Stellan Skarsgård
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Highly respected Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård enjoyed a prolific career in Europe and America, for more than five decades, essaying characters of deep emotional reserve, as well as flinty authority figures, in such films as "Breaking the Waves" (1996), "Good Will Hunting" (1997), "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006), "Mamma Mia" (2008), "Thor" (2011) and "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015). Born Stellan John Skarsgård on June 13, 1951 in Gothenburg, Sweden, he was raised in an atheist, humanist-minded household, which would later inform his own publicly held opinions about politics, education and secular religion. As a boy, he appeared in school productions, but harbored a desire to become a diplomat; that changed in his late teens when he was cast as a freewheeling Swedish teenager in the television series "Bombi bitt och jag" (1968). Skarsgård disliked his brief tenure as a teen idol and focused his attention on his training, which he honed as a member of the Royal Dramatic Theater in Stockholm. He also married physician My Skarsgård, with whom he would have six children, four of which - sons Alexander, Gustaf, Bill and Valter - would also become actors of note. Between productions - whuch included a production of "A Dream Play" directed by Ingmar Bergman - he remained active in European features, most notably in "The Simple-Minded Murderer" (1982), a Swedish drama about a young man driven to violence by abuse at the hands of his caretaker, a Nazi sympathizer. Skarsgård won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival and soon moved into starring roles in major films, including such critically acclaimed titles as Bo Widerberg's "The Serpent's Way" (1986) and a turn as diplomat Raoul Wallengberg in "Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg" (1990), he also made his first appearances in English-language productions, including Philip Kaufman's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" (1988) and "The Hunt for Red October" (1991). In 1996, he made his first of several collaborations with director Lars von Trier in "Breaking the Waves," playing the atheist husband of a deeply religious woman (Emily Watson), who believes that his injury was caused by her physical needs. A major hit on the festival and arthouse circuits, it led to a slew of high-profile assignments in Hollywood for Skarsgård, including "Good Will Hunting" (1997) as Matt Damon's mathematics professor, the abolitionist Lewis Tappen in Steven Spielberg's "Amistad" (1997), and the double-dealing Gregor in John Frankenheimer's "Ronin" (1998). After reuniting with von Trier for a minor role in "Dancer in the Dark" (2000), he settled into steady work in both America and Europe; the latter included his debut as producer on the road movie "Aberdeen" (2002) and Istvan Szabo's World War II drama "Taking Sides" (2001), while the latter encompassed a slew of minor efforts, as well as the back-to-back "Exorcist: The Beginning" (2004) and "Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist" (2005), a turn as Francisco Goya in Milos Forman's "Goya's Ghost" (2006) and two appearances as the spectral Bootstrap Bill Turner in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006) and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (2007). By the late 2000s, Skarsgård was averaging four to five movies per year for Hollywood and European producers; chief among these was his musical debut in "Mamma Mia!" (2008), a turn as the head of the Swiss National Guard in Ron Howard's "Angels & Demons" (2009), and a lengthy stint with Marvel Comics' production wing as the astrophysicist Erik Selvig in "Thor" (2011), "The Avengers" (2012), "Thor: The Dark World" (2013) and "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015). But he also served as executive producer on "King of Devil's Island" (2010), a French-Norwegian film about a draconian boys' prison, and the black comedy "In Order of Disappearance" (2014), with Skarsgård as a vengeful snow plow driver who takes on mobsters. Between these projects, he also found time to reunite with von Trier for "Melancholia" (2011) and the controversial, two-part "Nymphomaniac" (2011), and log appearances in Julian Fellowes' adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet" (2013) and Disney's live-action "Cinderella" (2015) and star in the British police drama "River" (BBC One, 2015). In 2018, he reprised his turn as the phlegmatic Bill Anderson in "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again."
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1968
Became a teen star playing the title role in Swedish TV series "Bombi Bitt och jag"
1972
Employed at The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm
1973
Acted in the Swedish-French erotic drama "Anita: Swedish Nymphet"
1982
Breakthrough role as the feeble-minded Sven Olsson in the Swedish film drama "The Simple-Minded Murder"
1986
First produced screenplay (also acted), "Jim & piraterna Blom"
1988
First American production, the film adaptation of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"
1990
Featured as a Russian submarine captain in "The Hunt for Red October"
1990
American TV debut, the NBC pilot, "Parker Kane"
1996
Breakthrough role as oil rig worker Jan, opposite Emily Watson in Lars von Trier's "Breaking the Waves"
1997
Played an MIT professor of mathematics, opposite Matt Damon in Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting"
1998
Played the leading role of a guilt-ridden policeman in the original "Insomnia"
1999
Played a scientist testing a cure for Alzheimer's Disease on sharks in "Deep Blue Sea"
2000
Co-starred with Holly Hunter in Showtime's "Harlan County War"
2000
Featured as a movie producer in Mike Figgis' "Time Code"; once again acted with Holly Hunter
2000
Second collaboration with Rampling, playing an estranged couple in "Signs & Wonders"
2000
Garnered praise for his performance (also produced) in "Aberdeen"; co-starred with Charlotte Rampling
2000
Played a doctor in the award-winning drama "Dancer in the Dark"; his second collaboration with director Lars von Trier
2003
Third film for director Lars von Trier, "Dogville"
2004
Played a young Lankester Merrin in "Exorcist: The Beginning"
2004
Cast as the Saxon warlord Cerdic in "King Arthur"
2005
Reprised role of Lankester Merrin in Paul Schrader's "Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist"
2006
Cast as 'Bootstrap' Bill Turner in Gore Verbinski's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
2007
Portrayed Spanish grand master Francisco de Goya in Milos Forman's "Goya's Ghosts"
2007
Reprised role of 'Bootstrap' Bill Turner in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
2008
Cast as one of the potential fathers in the film version of the ABBA musical, "Mamma Mia!"
2009
Played head of the Swiss Guard in Ron Howard's "Angels and Demons," a sequel to "The Da Vinci Code"
2011
Played scientist Erik Selvig in Kenneth Branagh's big-screen adaptation of "Thor"
2011
Cast in Lars Von Trier's apocalyptic drama "Melancholia"
2011
Joined the cast of David Fincher-directed "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," based on the novel by Stieg Larsson
2012
Appeared in the Marvel superhero ensemble feature "The Avengers" opposite Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson
2013
Returned yet again to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in "Thor: The Dark World"
2013
Appeared in Lars Von Trier's two-part sex drama "Nymphomaniac"
2014
Appeared in the adventure drama "Hector and the Search for Happiness"
2015
Cast as the Grand Duke in Kenneth Branagh's live-action "Cinderella" remake
2015
Starred as John River on the mini-series "River"
2017
Earned praise as tennis coach Lennart Berglin in "Borg McEnroe
Family
Companions
