Stellan John Skarsgård (, ; born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his collaborations with director Lars von Trier, appearing in Breaking the Waves (1996), Dancer in the Dark (2000), Dogville (2003), Melancholia (2011), and Nymphomaniac (2013). Skarsgård's early English-speaking film roles include The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Good Will Hunting (1997), Ronin (1998), and King Arthur (2004). His accolades include two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Critics’ Choice Award.
Skarsgård has since starred in blockbusters such as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007). He also starred in the musical Mamma Mia! (2008) and its 2018 sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, the thriller Angels and Demons (2009), and the neo-noir thriller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011). He played Dr. Erik Selvig in five Marvel Cinematic Universe films, starting with Thor (2011), and portrayed Baron Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve's two-part Dune adaptation, Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024). For his performance as an aging, once-celebrated filmmaker in Sentimental Value (2025), Skarsgård won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He is also known for his work in television portraying Boris Shcherbina in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl (2019), for which he received the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film and a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, and Luthen Rael in the Star Wars political spy thriller series Andor (2022–2025).
Early life and education
Stellan John Skarsgård was born on 13 June 1951 in Gothenburg, Sweden, the son of Gudrun (née Larsson; born 1930) and Jan Skarsgård (1920–1998). He moved often in his childhood and lived, amongst other places, in Helsingborg, Totebo, Kalmar, Marielund, and Uppsala.
Acting career
thumb|Skarsgård in 2009
Skarsgård started his acting career early; and, by the age of 21, his experience in film, TV and stage was considerable. Most of his early roles were in Swedish television (such as Bombi Bitt) and films. Of Skarsgård's work in Swedish film, he is known for Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg, where he portrays Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who worked to save Holocaust victims.
Skarsgård is particularly associated with director Lars von Trier and has appeared in six of the Danish auteur's features: The Kingdom, Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, Melancholia, and Nymphomaniac. His most personal working relationship, however, is with Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland, who has directed the actor in Zero Kelvin, Aberdeen, In Order of Disappearance, and A Somewhat Gentle Man. Skarsgård considers Moland a close friend and, in 2009, he said of their relationship: "We're like an old married couple and I get separation anxiety." Another Scandinavian work that he is known for is the 1997 Norwegian film Insomnia, in which he plays the guilt-ridden policeman Jonas Engström.
Skarsgård's first American film was the 1985 film Noon Wine, directed by Michael Fields, in which Skarsgård played a mentally disturbed immigrant farmhand being chased by a bounty hunter. He acted opposite Fred Ward, who portrayed the farmer. he played one of Demi Moore's two love interests in Passion of Mind (2000), directed by Alain Berliner. Skarsgård appeared as a guest star on Entourage as Verner Vollstedt, the German director of the fictional film Smokejumpers, who is hostile to the main character Vincent Chase. Skarsgård appeared as Bootstrap Bill Turner in both Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. In 2008, he starred as Bill Anderson in Universal Pictures' Mamma Mia! and reprised the role 10 years later in its sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
Skarsgård played Dr. Erik Selvig in the 2011 film Thor, and later reprised the role in Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), as well as The Avengers (2012) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Skarsgård reteamed with Thor director Kenneth Branagh for the 2015 live-action adaptation of Disney's Cinderella, in which he played The Grand Duke. In 2021, he played Vladimir Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve's Dune (2021), and reprised the role in Dune: Part Two (2024). Skarsgård also co-starred alongside his son Gustaf Skarsgård in the Swedish psychological thriller What Remains (2022).
thumb|right|alt=Stellan Skarsgård speaking on stage|Skarsgård speaks in Los Angeles in Feb. 2026
From 2022 to 2025, Skarsgård played Rebel spymaster Luthen Rael in the Star Wars series Andor, for which he received critical acclaim. Skarsgård appeared in the 2025 Joachim Trier film Sentimental Value, for which he received the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination.
Skarsgård has appeared in music videos alongside fellow Swedes. He was in Eva Dahlgren's "Vem tänder stjärnorna" (Who Lights the Stars) in 1991 and Lykke Li's 2011 music video, "Sadness Is a Blessing".
