[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stellan_skarsgrd_image.jpg]]

->''"I played a heap of snow in a school play. I was under a sheet, and crawled out when spring came. I often say I'll never reach the same artistic level again."''

Stellan John Skarsgård (born June 13, 1951 in Göteborg, Sweden) is a UsefulNotes/{{Swed|en}}ish actor and the patriarch of a whole clan of actors.

He's had a distinguished career in European films, being a frequent collaborator of Creator/LarsVonTrier among others. In Hollywood, he's known for playing supporting character parts and often being the [[TookTheBadFilmSeriously best thing in some otherwise crappy or underwhelming movies]].

Skarsgård is a father of eight, including Creator/{{Alexander|Skarsgard}}, Creator/{{Gustaf|Skarsgard}}, Creator/{{Bill|Skarsgard}} and Valter, who all became actors. Despite the similar name and common misconception, however, there is no relation to the actor Creator/PeterSarsgaard.

He also [[CelebrityResemblance gets mistaken]] for Creator/LiamNeeson quite a bit.
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!!Films and series he has appeared in include:

* ''Series/{{Riget}}'' as Dr. Helmer's lawyer
* ''Film/{{Insomnia}}''[[note]]The 1997 Norwegian film the Christopher Nolan film is a remake of[[/note]] as Jonas Engström
* ''Film/TheOx'' as Helge Roos
* ''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober'' as Captain Viktor Tupolev
* ''Film/{{Amistad}}'' as Tappan
* ''Film/GoodWillHunting'' as Prof. Gerald Lambeau
* ''Film/TheGlassHouse'' as Terrence "Terry" Glass
* ''Film/HelenOfTroy (2003)'' as Theseus
* ''Film/GoyasGhosts'' (2006) as Creator/FranciscoDeGoya
* ''Film/MammaMia'' as Bill Anderson
** ''Film/MammaMiaHereWeGoAgain''
* ''Literature/PeterNoTail in America(t)'' as Pelle Swanson
* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' as William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner
** ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest''
** ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd''
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' as Dr. Erik Selvig
** ''Film/{{Thor}}''
** ''Film/TheAvengers2012''
** ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld''
** ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''
** ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder''
* ''Film/{{Dogville}}'' as Chuck
* ''Film/{{Melancholia}}'' as Jack
* ''Film/Ronin1998'' as Gregor
* ''Film/KingArthur2004'' as Cerdic
* ''Film/KingOfDevilsIsland'' as Bestyreren
* ''Film/InOrderOfDisappearance'' as Nils
* ''Film/RomeoAndJuliet2013'' as Prince Escalus
* ''Film/Cinderella2015'' as the Grand Duke
* ''Series/{{River}}'' as John River
* ''Film/TheGirlWithTheDragonTattoo2011'' as Martin Vanger
* ''Film/TheManWhoKilledDonQuixote'' as the Boss
* ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}'' as Boris Shcherbina
* ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
** ''[[Film/Dune2021 Dune: Part One]]'' (2021)
** ''Film/DunePartTwo'' (2024)
* ''Series/{{Andor}}'' as Luthen Rael

!!Tropes applying to Skarsgård:

* FakeNationality: He's played a Norwegian (Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse), a Scottish pirate (''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean''), 18th century Spanish {{romantic|ism}} painter Creator/FranciscoDeGoya, German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler and several Soviet characters (''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober'', ''Film/Ronin1998'', ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}'').
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