# Alexander Skarsgård
**Alexander Skarsgård** (full name Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård; born 1976 in Stockholm) is a Swedish actor whose career runs from child roles in Swedish film and television in the 1980s and 1990s to international recognition as [Eric Northman](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-northman) in HBO's *True Blood* and an Emmy-, Golden Globe-, and SAG-recognized performance as Perry Wright in *Big Little Lies*.[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2009176463.html) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard) He is the son of actor [Stellan Skarsgård](https://www.edgepedia.org/stellan-skarsgard) and brother of actors Gustaf and [Bill Skarsgård](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-skarsgard), but his own path included a roughly seven-year break from acting as a teenager and military service before he rebuilt his career in Sweden and then the United States.[3](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/Item/?itemid=164620&type=person) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976, Stockholm; full name Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2009176463.html) |
| Family | Son of actor Stellan Skarsgård and My Skarsgård; brother of actors Gustaf and Bill Skarsgård[3](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/Item/?itemid=164620&type=person) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard) |
| Early career | Stage debut at age four at Vår Teater; *Åke och hans värld* (1984); the 1989 surprise hit *Hunden som log* made the 13-year-old a national celebrity, after which he quit acting for about seven years[3](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/Item/?itemid=164620&type=person) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard) |
| Breakthrough | Sergeant Brad "Iceman" Colbert in *Generation Kill* (shot over seven months in southern Africa), then the 1,000-year-old vampire Eric Northman in *True Blood*[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard) |
| Awards for *Big Little Lies* | Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG recognition for playing Perry Wright; the Television Academy's own bio lists a 2017 nomination, while NPR and Biography.com report a win[4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/alexander-skarsgard) • [5](https://www.npr.org/2022/05/04/1096120878/alexander-skarsgard-the-northman-viking-berserker) |
| Defining collaborations | Lars von Trier (*Melancholia*, 2011) and Robert Eggers (*The Northman*, 2022)[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/02/alexander-skarsgard-interview-diary-of-a-teenage-girl) • [5](https://www.npr.org/2022/05/04/1096120878/alexander-skarsgard-the-northman-viking-berserker) |
| US base | Moved to Los Angeles in 2004 while continuing to work in Sweden[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2009176463.html) |
## Early life and background
The Swedish Film Database records Alexander Skarsgård as a Swedish actor with film roles from 1984, born in [Vällingby](https://www.edgepedia.org/vallingby), Stockholm, the son of actor Stellan Skarsgård and brother of the actors Gustaf and Bill Skarsgård.[3](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/Item/?itemid=164620&type=person) The Library of Congress authority record gives the full name Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård and the birth date 1976, in Stockholm.[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2009176463.html) Biography.com names his mother as My Skarsgård.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard)
## Child acting and career interruption
He made his acting debut at age four in the children's theater program at Vår Teater, and a few years later appeared in Allan Edwall's *Åke och hans värld* (1984).[3](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/Item/?itemid=164620&type=person) The TV film *Hunden som log* (1989; released in English as *The Dog That Smiled*) became a surprise hit and made the 13-year-old a national celebrity in Sweden.[3](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/Item/?itemid=164620&type=person) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard)
**Fame as a burden.** The Swedish Film Database notes that he found childhood fame burdensome, and after the film's success he quit acting for about seven years.[3](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/Item/?itemid=164620&type=person) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard) At 19 he joined an antiterrorist unit in the Swedish marines for national service.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard)
## Return to acting and training
After military service and [English studies](https://www.edgepedia.org/english-studies) in Leeds, where he lived for six months at 21, he studied for half a year at the Marymount theater school in New York in 1997–98.[3](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/Item/?itemid=164620&type=person) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/02/alexander-skarsgard-interview-diary-of-a-teenage-girl) Back in Sweden he took roles across two seasons of the soap opera *Vita lögner* (1999–2000) and appeared in Reza Bagher's *Vingar av glas* (2000).[3](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/Item/?itemid=164620&type=person) In 2003 he made his directorial debut with Björne Larson with a remake of the short film *Att döda ett barn* (*To Kill a Child*), which Biography.com describes as acclaimed and notes was shown at Tribeca and Cannes.[3](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/Item/?itemid=164620&type=person) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard) He moved to Los Angeles in 2004 but continued to work in Sweden.[1](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2009176463.html) Leeds Metropolitan University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2011.[7](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/alexander-skarsgard/bio/3030489758/)
## International breakthrough
His American film debut came as an airheaded male model in the 2001 comedy *Zoolander*.[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard) He then played Sergeant Brad "Iceman" Colbert in HBO's miniseries *Generation Kill*, shot over seven intense months in Namibia, South Africa, and [Mozambique](https://www.edgepedia.org/mozambique).[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard) The Guardian dates his reach to a wider audience to the next role: Eric Northman, the 1,000-year-old bar-owner vampire in *True Blood*, opposite [Stephen Moyer](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-moyer) and [Anna Paquin](https://www.edgepedia.org/anna-paquin).[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/02/alexander-skarsgard-interview-diary-of-a-teenage-girl) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard)
## Critical recognition and awards
In the 2017 HBO series *Big Little Lies* he played Perry Wright, an abusive husband. The Television Academy's bio record lists a 2017 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for the role,[4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/alexander-skarsgard) while NPR and Biography.com state that he won an Emmy, alongside a Golden Globe and a SAG Award, for the performance.[5](https://www.npr.org/2022/05/04/1096120878/alexander-skarsgard-the-northman-viking-berserker) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard) The two records differ on the Emmy outcome.
