Stellan Skarsgård facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stellan Skarsgård
Skarsgård in 2017
Born	Stellan John Skarsgård (1951-06-13) 13 June 1951 (age 74) Gothenburg, Sweden
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1968–present
Spouse(s)	My Skarsgård ​ ​ (m. 1975; div. 2007)​ Megan Everett ​ ​ (m. 2009)​
Children	8, including Alexander, Gustaf, Bill and Valter

Stellan John Skarsgård (born June 13, 1951) is a famous Swedish actor. He has starred in many movies and TV shows. He is known for working often with director Lars von Trier. Some of their films include Breaking the Waves (1996) and Melancholia (2011).

Stellan Skarsgård has also been in many big Hollywood movies. These include Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007). He played Bill Anderson in Mamma Mia! (2008). He also appeared in the thriller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011).

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe know him as Dr. Erik Selvig. He played this role in five Marvel films, starting with Thor (2011). More recently, he played Baron Harkonnen in the Dune movies, Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024).

On TV, Skarsgård played Boris Shcherbina in the HBO series Chernobyl (2019). For this role, he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. He also plays Luthen Rael in the Star Wars series Andor (2022–present).

Early Life

Stellan Skarsgård was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. His parents were Gudrun and Jan Skarsgård. When he was a child, his family moved around a lot. They lived in different places like Helsingborg and Uppsala in Sweden.

Acting Career

Skarsgård in 2009

Stellan Skarsgård started acting when he was very young. By the time he was 21, he had already gained a lot of experience. He worked in films, TV shows, and on stage. Many of his first roles were in Swedish TV shows and movies. One of his well-known Swedish roles was in Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg. In this film, he played Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who saved many people during the Holocaust.

Skarsgård has a special connection with Danish director Lars von Trier. He has been in six of von Trier's movies. These include Breaking the Waves and Dogville. He also has a close working relationship with Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland. They have made several films together, such as In Order of Disappearance. Skarsgård sees Moland as a very good friend. Another important Scandinavian film he starred in was the 1997 Norwegian movie Insomnia. In this film, he played a police officer named Jonas Engström.

His first American film was Noon Wine in 1985. In this movie, he played a farm worker. In 1990, he was in another American film, The Hunt for Red October. He played a Soviet submarine commander named Captain Tupolev.

Stellan Skarsgård is known as a "character actor." This means he often plays interesting and different types of roles. He was in Passion of Mind (2000) and appeared in the TV show Entourage. He played Bootstrap Bill Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. These include Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. In 2008, he played Bill Anderson in Mamma Mia!. He played this role again in the sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, ten years later.

He played Dr. Erik Selvig in the 2011 movie Thor. He then played the role again in Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). He also appeared as Erik Selvig in The Avengers (2012) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Skarsgård worked again with Thor director Kenneth Branagh in Disney's Cinderella (2015). In this film, he played The Grand Duke. In 2021, he played Vladimir Harkonnen in Dune. He also acted with his son Gustaf Skarsgård in the Swedish movie What Remains (2022).

Stellan Skarsgård has also appeared in music videos. He was in "Vem tänder stjärnorna" by Eva Dahlgren in 1991. He also appeared in Lykke Li's music video "Sadness Is a Blessing" in 2011.

Personal Life

In April 1975, Stellan Skarsgård married My Skarsgård, a Swedish doctor. They had six children together before they divorced in 2007. Their children are Alexander (born 1976), Gustaf (born 1980), Sam (born 1982), Bill (born 1990), Eija (born 1992), and Valter (born 1995). Alexander, Gustaf, Bill, and Valter are all actors, just like their father. Eija worked as a model for a few years.

In January 2009, Skarsgård married Megan Everett. She is an Irish writer and producer. They have two sons together. Seven of his eight children work in film and television. His eighth child is a doctor.

Beliefs and Views

Stellan Skarsgård grew up with parents who were humanists and atheists. This means they did not believe in God. He has said that his family always respected each other's beliefs. Skarsgård believes that people's actions are more important than their religious worship. He has also spoken about the importance of keeping government and schools separate from religion.

Skarsgård supports high income taxes in Sweden. He believes that people who earn a lot of money should pay more in taxes. He is also against nationalism. This means he does not believe in strong loyalty to one's own country above all others.

Filmography (selected)

Film

Television

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Stellan Skarsgård para niños