Alexander Skarsgård biography, wife, height, brothers, father, family, girlfriend, age 2025

Biography of Alexander Skarsgård

Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård is a Swedish actor who's starred in hit HBO series like "Generation Kill" and "True Blood," plus Hollywood blockbusters including "Battleship" and "The Legend of Tarzan." He was also the face of Calvin Klein.

The Swedish handsome man Alexander Skarsgård

The Childhood of Alexander Skarsgård. His first roles

Alexander Skarsgård was born in Stockholm's southern suburbs to My Guenther, a doctor, and Stellan Skarsgård, a nationally acclaimed actor. With about 120 films under his belt, Alexander's father has long been one of Sweden's most recognizable actors.

Alexander's father, Stellan Skarsgård, is the great Swedish actor

Alexander isn't the only family member carrying on the Skarsgård acting dynasty. He has four younger brothers and a sister, with two of them—Gustaf (born in 1980) and Bill Skarsgård (born in 1990)—also pursuing acting careers.

Little Alexander Skarsgård with his mother

Alexander Skarsgård made his acting debut early—at just 8 years old. His first role was playing little Kalle Nubb in the Swedish drama "Ake and His World." Three years later, he starred in "Idag röd." In 1989, he played the lead role in the family movie «The Dog That Smiled».

Alexander Skarsgård played his first role when he was 8 years old

While this role made him popular with teenage audiences, Alexander wasn't thrilled with the constant attention from strangers—in fact, he found it annoying: "The fame was terrible for me. When people stare at you constantly and you're reading about yourself in newspapers—at 13, it just brings confusion. I thought if that's what being famous means, I don't want it."

Shortly after "The Dog That Smiled" premiered, he buried himself in books and decided to become an architect. Before graduating high school, he changed his mind and went to college to study political science. At 19, Skarsgård joined the Royal Marines and spent the following year serving in a coastal artillery unit handling anti-terrorism operations in the Stockholm archipelago. During his service, the young man was thinking of his life and planning his future.

In 1996, Alexander left his native Sweden and moved to England to "find himself." There he began to study English at Leeds Beckett University. A year later, Skarsgård headed to New York City, where the future star finally started making his dream a reality—enrolling in a theater course at Marymount Manhattan College. "In England, I was just wasting time—watching football, getting drunk, and constantly getting into trouble," the actor later recalled. "But that's when the big question hit me: what do I want to do with my life? So I went to New York and enrolled in drama school."

«In England, I watched football, got drunk and got into trouble all the time»

After completing the course, which lasted six months, Alexander returned to Stockholm. He returned to Sweden for an old flame, but that romance quickly fizzled out once he got there. But there was a silver lining—exhausted from all the relocating, Skarsgård decided to stay put in the land of the Vikings. For the next few years, he has actively acted in numerous Swedish television projects. In 1999, the melodrama "Happy End" was released, with Alexander taking the male lead. In 2000, audiences caught him in "D-dag" (a collaboration between four Swedish indie filmmakers), the thriller "The Diver," melodrama "Wings of Glass," and TV series "Judith." However, all these projects were low-budget affairs that never made it beyond Scandinavian audiences.

Alexander Skarsgård: «How to pronounce my name correctly?»

In 2001, Alexander Skarsgård went to the USA again - spent «vacation» during a break between shooting. He accidentally ended up at an audition for Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson's "Zoolander," and to his surprise, landed the role of dim-witted male model Meekus, Derek Zoolander's fellow model. He really had the appearance of a model.

Alexander Skarsgård in the role of Meekus ( «Zoolander»)

Surprisingly, his Hollywood debut didn't exactly open the floodgates—offers weren't exactly pouring in. Over the next four years, he appeared in several projects back home in Sweden. In 2003, he scored a Guldbagge Award nomination for his supporting role in the comedy "The Dog Trick," and subsequently earned the title of Sweden's Sexiest Man five times over.

Alexander Skarsgård is named the Sexiest Man in Sweden

In 2005, the actor took on the role of Lt. Jergen Voller in the British military action film "The Last Drop." That same year, Alexander landed one of the lead roles in Othman Karim's Swedish drama "Om Sara." Alexander took on an unusual role in his friend Bjorn Larsson's independent project "Kill Your Darlings" (2006). For the first time in his career, the actor donned makeup and heels to play a transvestite character.

The Prosperity of His Career

In 2007, Alexander Skarsgård joined the cast of HBO's new project «Generation Kill,» a TV series based on the true story of the 2003 military campaign in Iraq. The Swedish actor got one of the lead roles - stoic and ice-cold Sergeant Brad Colbert, nicknamed «Iceman».

«Generation Kill»: Alexander Skarsgård in the role of Sergeant Iceman

The TV series was successful, so in 2008, Skarsgård continued his cooperation with HBO. This time, HBO was producing the vampire series «True Blood.» Set in a high-tech near future, vampires could finally «come out of the shadows» and reveal themselves to the world. Scientists had synthesized artificial blood that successfully replaced human blood for vampires. For the next seven years, Skarsgård played Eric Northman, a vampire sheriff. On set, the actor worked alongside Anna Paquin, who played a telepathic waitress, and Stephen Moyer as the «good» vampire.

Alexander Skarsgård starred in seven seasons of «True Blood»

In 2009, the actor appeared in the music video for the song «Paparazzi» of Lady Gaga, and later he voiced the character, Stefan, in the animated dystopia «Metropia». Interestingly, another animated character was voiced by the actor's father. That same year, Alexander appeared in the mockumentary «Beyond the Pole.»

