"I played a heap of snow in a school play. I was under a sheet, and crawled out when spring came. I often say I'll never reach the same artistic level again."
Stellan John Skarsgård (born June 13, 1951 in Göteborg, Sweden) is a Swedish actor and the patriarch of a whole clan of actors.
He's had a distinguished career in European films, being a frequent collaborator of Lars von Trier among others. In Hollywood, he's known for playing supporting character parts and often being the best thing in some otherwise crappy or underwhelming movies.
Skarsgård is a father of eight, including Alexander, Gustaf, Bill and Valter, who all became actors. Despite the similar name and common misconception, however, there is no relation to the actor Peter Sarsgaard.
He also gets mistaken for Liam Neeson quite a bit.
Films and series he has appeared in include:
- Riget as Dr. Helmer's lawyer
- Insomnianote as Jonas Engström
- The Ox as Helge Roos
- The Hunt for Red October as Captain Viktor Tupolev
- Amistad as Tappan
- Good Will Hunting as Prof. Gerald Lambeau
- The Glass House as Terrence "Terry" Glass
- Helen of Troy (2003) as Theseus
- Goya's Ghosts (2006) as Francisco de Goya
- Mamma Mia! as Bill Anderson
- Peter No-Tail in America(t) as Pelle Swanson
- Pirates of the Caribbean as William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner
- Marvel Cinematic Universe as Dr. Erik Selvig
- Dogville as Chuck
- Melancholia as Jack
- Ronin (1998) as Gregor
- King Arthur (2004) as Cerdic
- King of Devil's Island as Bestyreren
- In Order of Disappearance as Nils
- Romeo & Juliet (2013) as Prince Escalus
- Cinderella (2015) as the Grand Duke
- River as John River
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) as Martin Vanger
- The Man Who Killed Don Quixote as the Boss
- Chernobyl as Boris Shcherbina
- Dune as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
- Dune: Part One (2021)
- Dune: Part Two (2024)
- Andor as Luthen Rael
Tropes applying to Skarsgård:
- Fake Nationality: He's played a Norwegian (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a Scottish pirate (Pirates of the Caribbean), 18th century Spanish romantic painter Francisco de Goya, German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler and several Soviet characters (The Hunt for Red October, Ronin (1998), Chernobyl).
