Stellan Skarsgard Talks About His Career In A New Interview

TV & Film

Oct 23

There’s Oscar buzz surrounding Stellan Skarsgård, but it might have taken Hollywood too long to honor the veteran Swedish actor for a career that spans nearly 6 decades. In a new interview with Vulture, Skarsgård talked about his performance in Sentimental Value, which could earn him the first Academy Award nomination of his career. Skarsgård has done it all before taking on the role of an acclaimed director who’s nearing the end of his career. The actor plays a father who attempts to repair his broken relationship with his daughters after their mother’s death. Skarsgård is familiar with the role in real life, having worked full-time as an actor in theater, television, and film, while balancing it with his roles as a husband and father to eight children.

The Skarsgård family is a big one, and some of Stellan’s kids have already made a name for themselves in Hollywood. Everyone should know Alexander Skarsgård, Bill Skarsgård, and Gustaf Skarsgård. His youngest children have also shown interest in acting, but Stellan admits that even at 74, “It’s hard to talk about acting because there’s so much I don’t know.” When asked if he was working out his own parenting regrets while working on the film, he says, “I didn’t intend to, but especially when I see the film, I go, Ooh, yeah. I could have been there.” His son, Alex, “Saw the film at Telluride, and he came out, destroyed in his face, and he hugged me.” He has had a busy career, but he says he wouldn’t change a thing, and he was a better father because he continued to work on his craft, as he believes, “It’s your stimuli. And you are more fun to the kids when you come home and tell them a story that you can’t tell them if you haven’t been stimulated. I’m trying to defend myself now. But I have a very good relationship with my kids. I wouldn’t have spent 50 years with them otherwise.”

RELATED:

Featured

'The Dragon Prince' Retrospective

Stellan Skarsgard — Image Source: GQ.com

When Skarsgård gets going, he discusses everything from acting to the people he’s worked with, his view of the world, and politics. He spent most of his 20s and 30s working as an actor in the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, but it’s obvious he is firm in his views and not afraid of any backlash. There’s more to Skarsgård, something that shows in his rich body of work. He has been openly supportive of the Palestinian cause, and he believes everyone should bring their real life to the table while watching a work of fiction. When asked about how much the Ghorman Massacre from Andor Season 2 resonated with audiences, the actor says, “This show was written before Trump even won. It was written before the horrors of Gaza. The sad and the good thing is that you can write a show like this anytime. You can be sure that it’ll fit the world.” Stellan has long been a supporter of the Palestinians and protested in Sweden immediately following October 7. He says, “We were afraid that they would go in and try to flatten Gaza. One of the Swedish papers had a big article with a picture of me saying that I was supporting anti-Semitism. The usual. But every night, I think about it. Every night.”

He admits that the stroke he suffered three years ago has made him slow down, even though he hasn’t stopped acting. He had it, “Between one and two of Andor and one and two of Dune. That was perfect timing”, and used an earpiece to help him during the filming of Dune. Regardless of that, Stellan Skarsgård continues to impress. His work includes indie films, Swedish films, and big Hollywood franchises. He’s well-known for his performances in Good Will Hunting, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Mamma Mia!, Pirates of the Caribbean, Thor, and Dune. On television, his most recent performance as Luthen Rael in Andor has made him a favorite among Star Wars fans, and his performance as Deputy Chairman, Boris Scherbina, in HBO’s Chernobyl earned him a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor In A Limited Series. At 74, he may have finally cracked the code to win his first Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Sentimental Value. Even if he hasn’t, Skarsgård will continue to deliver powerhouse performances like he has during the past 6 decades.