Alexander Skarsgard Bio: In His Own Words – Exclusive Video, Photos, News, Age, Girlfriend

Alexander Skarsgard, a Swedish actor, is perhaps best known as the vampire Eric Northman on HBO’s hit series True Blood. Skarsgard is an 8-time winner of Sweden’s Sexiest Man, but he also wants to avoid being pigeonholed. “It’s flattering, but the downside is when the first time it happened suddenly I got all these scripts where you just play the hunk, the good-looking guy, the love interest. It’s important for me not to be typecast,” Skarsgard told uInterview in an exclusive interview, “or to end up playing the same character over and over again.”

Alexander Skarsgård On ‘True Blood,’ Nudity

Skarsgard was able to break that mold with his role in True Blood, for which he is known for his subtle acting. “I play the role of Eric kind of low-key because he’s very confident, and he doesn’t have to be loud. Loudness is just loudness,” he told uInterview. “It’s not power. I think that too much in gestures and too much loudness would just dilute the part the way water does to good wine.”

Skarsgard doesn’t see Eric as a pure villain. “I think it’s more complicated than that. In general, I don’t believe in good versus evil. I think people are more complicated than that,” he says. And he certainly won’t complain about his numerous True Blood nude scenes. “I did not hesitate at all,” he said. “I’m Scandinavian, damn it. We love to be naked! Nudity is great!”

Alexander Skarsgård Biography, Early Success, Age

Born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden (age: 46), Alexander Skarsgard is the son and eldest child of one of Sweden’s most famous actors Stellan Skargard. Alexander established himself as an actor in Sweden with his first role in the film Ake och hans varld (Ake and His World) in 1983 at 7 years old. His breakthrough came in 1989 when he starred in Hunden som log (The Dog That Smiled) at the age of 13. He quit acting after the film because he felt uncomfortable in the spotlight. “I was really self-conscious and I wasn’t comfortable with all the attention,” he told uInterview. “People on the street would recognize me, and I hated it. It was too much.” After he left acting, Skarsgard served in the Swedish military for a year and a half. In 1996, he left the service and attended Leeds Metropolitan University in England for just six months, but admits that he dropped out because he was partying more than studying. He then decided to give acting another shot and enrolled in an acting class at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City in 1997.

Skarsgard’s first major American film role came in 2001 with the hugely popular comedy Zoolander, in which he memorably played the dim male model Meekus. Two years later, he earned a Swedish Guldbagge Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the Swedish film Hundtricket – The Movie (The Dog Trick). He got his big break in 2008 when he starred in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill as Sergeant Brad “Iceman” Colbert. There was much debate among the producers as to whether Skarsgard would be able to master the American accent for the project, but he won the part and worked diligently with a dialect coach. While filming Generation Kill, Skarsgard learned that HBO was developing the series True Blood and that it would be helmed by Alan Ball, who had previously created Six Feet Under. Skarsgard originally auditioned for the role of Bill, which went to Stephen Moyer. Skarsgard eventually won the part of Eric Northman, a 1000-year-old Viking vampire. The show became an instant success for HBO and made Skarsgard a household name. Since winning the role, he went on to star in several films, including Straw Dogs, Battleship, The East and What Maisie Knew.

Skarsgard joined HBO’s Emmy-award-winning show, Succession, for its third and fourth seasons. He played the recurring character Lukas Matsson, founder of a successful technology company and business colleague of the Roy family. In addition to Succession and True Blood, Skarsgard’s work with HBO’s television series also includes Big Little Lies.

Alexander Skarsgård Bio: Dating History, Personal Life, Girlfriend

Skarsgard has been romantically linked to Amanda Seyfried, Anne Vyalitsina and former True Blood costar Evan Rachel Wood. Skarsgard ended a relationship with his Straw Dogs costar, Kate Bosworth in 2011, after two years of dating. They dated from 2009 to 2011.

In 2022, Skarsgard started dating actress Tuva Novotny. The couple welcomed a child in March 2023.

He is a supporter of the Hammarby IF football team, based in Sweden. He has listed Isabelle Huppert, Gary Oldman and Robert Duvall as some of his favorite actors. His favorite movie is the 1933 classic Duck Soup.