Alexander Skarsgard: Snapshot

Name
Alexander Skarsgard
Date of Birth
August 25, 1976
Birth Place
Stockholm, Sweden
Say hello to Sweden's sexiest import, 6'4" True Blood star Alexander Skarsgard! But while the hunky actor skyrocketed to fame playing bad-boy vampire Eric Northman on the HBO series, he's more than just a pretty face.

The son of actor Stellan Skarsgard, he began his career at age 8 as a child actor in his native Stockholm, Sweden, but soon left the entertainment industry after a brief brush with fame. As a teen, he served in the country's Royal Navy and later, briefly attended Leeds Metropolitan University in England before returning to acting.

Following a bit part as a male model in 2001's Zoolander, Skarsgard turned in similar, smaller appearances until Generation Kill, the career-making 2008 HBO miniseries that eventually led to True Blood. The actor has since segued back onto the big screen with starring roles in the 2011 dramas Straw Dogs – where he met onetime flame Kate Bosworth – and director Lars von Trier's Melancholia.

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Alexander Skarsgard: Five Fun Facts

  1. Alexander Skarsgard has no qualms about going commando on the set of True Blood. "I'm not a prude at all. I shot a very, very graphic scene two days ago with a man. I am from Sweden, and it's different there," he told PEOPLE in April 2010.
  2. Alexander Skarsgard was voted Sweden's Sexiest Man five years in a row. "Every singe day, I wake up and I look in the mirror and think, 'Five times, motherf–. Five times," he joked to Men's Health.
  3. Alexander Skarsgard originally auditioned for the role of Bill Compton on True Blood, which later went to Stephen Moyer. "Alex wasn't quite right for Bill," creator Alan Ball told Details, "but I remember that he was giant and also beautiful. So when it came time to cast Eric, I thought of him."
  4. Alexander Skarsgard played Lady Gaga's love interest in the "Paparazzi" music video after being recruited for the part by director Jonas Akerlund, an old friend from Sweden. "It was a wild day," he told The San Francisco Chronicle. "She was great to work with."
  5. Alexander Skarsgard briefly dated Amanda Seyfried, whom he met through his father, Stellan, when he costarred with the actress in 2008's Mamma Mia!. "He's superfunny, but I was too involved with [Dominic Cooper,]" she told Elle.

Alexander Skarsgard: Biography

2001

Alexander Skarsgard

September 28

Model Behavior

Having secured several roles in Swedish films, Skarsgard makes his Hollywood debut after auditioning on a whim for the Ben Stiller comedy Zoolander. He makes a brief appearance in the film as male model Meekus, one of Stiller's roommates who memorably blows up in a gas station accident. Skarsgard moves to Hollywood in 2004 to further his career.

2008

Alexander Skarsgard

July 13

Going in for the 'Kill'

Skarsgard lands his big break when he is cast as Sgt. Brad "Iceman" Colbert in Generation Kill, an HBO miniseries based on a book about a reporter embedded within a Marines battalion during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. "We made it for all those soldiers over there because you don't really see what's happening on a daily basis, what the soldiers are going through and what kind of baggage they come home with," he tells GQ UK. "So it was just important to make it right for these guys."

Alexander Skarsgard

September 07

'True' Success

HBO taps Skarsgard for the role of bad-boy vampire Eric Northman on True Blood, an adaptation of Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse novels. Following a brief appearance in the show's first season, his second-season storyline, which includes a love triangle with costars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, turns Skarsgard into a fan favorite.

Read More on Alexander Skarsgard's Life

Photo Credits

Top Left: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): John P. Johnson

Edited by Janet Mock and Julia Wang

Alexander Skarsgard

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