Alexander Skarsgard

Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈskɑːʂɡoːɖ]; born August 25, 1976) is a Swedish actor. He is best known for his roles as vampire Eric Northman on the HBO series True Blood, Meekus in Zoolander and Brad Colbert in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill.

Award Season 2010: Emmys 2010: Alexander Skarsgard of True Blood


True Blood: Alexander Skarsgard PSA (HBO)


Alexander Skarsgard, - Battleship Trailer Official (HD)


Graduation 2011 - Honorary Profiles - Alexander Skarsgard


Access Hollywood: Alexander Skarsgard


Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) Confesses all to TV Guide Magazine!





Early life

Skarsgård was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the son of Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård and his first wife My Skarsgård. He has six younger siblings: Gustaf Skarsgård (born 1980), Sam Skarsgård (born 1982), Bill Skarsgård (born 1990), Eija Skarsgård (born 1992), Valter Skarsgård (born 1995) and half-brother Ossian (born 2009).
A director friend of his father's gave him his first film role in 1983 when he was seven years old. He played Kalle Nubb in Åke och hans värld (Åke and His World). In 1989 the lead role in the Swedish television production Hunden som log (The Dog That Smiled) made him famous in Sweden at the age of 13. Uncomfortable with being recognized, he quit acting for the next seven years.[1][2] [3]
At age 19 he applied to do his national service. He served in the Swedish military for 18 months, in a unit that dealt with anti-sabotage and anti-terrorism in the Stockholm archipelago. [4] After completing his service in 1996 he left Sweden and attended Leeds Metropolitan University in England for six months. He enrolled to study English but admits he did not study much and "had a blast" instead. [2] [5]
After seven years away from acting he started considering it again. In 1997 he enrolled in a theater course at Marymount Manhattan College and moved to New York City. He returned to Stockholm after six months but the time he spent studying theater showed him that he wanted to act. [5] [6]
[edit]Career

Upon his return to Sweden, Skarsgård began picking up acting jobs, working in film, television and theatrical productions. [5] While on vacation in the United States, he auditioned for and landed the role of Meekus in the 2001 film Zoolander. [7] In 2003 his work in Hundtricket-the Movie (The Dog Trick) earned him a Guldbagge nomination for Best Supporting Actor. [8] He was also named the Sexiest Man in Sweden five times. [1]
He moved to Los Angeles in 2004 but also continued working in Sweden. [9] His break came when he was cast as Sergeant Brad "Iceman" Colbert in the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries Generation Kill. An adaptation of journalist Evan Wright's book of the same name, Generation Kill follows the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps during the early part of the Iraq War. The part of Brad Colbert was the closest to a "lead" in Generation Kill and director Susanna White and executive producer David Simon at first disagreed about casting Skarsgård. White wanted to cast him but Simon was not convinced he could pull off the American accent. After four auditions in three cities, Skarsgård learned the part was his just 36 hours before he had to board a plane for Namibia where the project was filming. The cast and crewed filmed for seven months in the desert, shooting six days a week. Skarsgård worked with a dialect coach to master the American accent. [1][5][10]


