Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (born August 25, 1976) is a Swedish actor. Born in Stockholm, he began acting at age seven but quit at 13. After serving in the Swedish military, Skarsgård returned to acting and gained his first role in the US film comedy Zoolander. In 2008, he played Marine Brad Colbert in the miniseries Generation Kill. Skarsgård's breakthrough came when he portrayed 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. From 2019 to 2022, he appeared in the films Long Shot (2019), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Passing (2021), and The Northman (2022) as well as playing Randall Flagg in the miniseries The Stand (2020–2021).

KNOWN FOR

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2016
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2019
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2016
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2026
The Daily Show
2022
The Kelly Clarkson Show
2025
Saturday Night Live
2026
The Graham Norton Show
2025
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
2022
The One Show
2025
True Blood
2008
What We Do in the Shadows
2024

FILMOGRAPHY

All
Movies
TV
Acting
89
Directing
2
Writing
1
Producing
4
2026
Wicker
as Wicker Husband · unreleased
2026
The Moment
as Johannes
2026
The End
as (voice)
2026
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Host
2026
Late Night with Seth Meyers
as Self - Guest
2025
Eric LaRue
as Ron LaRue
2025
Pillion
as Ray
2025
Murderbot
as Murderbot
2025
The Kelly Clarkson Show
as Self
2025
The One Show
as Self
2025
The Graham Norton Show
as Self
2025
Variety & CNN Actors on Actors
as Self
2024
Lee
as Roland Penrose
2024
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
as Other John
2024
What We Do in the Shadows
as Eric Northman
2023
Svensken bakom Hollywoodkroppen
as Himself
2023
Infinity Pool
as James Foster
2022
Creation of the Kingdom of Exodus
as Self / The Swedish Lawyer
2022
The Northman
as Amleth
2022
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
as Self - Guest
2022
The Daily Show
as Self
2022
Atlanta
as Alexander Skarsgård
2022
Documentary Now!
as Rainer Wolz
2022
The Kingdom
as Svensk advokat
2021
Passing
as John Bellew
2021
Godzilla vs. Kong
as Nathan Lind
2021
Succession
as Lukas Matsson
2020
The Stand
as Randall Flagg
2019
The Aftermath
as Stefan Lubert
2019
The Hummingbird Project
as Anton Zaleski
2019
The Kill Team
as Sergeant Deeks
2019
Long Shot
as Prime Minister James Steward
2019
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
as Self
2019
On Becoming a God in Central Florida
as Travis Stubbs
2018
Mute
as Leo Beiler
2018
Hold the Dark
as Vernon Slone
2018
The Little Drummer Girl
as Gadi Becker
2018
GQ Presents: Iconic Characters
as Self
2017
Big Little Lies
as Perry Wright
2016
The Legend of Tarzan
as John Clayton / Tarzan
2016
War on Everyone
as Terry Monroe
2016
Zoolander 2
as Adam
2016
The Jonathan Ross Show
as Self
2016
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self - Guest
2016
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
as Self - Guest
2015
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
as Monroe Rutherford
2015
Hidden
as Ray
2014
The Giver
as Father
2013
The East
as Benji
2013
What Maisie Knew
as Lincoln
2013
Disconnect
as Derek Hull
2013
Eastbound & Down
as Adult Toby Powers
2012
Battleship
as Commander Stone Hopper
2011
Melancholia
as Michael
2011
Straw Dogs
as Charlie Venner
2010
13
as Jack
2010
Trust Me
as Alex
2010
Beyond the Pole
as Terje
2010
Behind the Moomins
as Self
2009
Metropia
as Stefan (voice)
2009
Uppsala Doctor's
as Andersson Nilsson
2008
True Blood
as Eric Northman
2008
Generation Kill
as Brad Colbert
2007
Black Island Sisters
as Stefan
2007
Leende Guldbruna Ögon
2006
The Last Drop
as Jergen Voller
2006
Exit
as Fabian von Klerking
2006
Kill Your Darlings
as Geert
2006
Score
as Micke
2006
Never Be Mine
as Christopher
2005
Double Shift
as Nisse
2005
About Sara
as Kalle Öberg
2004
Heartbeat
as Piloten
2002
The Dog Trick
as Micke
2001
Zoolander
as Meekus
2001
Kites Over Helsinki
as Robin Åström
2000
Wings of Glass
as Johan
2000
White Water Fury
as Anders
2000
The Diver
as Ingmar
2000
Hundtricket
as Micke
2000
D-Day
as Lise's papsøn
1999
Happy End
as Bamse Viktorsson
1997
White Lies
as Marcus Englund
1989
The Dog That Smiled
as Jojjo
1987
Idag Röd
as The Boy
1984
Åke and His World
as Kalle Nubb
The Pack
The Wolf Will Tear Your Immaculate Hands
The Tiger
as Vanzin