Stellan Skarsgård

Infobox actor

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caption = Stellan Skarsgård, January 2004
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Audio|sv-Stellan_Skarsgård.ogg|Stellan Skarsgård (pronounced|ˈstɛlːan ˈskɒːʂgɔ:ɖ in Swedish), or "Skashgord"; born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish film actor, known for his roles in "Breaking the Waves", "The Hunt for Red October", "Ronin", "Good Will Hunting", "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Mamma Mia!"

Personal life

Skarsgård was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, the son of Gudrun and J. Skarsgård. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/25/Stellan-Skarsgaard.html Stellan Skarsgaard Biography] ] He moved often in his childhood and he lived, amongst other places, in Totebo, Kalmar, Marielund and Uppsala. [ [http://www.stellanonline.com/pcafe1998.html Hollywood’s Lonely Hero] ]

He is the father of Alexander Skarsgård and Gustaf Skarsgård, also actors. Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly named their son Stellan (born 5 August 2003) after him.fact|date=October 2007

Acting career

Skarsgård started his acting career early, at age of 20 he already had a great experience in film, TV, and stage. [ [http://starsontop.com/pirates/stellan_skarsgard.htm Stellan Skarsgard (Bootstrap Bill) Biography] ] Most of his early roles were in Swedish TV and movies.

Skarsgård is particularly associated with director Lars von Trier, having starred in three of the Danish auteur's features, including "The Kingdom", "Breaking the Waves", and "Dogville". Aside from these, his best-known Scandinavian work is probably his leading role as the guilt-ridden policeman Jonas Engström in the original "Insomnia".

Among his English-language film roles are:
* King Theseus who abducted Helen in "Helen of Troy"
* A scientist testing a cure for Alzheimer's Disease on sharks in "Deep Blue Sea"
* Russian submarine captain Tupolov in "The Hunt for Red October"
* an engineer in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"
* an MIT professor of mathematics in "Good Will Hunting"
* a young Lankester Merrin in ' (and in Paul Schrader's version, ')
* Gregor in "Ronin"
* the Saxon warlord Cerdic in "King Arthur",
* William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner in ' and '
* Joe Heiser in "Wind"
* Swedish writer Bill Anderson in the film version of Mamma Mia!

He was considered for the role of Oskar Schindler in "Schindler's List". Interestingly, Skarsgård reports that people often mistake him for Liam Neeson, who portrayed Schindler in the film. Skarsgård would in fact replace Neeson in "" (2004).

Filmography

"This filmography is not full but rather a representative one."

*" Kjærlighetens kjøtere" (1995)
* "Hundarna i Riga" ("The Hound of Riga", 1995)
* "Harry och Sonja" (1996) ("Harry and Sonja")
* "Breaking the Waves" (1996)
* "Insomnia" (1997)
* "My Son the Fanatic" (1997)
* "Amistad "(1997)
* "Good Will Hunting" (1997)
* "Riket II (1997)
* "Glasblåsarns barn "("The Glass-blower's Children", 1997)
* "Savior" (1998)
* "Ronin" (1998)
* "Deep Blue Sea "(1999)
* "Harlan County War "(2000)
* "Passion of Mind" (2000)
* "Signs & Wonders" (2000)
* "Timecode" (2000)
* "Dancer in the Dark" (2000)
* "Aberdeen" (2000)
* "The Hire: Powder Keg" (2000)
* "Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang)" (2000)
* "Taking Sides" (2001)
* "The Glass House "(2001)
*" City of Ghosts" (2002)
* "No Good Deed", (2003)
* "Att döda ett barn" ("To Kill a Child", 2003, voice)
* "Helen of Troy", (2003)
* "Dogville" (2003)
* "King Arthur" (2004)
* "" (2004)
* "" (2005)
* "Beowulf & Grendel "(2005)
* "3 & 3" (2005)
* "Kill Your Darlings" (2006)
* "" (2006)
* "Goya's Ghosts" (2006)
* " " (2007)
* "Arn – The Knight Templar "(2007)
* "Mamma Mia!" (2008)
* "WΔZ" (2008)
* "God on Trial" (2008)
* "Boogie Woogie" (2008)
* "Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End" (2008)
* "Angels & Demons" (2009)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0001745|name=Stellan Skarsgård
* [http://www.stellanonline.com/ Stellan Online (Fan Site)]
* [http://starsontop.com/pirates/stellan_skarsgard.htm Stellan Skarsgard Biography]