Alexander Skarsgård - wikipedia Alexander Skarsgård Alexander Skarsgård Skarsgård in 2016 Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård ( 1976 - 08 - 25 ) August 25, 1976 ( age 41 ) Stockholm, Sweden Residence Los Angeles, California, U.S. Occupation Actor Years active 1984 -- present Parent ( s ) Stellan Skarsgård My Agnes Relatives Gustaf Skarsgård ( brother ) Bill Skarsgård ( brother ) Valter Skarsgård ( brother ) Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård ( Swedish pronunciation : ( aleksˈander ˈskɑːʂɡoːɖ ) ( listen ) ; born August 25, 1976 ) is a Swedish actor. He is best known for his roles as vampire Eric Northman on the HBO series True Blood, Meekus in Zoolander, the title character in The Legend of Tarzan, Brad Colbert in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill and as Perry Wright in the HBO miniseries Big Little Lies, for which he won an Emmy. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 5 Awards and nominations 6 References 7 External links Early Life Alexander Skarsgård was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the eldest son of actor Stellan Skarsgård and his first wife, My Sonja Marie Agnes, a physician. He has five younger siblings : Gustaf, Sam, Bill, Eija and Valter, and two half - brothers, Ossian and Kolbjörn. Gustaf, Bill, and Valter are also actors. A friend of his father, who was a director, gave Skarsgård his first film role when he was seven years old. He played Kalle Nubb in Åke och hans värld ( Åke and His World ). In 1989, the lead role in the Swedish television production Hunden som log ( The Dog That Smiled ) made him famous in Sweden at the age of thirteen. Uncomfortable with being recognized, he quit acting for the next seven years. At age 19, he applied to do his national service. He served in the Swedish military for 18 months, in a unit that dealt with anti-sabotage and anti-terrorism in the Stockholm archipelago. After completing his service in 1996 he left Sweden and attended Leeds Beckett University in England for six months. He enrolled to study English but admits he did not study much and `` had a blast '' instead. After seven years away from acting, he started to consider it again. In 1997, he enrolled in a theater course at Marymount Manhattan College and moved to New York City. He returned to Stockholm after six months, but the time he spent studying theater showed him that he wanted to act. Career Upon his return to Sweden, Skarsgård began picking up acting jobs, working in film, television and theatrical productions. While on vacation in the United States, he auditioned for and landed the role of Meekus in the 2001 film Zoolander. In 2003, his work 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 Sergeant Brad `` Iceman '' Colbert in the critically acclaimed 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. The role of Brad Colbert was the closest to a `` lead '' in Generation Kill, and director Susanna White and executive producer David Simon at first disagreed about casting Skarsgård. White wanted to cast him but Simon was not convinced he could pull off the 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 filmed for seven months in the desert, shooting six days a week. Skarsgård worked with a dialect coach to master the American accent. Skarsgård at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival Just before leaving to shoot Generation Kill, Skarsgård heard about True Blood, a new series HBO was developing based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris. At first he was unsure about playing a vampire, but when he learned that Alan Ball, creator of the HBO series Six Feet Under and Academy Award winning screenwriter of American Beauty, was behind the project, he sent in an audition tape. The audition was for the role of Bill Compton, which eventually went to Stephen Moyer. Skarsgård was later cast as Eric Northman, a 1000 - year - old, Viking vampire sheriff, local bar owner and potential love interest of heroine Sookie Stackhouse. True Blood launched its seventh and final season in June 2014. 