Alexander Skarsgård in the music video «Paparazzi» of Lady Gaga

In summer 2011, Alexander Skarsgård graduated from Leeds Beckett University with a Doctor of Arts degree. In the same year, he acted with Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg in the movie «Melancholia» by Lars von Trier. In 2012, he starred in the sci-fi movie «Battleship». His character, Commander Stone Hopper, helped repel an alien invasion of Earth. Around the same time, Calvin Klein tapped the actor as the face of their men's fragrance Encounter.

Alexander Skarsgård in the advertising for Calvin Klein

In November 2013, the charity «Walking with the Wounded» launched a fundraising expedition for injured soldiers. Alexander Skarsgård, Prince Harry, and actor Dominic West were the participants of this charity event. The challenge: trek 320 kilometers from South Africa to the South Pole in just 16 days.

Alexander Skarsgård, Prince Harry and Dominic West visited the South Pole

In 2016, Alexander Skarsgård played the lead role with Margot Robbie and Samuel L. Jackson in the adventure movie «The Legend of Tarzan» by David Yates. To prepare for the role, Skarsgård trained for four months to build a physique worthy of the King of the Jungle.

Alexander Skarsgård at the premiere of «The Legend of Tarzan»

In 2018, he starred in the HBO series "Big Little Lies," which became an instant television phenomenon and swept several prestigious awards, including 4 Golden Globes. This role proved to be one of the most challenging in his impressive acting career. Playing Perry Wright wasn't easy – a seemingly perfect man with one "small" flaw: his sadistic tendencies, which manifest in the regular abuse of his wife, played by (Nicole Kidman).

Alexander Skarsgård in the TV series «Big Little Lies»

Personal Life of Alexander Skargård

Little is known about Alexander's personal life, at least until his fame reached international levels. In 2007, he dated actress Evan Rachel Wood for a short period of time. In 2008, the Swede dated the model Amanda Seyfried, but their relationship didn't last long. In 2009, Skarsgård was regularly seen with Kate Bosworth, an American model and actress who was Alexander's co-star in "Straw Dogs". Later, the actor's father confirmed his son's relationship. In summer 2011, the couple broke up.

Alexander Skarsgård and Kate Bosworth on vacation

After what Skarsgård considered a long romance, the actor found solace with Elizabeth Olsen, the younger sister of the Olsen twins, known for playing witch Wanda in "The Avengers". During the shooting of «Battleship», Alexander had a romance with the singer Rihanna who also acted in this movie.

Rihanna and Alexander Skarsgård had a short affair

But even the beautiful Rihanna couldn't keep the restless Swede interested – after a couple of months he was noticed with Charlize Theron: the Hollywood stars were spotted having cocktails at a Los Angeles gay bar. Soon after, photos surfaced of Skarsgård playfully snuggling up to young actress Ellen Page at the premiere of «The East».

On the photo: Alexander Skarsgård and Ellen Page

While Alexander Skarsgård may be inconsistent in relationships, family is sacred to him. He's grateful to his parents for his upbringing and, despite his busy schedule, maintains close relationships with his father and younger brothers.

Alexander and Bill Skarsgård are the successors of their acting dynasty

The actor is fluent in his native Swedish and English. He speaks German and French well.

The shooting of «The Legend of Tarzan»: Alexander Skarsgård kisses a baby kangaroo

Fans call him "Askars" or "Skardigans" because of his love for cardigans.

In 2016, Alexander Skarsgård appeared on the stage without his pants

Alexander likes big dogs; he owned a rare breed Leonberger. He no longer keeps pets at home due to his frequent travel schedule.

The Leonberger has lived with the actor for a long time

Alexander Skarsgård Now

2019 was a busy year for Alexander Skarsgård. He appeared in the series "On Becoming a God in Central Florida", in which he played the role of Travis Stubbs, as well as the films "Long Shot" and "The Aftermath". In 2020, the premiere of "The Stand" - a mini-series based on the novel by Stephen King, in which Alexander played Randall Flagg.

Alexander Skarsgård: latest news and articles

The sci-fi series `Murderbot` has become the main hit for Apple and has surpassed the popularity of `Eternaut` from Netflix

13 May 2025

Vicki Pecsenye

He does not have a wife your wrong he is single

2024-06-24 20:22:23
Marilyn

A lot of false information about Alex not owning a dog, Height is wrong, and alex speaks swedish in english and french alex has dating with only 3 women

2021-08-13 21:12:25
Teresa Sutton

Skarsgård played cool in Big Little Lies and with such famous actresses. The road to success is open!

2021-04-25 21:08:46
Scott Stewart

So I would not even remember where this actor was filmed until I saw his filmography :) he is a little memorable person

2021-04-19 17:13:04
Deborah Ortiz

In general, this actor has not many roles but I think everything is still ahead. It was interesting to read his biography :)

2021-04-14 11:21:34
Jane Chambers

Oooh, exactly, he also played in the acclaimed TV series «Big Little Lies», and I didn`t even recognize him right away :)

2021-03-28 20:31:01
William Farmer

This is the new tarzan! I couldn`t recognize him right away. I also saw this guy in a movie about the war, but I don`t remember the name.

2021-03-09 15:19:59

Photos: Alexander Skarsgård