Gustaf Skarsgård

Gustaf Skarsgård
Skarsgård at GFCC Babelsberg 2024
Born
Gustaf Caspar Orm Skarsgård

12 November 1980 (1980-11-12) (age 44)
Södermalm, Stockholm, Sweden
OccupationActor
Years active1989–present
PartnerHanna Alström (1999–2005) Caroline Sjöström (2017-present)
Children2
FatherStellan Skarsgård
Relatives
Skarsgård in 2013

Gustaf Caspar Orm Skarsgård[a] (born 12 November 1980) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his roles in Evil (2003), The Way Back (2010), Kon-Tiki (2012), and Oppenheimer (2023). He also appeared in the HBO TV series Westworld (2018), as Merlin in the Netflix TV series Cursed (2020), and as Floki in the History Channel series Vikings (2013–2020).

Early life

Skarsgård was born on 12 November 1980 in Stockholm, Sweden, to Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård and his first wife, My, a physician. He has five siblings: Alexander, Sam, Bill, Eija and Valter, and two half-brothers Ossian and Kolbjörn by his father's second marriage, to Megan Everett.[1] Alexander, Bill, and Valter are also actors. His godfather is Swedish actor Peter Stormare. Gustaf decided to follow in his father's footsteps as an actor at the age of six and attended drama school.[2]

Career

Skarsgård’s film debut was in 1989 in the short film Prima Ballerina, where he played a ballet pupil. The same year, Skarsgård starred in the Swedish Film Codename Coq Rouge. Gustaf Skarsgård continued with several children's and youth roles, for example, Min vän Percys magiska gymnastikskor (1994) and Skuggornas hus (1996). [citation needed]

He attended the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting in Stockholm (Teaterhögskolan)[3] from 1998 to 2003, before joining the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm.[4] He played in several of Shakespeare’s, Chekhov's and Söderberg’s[4] works both on the Royal Dramatic Theatre and on Stockholm City Theatre.[4][5] In 2003 he performed in Evil and 2008 in Patrik 1,5. For both roles he was nominated for the Guldbagge Award as Best Supporting Actor and as Best Leading Actor. The same year he was awarded the Shooting Star at the Berlin International Film Festival. He finally won the Guldbagge as Best Leading Actor for his performance in Förortsungar.[6]

In 2012, Skarsgård joined the History Channel's series Vikings in the main role of Floki, the shipbuilder.[7] In 2018, he joined the cast of Westworld as Karl Strand for five episodes.[2]

In March 2020, Skarsgård starred in a main role as Merlin, in Cursed, a Netflix original television series based on a re-imaging of the Arthurian legend.[8]

In 2022, Skarsgård starred in Swedish film What Remains, a psychological thriller which follows the disquieting relationship between a possible serial killer, played by Skarsgård (based on real-life killer Sture Bergwall, AKA Thomas Quick), his troubled psychiatrist, and the detective assigned to the case, played by Gustaf Skarsgård's own father, actor Stellan Skarsgård.

Personal life

Gustaf Skarsgård was in a relationship with actress Hanna Alström from 1999 to 2005.[9][10]

He is in a relationship with Caroline Sjöström. Their daughter was born in November 2020.[11] In 2023, Sjöström announced that they were expecting their second child on her instagram.

Awards

Skarsgård won a Guldbagge Awards for Kidz In da Hood. He won the European Film Academy's Shooting Stars Award in 2007.[12]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1989 Prima ballerina Spinken Short
1989 Täcknamn Coq Rouge
1995 Sommaren Steffe Credited as Gustav Skarsgård
1996 Euroboy Robber Short
2002 Kontrakt Short
2002 The Invisible Niklas
2002 Gåvan David Short
2003 Evil Otto Silverhielm
2003 Detaljer Daniel (old)
2004 The Color of Milk The Stranger
2004 Babylonsjukan Olle, Maja's boyfriend
2006 Kidz in da Hood Johan
2007 Pyramiden Kurt Wallander (aged 24) Video
2007 Arn – The Knight Templar King Canute I of Sweden
2008 Iskariot Adam
2008 Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End King Canute I of Sweden
2008 Patrik, Age 1.5 Göran Skoogh
2009 May Fly Jimmy Short
2010 Trust Me Jon
2010 The Way Back[13] Voss
2011 Happy End Peter
2011 Människor helt utan betydelse Director and writer
2012 Kon-Tiki Bengt Danielsson
2013 Autumn Blood The Butcher
2013 Vi Krister
2013 The Big Leap John Short
2013 The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden Rolf Blomberg Narration/voice
2017 Darling Frans
2019 438 Days[14] Martin Schibbye
2021 The Emigrants Karl Oskar
2023 Air Horst Dassler
2023 Oppenheimer Hans Bethe

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1994 My Friend Percy's Magical Sneakers [sv] Jan TV miniseries
1996 Skuggornas hus Julius "J.B" Bloomendolf TV miniseries
2002 Cleo Jonas No. 1 5 episodes
2003 Swedenhielms [sv] Bo Swedenhielm TV movie
2006 Snapphanar King Charles XI of Sweden TV miniseries
2008 Mellan 11 och 12 Jonas TV movie
2010 Arn Knut 4 episodes
2011 Bibliotekstjuven John TV miniseries
2013–2020 Vikings Floki Main cast; TV series
2014 Ettor & nollor Karl TV miniseries
2018 Westworld Karl Strand 5 episodes
2020 Cursed Merlin Main role

Notes

  1. ^ Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɡɵ̂sːtav ˈskɑ̌ːʂɡoːɖ] ⓘ

References

  1. ^ Abramovitch, Seth (24 August 2012). "Stellan Skarsgard, 61, Welcomes Baby Number 8". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  2. ^ a b "interview – Gustaf Skarsgård". schonmagazine.com. 15 April 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting (NAMA)". combster.tv. 2020. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Dramatens arkiv Rollboken Gustaf Skarsgård" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Stockholms stadsteater Arkiv Medverkande" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Gustaf Skarsgård är Guldbaggarnas herre". Expressen (in Swedish). 10 January 2007. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Comic-Con: George Blagden and Gustaf Skarsgard Talk VIKINGS, Favorite Moments from Season 1, and Tease Season 2". Collider. 21 July 2013. Archived from the original on 5 January 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  8. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (4 March 2019). "'Cursed': Devon Terrell, Gustaf Skarsgard, Lily Newmark & More Join Arthurian Netflix Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 4 March 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  9. ^ "De är ett par i tv – och på riktigt" [They're a couple on TV – and for real]. aftonbladet (in Swedish). 28 March 2002. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Hanna Alström är öppen för allt: "Hittills har jag träffat män – men man kan aldrig veta"" [Hanna Alström is open to everything: "So far I have met men – but you can never know"]. Hänt (in Swedish). March 2015. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Caroline Sjöström om föräldralivet med Skarsgård". Expressen. 27 January 2022. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard)". Vikings. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  13. ^ Weir, Peter (21 January 2011), The Way Back, archived from the original on 4 September 2016, retrieved 9 May 2016
  14. ^ Mitchell, Wendy (28 March 2018). "Jesper Ganslandt to direct story of imprisoned Swedish journalists for SF Studios". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
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