Personal life
In April 1975, Skarsgård married a Swedish doctor, My. Before divorcing My in 2007, they had six children together including Alexander, Gustaf, Bill, and Valter. In January 2009, Skarsgård married American screenwriter, producer and children's book author Megan Everett (born 1976). They have two sons together, one of which is Kolbjörn. Six of his eight children are active actors in film and television. In 2016, Skarsgård said that he had a vasectomy because he felt that eight children was enough.
In an interview with Vulture in October 2025, Skarsgård revealed that he suffered a stroke in 2022, which affected his memory and language and led him to wear an earpiece with an assistant feeding him his lines during the filming of Dune: Part Two (2024) and Andor season 2 (2025). Skarsgård later added: "it was like balancing on a knife edge because I had to have a new way of working with prompters and stuff… I’m still working on it. But I’m glad that the core of the acting, the important thing, the essence of it, obviously survived."
Religious beliefs
Skarsgård was brought up by humanist, atheist parents, and had an atheist grandfather and a deeply religious grandmother. According to Skarsgård, this never led to any problems because of the family's mutual respect for each other's opinions. After the September 11 attacks, Skarsgård set out to read the Bible and the Quran, both of which he condemns as violent. The group also criticised the UN for its stance on blasphemy laws.
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! Year
! Title
! Role
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| 2026
| Ontos
| TBA
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Awards and nominations
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! scope="col"| Award
! scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Category
! scope="col"| Film
! scope="col"| Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"|
|-
| AARP Movies for Grownups Awards
| 2026
| Best Supporting Actor
| rowspan="4" | Sentimental Value
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| Academy Awards
| 2026
| Best Supporting Actor
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| Best Cast Ensemble
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| Astra TV Awards
| 2024
| Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama
| Andor
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| Berlin International Film Festival
| 1982
| Best Actor
| The Simple-Minded Murderer
|
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| Bodil Awards
| 2014
| Bodil Award for Best Actor
| Nymphomaniac
|
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| British Academy Television Awards
| 2020
| Best Supporting Actor
| Chernobyl
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|-
| Denmark's National Association of Film Critics
| 2004
| Best Supporting Actor
| Dogville
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| Critics' Choice Television Awards
| 2020
| Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie
| Chernobyl
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| rowspan="4" | European Film Awards
| 1998
| European Achievement in World Cinema
| Amistad<br />Good Will Hunting
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| 2000
| rowspan="3" | European Actor
| Aberdeen
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| 2001
| Taking Sides
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| 2026
| Sentimental Value
|
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|-
| Fangoria Chainsaw Awards
| 2006
| Best Actor
| Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
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| rowspan="2"| Golden Globe Awards
| 2020
| Best Supporting Actor – Series, Limited Series or Television Film
| Chernobyl
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| 2026
| Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
| Sentimental Value
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| Gotham Independent Film Awards
| 2025
| Outstanding Supporting Performance
| Sentimental Value
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|-
| rowspan="3"| Guldbagge Awards
| 1982
| rowspan="2"| Best Actor
| The Simple-Minded Murderer
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| 1990
| Täcknamn Coq Rouge<br />The Women on the Roof
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| <br /><br />
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| Jameson Dublin International Film Festival
| 2012
| Career Achievement Award
| –
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| Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
| 2025 || Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema || ||
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| Mar del Plata Film Festival
| 2002
| Best Actor
| Taking Sides
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| Norwegian International Film Festival
| 2010
| Best Actor
| A Somewhat Gentle Man
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| Palm Springs International Film Festival
| 2026
| International Star Award
| Sentimental Value
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| Peabody Awards
| 2022
| Entertainment
| Andor
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| People's Choice Awards
| 2009
| Favorite Cast
| Mamma Mia!
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| Primetime Emmy Awards
| 2019
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
| Chernobyl
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| Robert Award
| 2004
| Best Supporting Actor
| Dogville
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| Santa Barbara International Film Festival
| 2026
| Montecito Award
| Sentimental Value
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| Sarajevo Film Festival
| 2025
| Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award
| Lifetime achievement
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| Satellite Awards
| 2020
| Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or TV Film
| Chernobyl
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| Screen Actors Guild Awards
| 1998
| Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
| Good Will Hunting
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|}
See also
- List of Nordic Academy Award winners and nominees
- List of actors nominated for Academy Awards for non-English performances
- List of atheists in film, radio, television and theater