Skarsgrd was born in Stockholm, Sweden.

He is the son of Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgrd and his first wife My Skarsgrd. He has six younger siblings: Gustaf Skarsgrd (born 1980), Sam Skarsgrd (born 1982), Bill Skarsgrd (born 1990), Eija Skarsgrd (born 1992), Valter Skarsgrd (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 ke och hans vrld (ke 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 to consider 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, Skarsgrd 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 continued to work 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 Skarsgrd. White wanted to cast him but Simon was not convinced he could pull off the American accent. After four auditions in three cities, Skarsgrd 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. Skarsgrd worked with a dialect coach to master the American accent. [1][5][10]

Skarsgrd at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival Just before leaving to shoot Generation Kill, Skarsgrd 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. Skarsgrd 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, Skarsgrd 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, Skarsgrd portrayed Terje, a gay Norwegian trekking to the North Pole, in the British mockumentary Beyond the Pole. [12] Suit maker Hickey Freeman chose Skarsgrd 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] Skarsgrd 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] Skarsgrd 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 Skarsgrd'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. Skarsgrd 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, Skarsgrd's brothers Gustaf, Bill and Valter are also actors. [5] Skarsgrd 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, Skarsgrd received an honorary degree from Leeds Metropolitan University where he was formerly a student. [21] Skarsgrd has previously dated actress Kate Bosworth.[22]

[edit] Filmography
Film Year Title Role 1984 ke and His World Kalle Nubb The Dog That 1989 Jojjo Smiled 1999 Happy End Bamse Viktorsson 2000 2000 2000 2000 2001 2001 2004 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 2007 2009 2009 2010 2010 The Dog Trick The Diver White Water Fury Wings of Glass Kites Over Helsinki Zoolander Heartbeat Double Shift The Last Drop Om Sara Never Be Mine Kill Your Darlings Score Exit Jrnets nglar Metropia Beyond the Pole Trust Me 13 Micke Ingmar Anders Johan Robin strm Meekus The pilot Nisse Lt. Jergen Voller Kalle berg Christopher Geert Micke Fabian von Klerking Stefan Stefan Terje Alex Jack Notes

Remade as Hundtricket - The movie in 2002

Voice Also known as Puss in Sweden

2011 2011 2012

Charlie Venner Post-production Michael Stone Hopper Filming[23] Television Year Title Role Notes 1987 Idag rd Fred 1999 Vita lgner Marcus Englund 10 episodes 2000 D-dag Lise's stepson Released as a movie in 2001 2000 Judith Ante Lindstrm 2005 Revelations Gunnar Eklind 2006 Cuppen Micke 2007 Golden Brown Eyes Boogey Knights singer 2008 Generation Kill Sgt. Brad 'Iceman' Colbert 2008present True Blood Eric Northman As a director Year Title Notes 2003 To Kill a Child Co-directing with Bjrne Larson Music videos Year Role Video 2009 Boyfriend Paparazzi by Lady Gaga

Straw Dogs Melancholia Battleship

[edit] Awards and nominations

Year 2003 2003 2003 2009 2009 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 Award Odense International Film Festival Odense International Film Festival Guldbagge Awards Scream Award Satellite Awards SAG Awards Saturn Award NewNowNext Awards Scream Award Scream Award Work Att Dda Ett Barn Att Dda Ett Barn Hundtricket The Movie True Blood True Blood True Blood True Blood True Blood True Blood True Blood Category Grand Prix Press Award Best Supporting Actor Best Villain Best Television Ensemble Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Best Supporting Actor in Television Brink of Fame: Actor Result Won[24] Won[24] Nominated[24] Won[25] Won[26] Nominated[27] Nominated Nominated

Best Television Performance Nominated Best Horror Actor Won

[edit] References