Stellan Skarsgård became a familiar figure to audiences around the world after playing opposite Emily Watson in Lars von Trier's "Breaking the Waves." But Stellan Skarsgård's career stretches back more than 30 years, with numerous brilliant performances in a wide range of films, theatre and television roles. As a teenager in his native Sweden, Stellan Skarsgård was the star of the 1968 TV series "Bombi Bitt och jag," and was a practiced TV, film and stage actor while still in his early 20s. With Hans Alfredson's "The Simple-Minded Murderer," the Gothenburg-born Stellan Skarsgård's fame spread far beyond Scandinavia. His role as a naïf driven to violence by the cruelty of others won Stellan Skarsgård the Berlin Film Festival's Silver Bear Award.
Through more than 60 films since, Stellan Skarsgård has proven himself a remarkably versatile actor. In between starring as the Swedish superagent Carl Hamilton in Pelle Berglund's "Code Name Coq Rouge" and "The Democratic Terrorist," Stellan Skarsgård played the title role in Kjell Grede's "Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg," the true story of the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews from Auschwitz. Stellan Skarsgård's other credits in notable Scandinavian films have included Alfredson's "P&B," Bo Widerberg's "The Serpent's Way Up the Naked Rock," Kjell-Ake Andersson's "Friends," Grede's "Hip Hip Hurrah!," Carl Gustaf Nykvist's "The Women on the Roof," Sven Nykvist's "The Ox" (Academy Award® nominee for Best Foreign Language Film), Ake Sandgren's "The Slingshot," Hans Petter Moland's "Zero Kelvin" and "Aberdeen" and Erik Skjoldvjaerg's "Insomnia."
Stellan Skarsgård's reputation began winning him roles in the United States and throughout the world, with key performances in such films as John McTiernan's "The Hunt for Red October," Carroll Ballard's "Wind," Peter Antonijevic's "Savior," Udayan Prasad's "My Son the Fanatic," Steven Spielberg's "Amistad," Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting," John Frankenheimer's "Ronin," Renny Harlin's "Deep Blue Sea," Jonathan Nossiter's "Signs and Wonders," Mike Figgis' "Time Code," Matt Dillon's "City of Ghosts," and Istvan Szabo's "Taking Sides," for which he received another Best Actor nomination at the European Film Awards in 2001 and won Best Actor at the Mar del Plata Film Festival. Following their collaboration on "Breaking the Waves," which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, Stellan Skarsgård once again starred for Lars von Trier in "Dogville."
Most recently, Stellan Skarsgård has been seen in Jerry Bruckheimer's production of "King Arthur" opposite Clive Owen and Keira Knightley, as Father Merrin in Renny Harlin's "Exorcist: The Beginning" and in Sturla Gunnarsson's "Beowulf & Grendel," filmed in Iceland. Concurrently with filming "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," Stellan Skarsgård was also traveling to Spain to star in the title role of Milos Forman's "Goya's Ghosts" as the legendary Spanish artist Francisco Goya. Stellan Skarsgård then followed with a role in "Waz."
On television, Stellan Skarsgård has starred in Ingmar Bergman's "School for Wives" and Bo Widerberg's "The Wild Duck" and in the U.S., "Noon Wine" for PBS, "The Harlan County War" for Showtime and "Helen of Troy" for the USA Network. Stellan Skarsgård is also one of Sweden's most celebrated stage actors, having spent 16 years at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm working with such directors as Ingmar Bergman, Alf Sjoberg and Per Verner-Carlsson.
Age: 58 years old Birthday: June 13, 1951 Height: 6' 4" Nickname: Skarzie Full Name / Real Name: John Stellan Skarsgård Birthplace: Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden Wife: Megan Everett
My Skarsgård (4/27/1975 - 5/1/2007, divorced, 6 children)
Stellan Skarsgård"The 34th Annual People's Choice Awards" Announces Winners — The winners include Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Matt Damon, "Dancing With The Stars," Ellen DeGeneres, Patrick Dempsey, Katherine Heigl, "House," "Moonlight," Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rascal Flatts, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, "Two and a Half Men" and Chandra Wilson.Read more...