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. He covered the September 2010 issue of Rolling Stone with his True Blood co-stars, Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer. Skarsgård appeared in two 2011 films. Melancholia, an apocalyptic movie directed by Lars von Trier and starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland, premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Skarsgård 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 September 16, 2011. In 2012, Skarsgård appeared alongside Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna in Peter Berg 's Battleship, an adaptation of the Hasbro game. He also starred with 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 Ellen Page in Zal Batmanglij 's 2013 film, The East. Skarsgård starred in the 2016 film The Legend of Tarzan, portraying the title character, opposite Margot Robbie as Jane. In 2017 he co-starred in HBO 's Big Little Lies. For his role as an abusive husband, Skarsgård won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. Personal Life Skarsgård is a fan of Swedish football and supports Hammarby IF, a club based in Stockholm, his birth city. In October 2010, he participated in `` Bajen Aid '' by donating several items he had autographed and auctioning them off to raise money for the Hammarby football club. In July 2011, Skarsgård received an honorary degree from Leeds Beckett University where he was formerly a student. Skarsgård was the Ambassador for the American team for a Walking With The Wounded fundraising event for wounded soldiers. He trekked to the South Pole against Team UK ( Prince Harry, Ambassador ) and Team Canada / Australia ( The Wire actor Dominic West, Ambassador ). A few days into the trek, it was decided that the competition part of the race would be cancelled due to hazardous terrain and weather conditions, so the teams combined forces and continued. Alongside Prince Harry, West and several wounded soldiers, he successfully made it to the South Pole on December 13, 2013. Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1984 Åke and His World Kalle Nubb The Dog That Smiled Jojjo 1999 Happy End Bamse Viktorsson 2000 The Dog Trick Robinson - Micke 2000 The Diver Ingmar 2000 White Water Fury Anders 2000 Wings of Glass Johan 2001 Kites Over Helsinki Robin Åström 2001 Zoolander Meekus Heartbeat The Pilot 2005 Double Shift Nisse 2005 The Last Drop Lt. Jergen Voller 2005 Om Sara Kalle Öberg 2006 Never Be Mine Christopher 2006 Kill Your Darlings Geert 2006 Score Micke 2006 Exit Fabian von Klerking 2007 Järnets änglar Stefan 2009 Metropia Stefan Voice role 2009 Beyond the Pole Terje Trust Me Alex Moomins and the Comet Chase Moomintroll Voice role 13 Jack 2011 Straw Dogs Charlie Venner 2011 Melancholia Michael 2012 Battleship Commander Stone Hopper 2012 What Maisie Knew Lincoln 2013 Disconnect Derek Hull 2013 The East Benji 2014 The Giver Jonas ' Father 2015 Hidden Ray 2015 The Diary of a Teenage Girl Monroe Rutherford 2016 Zoolander 2 Adam 2016 War on Everyone Terry Monroe 2016 The Legend of Tarzan Tarzan / John Clayton 2017 Mute Leo Beiler In post-production 2017 The Aftermath Stefan Lubert In post-production 2018 Hold the Dark In post-production Television Year Title Role Notes Idag röd Fred Television film 1999 Vita lögner Marcus Englund 10 episodes 2000 D - dag Lise 's Stepson Television film 2000 Judith Ante Lindström Episode : `` Del 2 '' 2005 Revelations Gunnar Eklind Miniseries 2006 Cuppen Micke Television film 2007 Golden Brown Eyes Boogey Knights Singer 2 episodes 2008 Generation Kill Sgt. Brad `` Iceman '' Colbert Miniseries ; 7 episodes 2008 -- 14 True Blood Eric Northman 76 episodes 2013 Eastbound & Down Adult Toby Powers Episode : `` Chapter 29 '' 2017 Big Little Lies Perry Wright Miniseries ; 7 episodes As a director Year Title Notes 2003 To Kill a Child Co-director with Björne Larson Music videos Year Title Role Artist ( s ) 2009 `` Paparazzi '' Boyfriend Lady Gaga 2013 `` Free Your Mind '' Cult Leader Cut Copy Awards and nominations Year Award Work Result 2003 Odense International Film Festival To Kill a Child Grand Prix Won 2003 Odense International Film Festival To Kill a Child Press Award Won 2003 Guldbagge Awards Hundtricket - The Movie Best Supporting Actor Nominated 2009 Scream Award True Blood Best Villain Won 2009 Satellite Awards True Blood Best Television Ensemble Won Screen Actors Guild Awards True Blood Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated Saturn Award True Blood Best Supporting Actor in Television Nominated NewNowNext Awards True Blood Brink of Fame : Actor Nominated Scream Award True Blood Best Television Performance Nominated Scream Award True Blood Best Horror Actor Won 2011 Teen Choice Awards True Blood Choice Vampire Nominated 2011 Scream Award True Blood Best Horror Actor Won 2011 Scream Award True Blood Best Ensemble Won 2012 Robert Award Melancholia Best Supporting Actor ( Årets mandlige birolle ) Nominated 2012 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Straw Dogs Best Supporting Actor Nominated 2017 Emmy Awards Big Little Lies Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Won References Jump up ^ `` Stellan Skårsgard : Kraków pokochała moja żona - Styl gwiazd ''. Styl-gwiazd-populada.pl. 2013 - 12 - 18. Archived from the original on 2016 - 08 - 15. