Charlaine Harris Christopher Golden Jona Popular Books

Charlaine Harris Christopher Golden Jona Biography & Facts

Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (Swedish: [alɛkˈsǎnːdɛr ˈskɑ̌ːʂɡoːɖ] ; born 25 August 1976) is a Swedish actor. Born in Stockholm, son of actor Stellan Skarsgård, he began acting at age seven but quit at 13. After serving in the Swedish Navy, Skarsgård returned to acting and gained his first role in the US comedy film Zoolander (2001). He played Brad Colbert in the miniseries Generation Kill (2008), and had his breakthrough for portraying vampire Eric Northman in the television series True Blood (2008–2014). After appearing in films such as Melancholia (2011), Battleship (2012) and The Legend of Tarzan (2016), Skarsgård starred in the drama series Big Little Lies (2017–2019) as an abusive husband, which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He went on to appear in the films Long Shot (2019), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Passing (2021), The Northman (2022), and Infinity Pool (2023), and played Randall Flagg in the miniseries The Stand (2020–2021) and tech mogul Lukas Matsson in the drama series Succession (2021–2023) for which he was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe Award. Early life Skarsgård was born on 25 August 1976 in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the eldest son of actor Stellan Skarsgård and physician My Skarsgård. His parents are divorced. He has five younger siblings: Gustaf, Sam, Bill, Eija and Valter, and two half-brothers from his father's second wife, Megan Everett. Gustaf, Bill and Valter are also actors. A friend of his father, a director, gave Skarsgård his first film role when he was seven years old, playing Kalle Nubb in Åke and His World (Åke och hans värld). In 1989, his lead role in the Swedish television production Hunden som log (The Dog That Smiled) earned him praise and brought him to prominence in Sweden at age 13. Uncomfortable with the fame, he quit acting at that same age. At age 19, Skarsgård applied to perform his national service. He served in the Swedish Navy's SäkJakt ("protect and hunt") unit that dealt with anti-sabotage and anti-terrorism in the Stockholm archipelago, for 18 months. After completing his service in 1996, he left Sweden and attended Leeds Metropolitan University in England for six months. He enrolled to study English but admits he did not study much and "had a blast" instead. While there, he considered pursuing an architecture career, but chose acting instead. In 1997, he enrolled in a theatre course at Marymount Manhattan College and moved to New York City. He returned to Stockholm after six months, but his time studying theatre confirmed to him that he wanted to act. Career 2001–2009: Career beginnings and television breakthrough On his return to Sweden, Skarsgård began landing roles in film, television and theatrical productions. While vacationing in the United States, he auditioned for and obtained the part of a mindless model in the 2001 film Zoolander, his first role in an American film. In 2003, his performance in Hundtricket-the Movie (The Dog Trick) earned him an Guldbagge Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was named the Sexiest Man in Sweden five times. He moved to Los Angeles in 2004 but continued to work in Sweden. His break came when he was cast as US Marine Brad Colbert in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill. An adaptation of journalist Evan Wright's book of the same name, Generation Kill follows the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps during the early part of the Iraq War. Director Susanna White wanted to cast him, but executive producer David Simon was not convinced he could do a convincing American accent. After four auditions in three cities, Skarsgård learned the role was his just 36 hours before he had to board a plane for Namibia where the project was filming. The cast and crew spent seven months in the desert there, shooting six days a week. Skarsgård worked with a dialect coach to master the American accent. Just before leaving to shoot Generation Kill, Skarsgård heard about the development of True Blood, an HBO series based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries novels by Charlaine Harris, which chronicle the coexistence of humans and vampires in a town in Louisiana. Though initially reluctant about playing a vampire, he sent an audition tape for the role of Bill Compton on learning that screenwriter Alan Ball was behind the project. Skarsgård had been a fan of Ball's series Six Feet Under and film American Beauty. The role went to Stephen Moyer, but Skarsgård was cast as Eric Northman, a 1,000-year-old Nordic vampire. Northman first appeared in the first season's fourth episode, and the role brought Skarsgård to prominence. To inform his portrayal, he studied the work of actors Max Schreck and Bela Lugosi and the film Nosferatu. He said that playing Northman appealed to his preference for characters who were not simply diabolical or righteous. True Blood ran on HBO from 2008 to 2014, receiving mixed reviews. In 2009, Skarsgård appeared in the music video for pop singer Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi". He was the voice of Stefan in the 2009 animated film Metropia, directed by Tarik Saleh. In 2010, Skarsgård portrayed Terje, a gay Norwegian trekking to the North Pole, in the British mockumentary Beyond the Pole. Suit-maker Hickey Freeman chose Skarsgård to model a new look it debuted in 2010. Annie Leibovitz photographed the ad campaign, which appeared in The Wall Street Journal Magazine, GQ and Details. Skarsgård appeared on the cover of the September 2010 issue of Rolling Stone with his True Blood co-stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer. 2011–present: Film and television success In 2011, Skarsgård starred in Melancholia, a film directed by Lars von Trier. He portrayed a newlywed alongside Kirsten Dunst as his wife in the film, which premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and also co-stars his father. That same year, he appeared in Straw Dogs, a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, as Charlie Venner. The remake's director, Rod Lurie, transferred the small town setting from Cornwall to Mississippi and described Venner as "an ex-football star gone to seed". The film co-starred James Marsden and Kate Bosworth, and was released 16 September 2011. In 2012, Skarsgård appeared alongside Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna in Peter Berg's Battleship, an adaptation of the Hasbro game. Negatively reviewed by critics, the film had a dismal performance at the box office. He also appeared alongside Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan in Scott McGehee and David Siegel's film What Maisie Knew, an adaptation of the Henry James novel of the same name. He was also part of the ensemble cast in Henry Alex Rubin's thriller Disconnect, playing opposite Paula Patton. Skarsgård starred alongside Brit Marling and Elliot Page in Zal Batmanglij's 2013 film The East. He appeared in the film The Diary of a Teenage Girl as a man who begins an affair with his girlfriend's underage daughter.... Discover the Charlaine Harris Christopher Golden Jona popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Charlaine Harris Christopher Golden Jona books.