Alexander Skarsgard Biography

NAME: Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård

OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Television Actor

BIRTH DATE: August 25, 1976 (Age: 35)

EDUCATION: Leeds Metropolitan University

PLACE OF BIRTH: Stockholm, Sweden

Actor. Born on August 25, 1976, in Stockholm, Sweden. Alexander Skarsgard's mother is My Skarsgard, and his father is Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard, who has appeared in such films as The Hunt for Red October, Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean and Mamma Mia! With such a pedigree, it was only natural for Alexander Skarsgard to pursue acting as a child. At age seven, in 1984, he appeared in his first film, an adaptation of the popular children's book Ake and his World.

For most of Alexander's formative years, his father was an acclaimed actor both on stage, TV and in movies but had not yet achieved the international fame that came after his star turn in Breaking the Waves (1996). Young Alexander was raised under modest circumstances in a working-class Swedish neighborhood as his parents wanted their children to have as normal an upbringing as possible. He began his acting career at the age of eight and continued working in films and on Swedish television until he turned sixteen and decided acting was not the career for him. Life under a microscope lost its charm and perhaps due to the influence of My Skarsgård, his physician mother, he stopped working as an actor to continue his education.

Alexander was a bit of a rebel as a teen and, instead of continuing college, at the age of nineteen, he entered compulsory military service (Military conscription). He used the time to contemplate his future. He studied at the Leeds Metropolitan University then moved to New York where he enrolled at Marymount Manhattan College to study theatre. After six months in New York, a romantic entanglement lured him back to Sweden but the relationship was short-lived. Despite having a broken heart, Alexander decided to stay in Sweden and, with a bit of life experience under his belt, began his acting career again. He appeared in a number of Swedish productions and became a star in his native country but was interested in broadening his horizons and working outside of Sweden. A visit to Los Angeles landed him both an agent and a part in the Ben Stiller movie, Zoolander (2001). After Zoolander (2001), Alexander returned to Sweden where he continued honing his acting in film and theatrical productions including "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Bloody Wedding". He also co-wrote and co-directed an award-winning short, Att döda ett barn (2003), (To Kill a Child), which was shown at both the Tribeca and Cannes Film Festivals; unfortunately, stardom in Sweden doesn't bring international recognition and Skarsgård found himself flying back and forth to Los Angeles, auditioning for roles that he had no real interest in.

Alexander got very lucky when in 2008, he was cast in the gripping HBO series Generation Kill. Alexander later went on to star as Eric Northman, a 1,000 year old Viking vampire in the cult hit True Blood series on HBO. The series is based on the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris and the show creator is Alan Ball. Alan Ball was the creator of another popular HBO series, Six Feet Under.

He began to act in many Swedish productions and became a star. He wanted to broaden his acting abilities and began acting outside of Sweden. After a visit to Los Angeles, Alexander had an agent and a part in the Ben Stiller comedy Zoolander-2001. Alexander once again went back to Sweden and starred in many more films including: Heartfelt 2004; Double Shift, The Last Drop, Om Sara 2005; Never Be Mine, Kill Your Darlings, Score, Exit 2006; Jarnets Anglar 2007 and Metropia in 2009.