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 08. ^ Jump up to : Harvey, Chris. `` Alexander Skarsgard interview : True Blood lust '', The Telegraph, August 12, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2011. Jump up ^ Sundholm, Magnus. Jag hinner inte ens käka, Nöjes Bladet, July 26, 2009. Retrieved October 16, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Raymond, Joan. `` Alexander Skarsgard Is a Neck Man '', Newsweek, September 11, 2009. Retrieved May 3, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Hillis, Aaron. `` Alexander Skarsgard Gets Animated '', IFC, May 12, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Alexander Skarsgård ( True Blood ) Interview ''. Last Broadcast. Retrieved July 1, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Martin, Brett. `` Here Comes the Viking '', GQ, June 2011. Jump up ^ `` Alexander Skarsgård '', Bizarre. Retrieved July 1, 2011. Jump up ^ Mohney, Chris. `` The New Carnivore : Alexander Skarsgård '' Archived 2009 - 12 - 22 at the Wayback Machine., BlackBook, December 18, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` Awards for Alexander Skarsgård ''. Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, Inc. 2009. Retrieved 2009 - 10 - 31. Jump up ^ Wilson, Benji. `` Alexander Skarsgård on starring in both Generation Kill and True Blood : interview '', The Telegraph, October 2, 2009. Jump up ^ Robinson, John. `` Calling the Shots on Generation Kill '' The Guardian, October 2, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2011. ^ Jump up to : Daum, Meghan. `` The Men of True Blood '', Details, May 2010. Jump up ^ Elley, Derek. `` Film Reviews : Beyond the Pole '', Variety, January 10, 2010. Jump up ^ Smith, Ray A. `` Do Men Want Boxy or Bold ? '', The Wall Street Journal, July 15, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2011. Jump up ^ Millar, Jamie. `` Alexander Skarsgård exclusive ! '' Archived 2011 - 08 - 19 at the Wayback Machine., GQ.com, September 29, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2011. Jump up ^ Everett, Cristina. `` True Blood stars Alexander Skarsgård, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer get bloody nude for Rolling Stone '', NY Daily News, August 17, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2011. Jump up ^ `` ' Blood ' star Alexander Skarsgard shows true range in films ''. USA Today. Retrieved 25 January 2016. Jump up ^ Eriksen, Lars. `` Melancholia ? With Lars Von Trier at the helm, do n't doubt it '', guardian.co.uk, July 29, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2011. Jump up ^ Chang, Justin. Debruge, Peter. `` Tree of Life wins Palme d'Or '', Variety, May 22, 2011. Jump up ^ Benigno, Anthony. `` Rihanna to make movie debut in ' Battleship ' opposite Alexander Skarsgård, Taylor Kitsch '', Daily News, July 27, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2011. Jump up ^ Kemp, Stuart. `` ' True Blood 's Alexander Skarsgard Sinks Teeth Into ' What Maisie Knew ' '', The Hollywood Reporter, May 11, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Disconnect '', The Hollywood Reporter, Retrieved September 8, 2013. Jump up ^ Kilday, Gregg. `` Brit Marling 's ' The East ' to Close SXSW Film Festival '', The Hollywood Reporter, February 13, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013. Jump up ^ `` ' Tarzan ' to Swing Into Theaters July 1, 2016 ''. Variety. 2014 - 02 - 11. Retrieved February 11, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Big Little Lies ( TV Mini-Series 2017 -- ) - IMDb ''. M.imdb.com. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 08. Jump up ^ `` Emmys 2017 : Full List of Nominations ''. Variety. July 13, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2017. Jump up ^ Canales, Andrea. `` Canales Daily : Keeping The Faith In The Feeders ''. goal.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Bajen Aid - auktionen : Ännu större succè '' Archived 2011 - 09 - 07 at the Wayback Machine., October 3, 2010 ; retrieved June 11, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Leeds Metropolitan University : Degree honour for True Blood actor Skarsgard '', Yorkshire Evening Post, July 20, 2011 ; retrieved July 21, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Alexander Skarsgard Strips Down at the South Pole ''. people.com. Retrieved 25 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` TV Scream 2009 Award Winners Announced '' Retrieved on 2009 - 10 - 18. Jump up ^ `` 2009 14th Annual SATELLITE AWARDS '' Archived 2011 - 10 - 08 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2009 - 12 - 20. Jump up ^ `` 16th ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS '' Retrieved on 2010 - 01 - 23. