosts (08/05/2017)
A group of Syrian activists risk their lives to spread the truth about ISIS in City of Ghosts. In 2014, the city of Raqqa in Syria is taken over by the terrorist group Daesh, more commonly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS. With ISIS spreading propaganda about life in the city under […]
Nymphomaniac (25/03/2014)
From director Lars von Trier (Melancholia) comes this epic two volume story about a woman with a lifelong sex addition. Left beaten and bloodied in an alley, the titular nymphomaniac Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is taken in by the kind stranger Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård). While she recovers in his home, Joe insists to Seligman that she […]
The Avengers (06/05/2012)
The Avengers has a lot of set-up. Each of the main members of this superhero team were introduced through their own film over the course of the last 4 years. It’s definitely an ambitious plan to release five independent films to introduce the characters before bringing them together in one epic movie. And the movie is […]
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) (24/12/2011)
There was a question I asked myself many times while watching David Fincher’s English-language adaptation of the novel by Stieg Larsson: If I didn’t previously see (and enjoy) the original Swedish adaptation, would I have liked this film better? The answer I came up with was: probably not. I thought that Fincher’s version of the story […]
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 […]
Thor (08/05/2011)
Ever since the release of Iron Man in 2008, most of the Marvel comics films have been building up to the release of The Avengers next year. It’s a pretty unprecedented move, since, by the time it’s released, The Avengers would have been built up by five films over a four year period. The latest of these lead-up films is […]
Angels & Demons (15/05/2009)
Based on what I heard Angels & Demons had the better story of Dan Brown’s two Robert Langton novels. I have never read either of the novels, so I have no context of comparison, but the seemed to be a more traditional thriller than the elaborate puzzle that made up The Da Vinci Code. I’d […]