Alexander Skarsgard Biography

news-detailsAlexander Skarsgard, apparently, inherited acting skills from his actor father Stellan Skarsgard and thus wanted to pursue acting since he was a child. At 7 years old he starred in his first film, the 1984 "Ake and His World". After starring roles in several minor films and TV shows, he achieved his big break through the 1989 film "The Dog That Smiled". The film's success helped catapult him to fame, which he found "scary" and thus he decided to quit acting.

Then, at age 19 Skarsgard joined an antiterrorist unit in the Swedish marines. During his 15 months in the marines, he trained in hand-to-hand combat, small-squad battle tactics and anti-sabotage attacks which later on were very useful and helpful for his acting career, especially when he was cast as Marine Sergeant Brad "Iceman" Colbert in the acclaimed HBO miniseries "Generation Kill". His performance earned him critical acclaim which prompted him to being cast as Viking vampire Eric Northman in HBO smash series "True Blood".

In line with his high rising popularity, Skarsgard landed appearances in several big screen movies, such as "13" (2010), "Melancholia" (2011), "Battleship" (2012), "The Diary of a Teenage Girl" (2014), and "Tarzan" (2016). Besides acting, he also wrote and directed short film "To Kill a Child" (2003), which received critical acclaim and was featured at the Tribeca and Cannes film festivals.

Skarsgard's birth name was Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgard. The actor was born in Stockholm, Sweden on August 25, 1976.