The Swedish Film Database states that Skarsgård won a Golden Globe in 2018 for his performance in *Big Little Lies*.[3](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/Item/?itemid=164620&type=person) Skarsgård himself described the role as "such a honest and nuanced portrayal and depiction of an abusive relationship."[8](https://ew.com/movies/alexander-skarsgard-role-call-interview/)
## Film work, collaborations, and genre range
**Lars von Trier.** He worked with [Lars von Trier](https://www.edgepedia.org/lars-von-trier) on the 2011 art-apocalypse drama *[Melancholia](https://www.edgepedia.org/melancholia-2011-film)*, playing the groom to [Kirsten Dunst](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirsten-dunst)'s bride opposite his father Stellan, their first onscreen appearance together.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/02/alexander-skarsgard-interview-diary-of-a-teenage-girl) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard) • [8](https://ew.com/movies/alexander-skarsgard-role-call-interview/) He accepted the role before reading the script, out of admiration for the director.[8](https://ew.com/movies/alexander-skarsgard-role-call-interview/)
**Blockbusters.** He went "full blockbuster" in 2012 with *Battleship*, in which he appears for about 30 minutes and, in his words, gets blown up early; he acknowledged the film was a box-office disappointment but said it did not turn him off big movies.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/02/alexander-skarsgard-interview-diary-of-a-teenage-girl) He starred in *[The Legend of Tarzan](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-legend-of-tarzan-film)* (2016).[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard)
**Television and prestige film.** NPR notes that after *Big Little Lies* he played a tech billionaire in a season of HBO's *Succession*.[5](https://www.npr.org/2022/05/04/1096120878/alexander-skarsgard-the-northman-viking-berserker) In Robert Eggers' *The Northman* (2022) he played a Viking berserker on a set built for historical accuracy; as he put it, "the village was built ... the way a village would have been built a thousand years ago."[5](https://www.npr.org/2022/05/04/1096120878/alexander-skarsgard-the-northman-viking-berserker) When the first draft of *The Northman* came in, he suggested [Nicole Kidman](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicole-kidman), his onscreen lover in *Big Little Lies*, for the role of Queen Gudrún, and everyone agreed.[8](https://ew.com/movies/alexander-skarsgard-role-call-interview/)
## Recent and ongoing work
[Entertainment Weekly](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment-weekly) listed Alexander Skarsgård among the announced hosts for *Saturday Night Live*'s season 51, the 2025–26 season.[9](https://ew.com/person/alexander-skarsgard/)
## References
1. [Skarsgård, Alexander, LC Linked Data Service, Library of Congress](https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2009176463.html)
2. [Alexander Skarsgård: Biography, Actor, 'True Blood' Star, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/actors/alexander-skarsgard)
3. [Alexander Skarsgård, Svensk Filmdatabas (Swedish Film Institute)](https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/en/Item/?itemid=164620&type=person)
4. [Alexander Skarsgård, Television Academy bio](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/alexander-skarsgard)
5. [Alexander Skarsgård plays a Viking berserker in 'The Northman', NPR (2022)](https://www.npr.org/2022/05/04/1096120878/alexander-skarsgard-the-northman-viking-berserker)
6. [True Blood to Tarzan: how Alexander Skarsgård swung into Hollywood, The Guardian (2015)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/02/alexander-skarsgard-interview-diary-of-a-teenage-girl)
7. [Alexander Skarsgård Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/alexander-skarsgard/bio/3030489758/)
8. [Alexander Skarsgård on Tarzan, True Blood, and the roles that shaped him, Entertainment Weekly](https://ew.com/movies/alexander-skarsgard-role-call-interview/)
9. [Alexander Skarsgard – Entertainment Weekly person page](https://ew.com/person/alexander-skarsgard/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Nordic actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license