Skarsgård at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival
Just before leaving to shoot Generation Kill, Skarsgård heard about True Blood, a new series HBO was developing based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris. At first he was unsure about playing a vampire, but when he learned that Alan Ball, creator of the HBO series Six Feet Under and Academy Award winning screenwriter of American Beauty, was behind the project, he sent in an audition tape. The audition was for the role of Bill Compton, which eventually went to Stephen Moyer. Skarsgård was later cast as Eric Northman, a 1000-year-old, Viking vampire sheriff, local bar owner, and potential love interest of heroine Sookie Stackhouse. [1][11] True Blood is in its fourth season.
In 2009 Skarsgård appeared in the music video for pop singer Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi".[11] He was the voice of Stefan in the 2009 animated film Metropia, directed by Tarik Saleh. [2] In 2010 Skarsgård portrayed Terje, a gay Norwegian trekking to the North Pole, in the British mockumentary Beyond the Pole. [12]
Suit maker Hickey Freeman chose Skarsgård to model a new look it debuted in 2010. Annie Leibowitz photographed the ad campaign which appeared in magazines such as The Wall Street Journal Magazine, GQ and Details. [13] [14] He covered the September 2010 issue of Rolling Stone with his True Blood co-stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer. [15]
Skarsgård has two films set to be released in 2011. Melancholia, an apocalyptic movie directed by Lars von Trier starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland, premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. [16] [17] Skarsgård will appear in Straw Dogs, a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, as Charlie Venner. The remake's director, Rod Lurie, has transferred the setting from a rural English town to Mississippi, and he describes Skarsgård's character as "an ex-football star gone to seed". The film co-stars James Marsden and Kate Bosworth. [4] It is set to be released September 16, 2011.
Skarsgård will appear alongside Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna in Peter Berg's Battleship, an adaptation of the Hasbro game. It will be released in May 2012.[18]
[edit]Personal life

In addition to his father, Skarsgård's brothers Gustaf, Bill and Valter are also actors. [5]
Skarsgård is a fan of Swedish football and supports Hammarby IF, a club based in his birth city. [19] In October 2010, he participated in "Bajen Aid" by donating several items he had autographed and auctioning them off to raise money for the Hammarby football club. [20]
In July 2011, Skarsgård received an honorary degree from Leeds Metropolitan University where he was formerly a student. [21]
Skarsgård has previously dated actress Kate Bosworth.[22]
[edit]Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1984 Åke and His World Kalle Nubb
1989 The Dog That Smiled Jojjo
1999 Happy End Bamse Viktorsson
2000 The Dog Trick Micke Remade as Hundtricket - The movie in 2002
2000 The Diver Ingmar
2000 White Water Fury Anders
2000 Wings of Glass Johan
2001 Kites Over Helsinki Robin Åström
2001 Zoolander Meekus
2004 Heartbeat The pilot
2005 Double Shift Nisse
2005 The Last Drop Lt. Jergen Voller
2005 Om Sara Kalle Öberg
2006 Never Be Mine Christopher
2006 Kill Your Darlings Geert
2006 Score Micke
2006 Exit Fabian von Klerking
2007 Järnets änglar Stefan
2009 Metropia Stefan Voice
2009 Beyond the Pole Terje
2010 Trust Me Alex Also known as Puss in Sweden
2010 13 Jack
2011 Straw Dogs Charlie Venner Post-production
2011 Melancholia Michael
2012 Battleship Stone Hopper Filming[23]
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1987 Idag röd Fred
1999 Vita lögner Marcus Englund 10 episodes
2000 D-dag Lise's stepson Released as a movie in 2001
2000 Judith Ante Lindström
2005 Revelations Gunnar Eklind
2006 Cuppen Micke
2007 Golden Brown Eyes Boogey Knights singer
2008 Generation Kill Sgt. Brad 'Iceman' Colbert
2008–present True Blood Eric Northman
As a director
Year Title Notes
2003 To Kill a Child Co-directing with Björne Larson
Music videos
Year Role Video
2009 Boyfriend Paparazzi by Lady Gaga
[edit]Awards and nominations

Year Award Work Category Result
2003 Odense International Film Festival Att Döda Ett Barn Grand Prix Won[24]
2003 Odense International Film Festival Att Döda Ett Barn Press Award Won[24]
2003 Guldbagge Awards Hundtricket - The Movie Best Supporting Actor Nominated[24]
2009 Scream Award True Blood Best Villain Won[25]
2009 Satellite Awards True Blood Best Television Ensemble Won
2010 SAG Awards True Blood Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated
2010 Saturn Award True Blood Best Supporting Actor in Television Nominated
2010 NewNowNext Awards True Blood Brink of Fame: Actor Nominated
2010 Scream Award True Blood Best Television Performance Nominated
2010 Scream Award True Blood Best Horror Actor Won

References from Wikipedia.com