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexander Skarsgård. Alexander Skarsgård on IMDb Alexander Skarsgård at the Swedish Film Database Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Anthony Quayle ( 1975 ) Ed Flanders ( 1976 ) Burgess Meredith ( 1977 ) Howard Da Silva ( 1978 ) Marlon Brando ( 1979 ) George Grizzard ( 1980 ) David Warner ( 1981 ) Laurence Olivier ( 1982 ) Richard Kiley ( 1983 ) Art Carney ( 1984 ) Karl Malden ( 1985 ) John Malkovich ( 1986 ) Dabney Coleman ( 1987 ) John Shea ( 1988 ) Derek Jacobi ( 1989 ) Vincent Gardenia ( 1990 ) James Earl Jones ( 1991 ) Hume Cronyn ( 1992 ) Beau Bridges ( 1993 ) Michael A. Goorjian ( 1994 ) Donald Sutherland ( 1995 ) Tom Hulce ( 1996 ) Beau Bridges ( 1997 ) George C. Scott ( 1998 ) Peter O'Toole ( 1999 ) Hank Azaria ( 2000 ) Brian Cox ( 2001 ) Michael Moriarty ( 2002 ) Ben Gazzara ( 2003 ) Jeffrey Wright ( 2004 ) Paul Newman ( 2005 ) Jeremy Irons ( 2006 ) Thomas Haden Church ( 2007 ) Tom Wilkinson ( 2008 ) Ken Howard ( 2009 ) David Strathairn ( 2010 ) Guy Pearce ( 2011 ) Tom Berenger ( 2012 ) James Cromwell ( 2013 ) Martin Freeman ( 2014 ) Bill Murray ( 2015 ) Sterling K. Brown ( 2016 ) Alexander Skarsgård ( 2017 ) Satellite Award for Best Cast -- Television Series 2000 The West Wing Alan Alda Stockard Channing Kristin Chenoweth Dulé Hill Allison Janney Moira Kelly Rob Lowe Joshua Malina Mary McCormack Janel Moloney Richard Schiff Martin Sheen Jimmy Smits John Spencer Bradley Whitford 2001 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Amber Benson Marc Blucas David Boreanaz Nicholas Brendon Charisma Carpenter Emma Caulfield Sarah Michelle Gellar Seth Green Alyson Hannigan Anthony Stewart Head James Marsters Michelle Trachtenberg 2005 Rescue Me Denis Leary John Scurti Daniel Sunjata Mike Lombardi Steven Pasquale Andrea Roth Callie Thorne Adam Ferrara Larenz Tate James McCaffrey Dean Winters 2006 Grey 's Anatomy Justin Chambers Eric Dane Patrick Dempsey Katherine Heigl T.R. Knight Sandra Oh James Pickens Jr. Ellen Pompeo Sara Ramirez Kate Walsh Isaiah Washington Chandra Wilson 2007 Mad Men Bryan Batt Anne Dudek Michael Gladis Jon Hamm Christina Hendricks January Jones Vincent Kartheiser Robert Morse Elisabeth Moss Kiernan Shipka Maggie Siff John Slattery Rich Sommer Aaron Staton 2009 True Blood Chris Bauer Mehcad Brooks Anna Camp Nelsan Ellis Michelle Forbes Mariana Klaveno Ryan Kwanten Todd Lowe Michael McMillian Stephen Moyer Anna Paquin Jim Parrack Carrie Preston William Sanderson Alexander Skarsgård Sam Trammell Rutina Wesley Deborah Ann Woll 2012 The Walking Dead Andrew Lincoln Sarah Wayne Callies Laurie Holden Norman Reedus Steven Yeun Lauren Cohan Chandler Riggs Melissa McBride Scott Wilson Danai Gurira Michael Rooker David Morrissey 2013 Orange Is the New Black Taylor Schilling Laura Prepon Michael J. Harney Michelle Hurst Kate Mulgrew Jason Biggs 2014 The Knick Clive Owen André Holland Jeremy Bobb Juliet Rylance Eve Hewson Michael Angarano Chris Sullivan Cara Seymour Eric Johnson David Fierro Maya Kazan Leon Addison Brown Grainger Hines Matt Frewer 2015 American Crime Felicity Huffman Timothy Hutton W. Earl Brown Richard Cabral Regina King Caitlin Gerard Benito Martinez Penelope Ann Miller Elvis Nolasco Johnny Ortiz 2016 Outlander Caitriona Balfe Sam Heughan Tobias Menzies Lotte Verbeek Laura Donnelly Steven Cree Duncan Lacroix Grant O'Rourke Gary Lewis Graham McTavish Stephen Walters Simon Callow Nell Hudson Dominique Pinon Stanley Weber Richard Rankin Sophie Skelton Andrew Gower Rosie Day Clive Russell Frances de la Tour VIAF : 35565455 LCCN : no2009176463 ISNI : 0000 0000 7850 9684 GND : 130530735 SUDOC : 156596318 BNF : cb16149726s ( data ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title= Alexander_Skarsgård&oldid = 805931888 '' Categories : 1976 births Living people Male actors from Stockholm Swedish male film actors Swedish expatriates in the United States Alumni of Leeds Beckett University Marymount Manhattan College alumni Swedish male television actors 20th - century Swedish male actors 21st - century Swedish male actors Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from December 2016 Articles with hCards Articles with hAudio microformats Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български Brezhoneg Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Қазақша Magyar Македонски Malagasy მარგალური Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 18 October 2017, at 15 : 27. 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Question: who is the actor that plays eric in true blood
Answer: Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård