Gustaf Skarsgård is a Swedish actor who works in Swedish and American films and television. He is famous for his performance in Canadian TV series Vikings (2013), and American TV series- Westworld (2018) and Cursed (2020).
Wiki/Biography
Gustaf Skarsgård was born on Wednesday, November 12, 1980 (age 39 years; as in 2019), in Stockholm, Sweden, as ‘Gustaf Caspar Orm Skarsgår.’ He studied at Teaterhögskolan in Stockholm from 1993 to 2003, before becoming a member of The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm.
Physical Appearance
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Family & Ethnicity
Gustaf was brought up in a Bohemian household. [2]Monrowe Magazine His father, Stellan Skarsgård, is a Swedish actor who has worked in American films.
Gustaf Skarsgård with his Father
His mother, My, is a physician and first wife of Stellan.
Gustaf Skarsgård with his Mother
He has five siblings: Alexander (actor), Sam (doctor), Bill (actor), Eija (model), and Valter (actor), and two half-brothers: Ossian and Kolbjörn (from his father’s marriage to Megan Everett).
Gustaf Skarsgård with his Step-Mother, Father, and Siblings
Gustaf Skarsgård with his Siblings and Half-Siblings
The Swedish actor Peter Stormare is his Godfather.
From 1999 to 2005, he dated Swedish actress Hanna Alström.
Career
In Films
He made his film debut in the role of ‘Erik Hamilton’ in the 1989 Swedish film ‘Täcknamn Coq Rouge,’ at the age of nine.
Gustaf Skarsgård in Täcknamn Coq Rouge (1989)
He acted in the Swedish films: Prima Ballerina (1989), Sommaren (1995), Euroboy (1996), and Kontrakt (2006), and Gavan (2002) in supporting roles, till he got the lead role of ‘Niklas’ in the Swedish film ‘The Invisible’ (2002).
The Invisible (2002)
He is known for his roles in the Swedish films: Gåvan (2002), Evil (2003), Detaljer (2003), Babylonsjukan (2004), Kidz in da Hood (2006), Pyramiden (2007), Arn – The Kingdom at Road’s End (2008), Patrik, Age 1.5 (2008), Trust Me (2010), Hapy End (2011), Kon Tiki (2012), VI (2013), 438 Days (2019), and Immigrants (2020). Gustaf made his Norwegian film debut in the role of a ‘stranger’ in ‘The Color of Milk’ (2004).
Gustaf Skarsgård in The Color of Milk (2004)
He made his American film debut with the short film ‘May Fly’ (2009) as ‘Jimmy’ and feature film debut with ‘The Way Back’ (2010) in the role of ‘Vos.’
Gustaf Skarsgård in May Fly (2009)
Gustaf Skarsgård in The Way Back (2010)
He has also acted in the American film ‘The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden’ (2013). He made his Austrian film debut with ‘Autumn Blood’ (2013) as ‘Butcher.’
Gustaf Skarsgård in Autumn Blood (2013)
His Danish film debut was in ‘Darling’ (2017) in the role of ‘Frans.’
Gustaf Skarsgård in The Darling (2017)
In Television
He made his television debut with Swedish series ‘Min vän Percys magiska gymnastikskor’ (1994) in the role of ‘Jan’ and went on to act in Swedish television series- Skuggornas hus (1996), Cleo (2003), Snapphanar (2006), Mellan 11 och 12 (2008), Arn (2010), Bibliotekstjuven (2011).
Gustaf Skarsgård in Min vän Percys magiska gymnastikskor
Gustaf made his Canadian television debut with ‘Vikings’ (2013) in the role of ‘Floki.’
Gustaf Skarsgård as ‘Floki’ in Vikings (2013)
His next Canadian venture was in Vikings: Athelstan’s Journal (2015). In 2018, he made his American television debut with ‘Westworld’ (2018) in the role of ‘Karl Strand.’
Gustaf Skarsgård in Westworld (2018)
In 2020, he appeared as ‘Merlin’ in the Netflix series ‘Cursed.’
Gustaf Skarsgård in Cursed (2020)
Other Works
He has worked in theatres and acted in many Shakespeare’s, Chekhov’s, and Söderberg’s works on the Royal Dramatic Theatre and Stockholm City Theatre. He has acted in the plays- Be Man (2004), The Merchant of Venice (2004), Platonov (2005), Tit for Tat (2005), Lulu (2006), and Hamlet (2009).
Gustaf Skarsgård in a Scene from Hamlet
He wrote the screenplay and directed the short film ‘Människor helt utan betydelse’ (2011).
He was also the executive producer for the film VI (2013). He dubbed the characters: ‘Stan Shunpike’ in the Swedish version of ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ (2004) and ‘Valiant’ in the Swedish version of British-American animated film ‘Valiant’ (2005).
Awards & Achievements
- Guldbagge Awards for Best Actor (Bästa manliga huvudroll) for the film ‘Förortsungar’ in 2007
- EFP Shooting Star in 2007
- Screamfest Awards for Best Actor for the film ‘The Invisible’ in 2002
Favorite Things
- Actress(es): Juliette Binoche and Isabelle Huppert
- Actor(s): Gary Oldman
- TV show: Games of Thrones series
Facts/Trivia
- His middle name ‘Orm’ translates to snake in Swedish.
- He is often seen riding horsed in film, but in reality, he is afraid of horses. Talking about it, he says,
I got thrown off a few times (when) I was a kid. Also, I’ve also worked a lot of historical stuff back in Sweden and there’s always conflict with horses. I get a bit paranoid when I’m on them, and they can sense that and they get a bit paranoid. It ends up in this bad spiral where I don’t want to be on them, and they don’t want me on their backs.
- Swedish actor Matias Varela and Gustaf are best friends since childhood.
Gustaf Skarsgård with Matias Varela
- Canadian musician and actor Ryan Gostling and Gustaf were born on the same day.
Ryan Gostling
- He has often been vocal about wildlife and environmental issues and has supported the NGO Greenpeace International.
Gustaf Skarsgård Instagram Post Supporting Greenpeace Organization
References
| ↑1 | IMDb |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Monrowe Magazine |