The Swedish actor has been in 150 films and TV shows, from \u00ab\u00a0Breaking the Waves\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0Mamma Mia!\u00a0\u00bb to \u00ab\u00a0Andor.\u00a0\u00bb He talks about his Golden Globe-winning performance in \u00ab\u00a0Sentimental Value,\u00a0\u00bb playing a filmmaker-father trying to reconcile with his actress-daughters.<\/b>
\nActor Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd may be well-known in Sweden \u2013 his picture is prominently displayed at the airport \u2013 but he dismisses that it is a big deal. \u00ab\u00a0Sweden is a small country!\u00a0\u00bb he laughs.
He’s self-effacing, and while Skarsg\u00e4rd was recognized during our stroll through his hometown of Stockholm, respectful, shy Swedes may help keep any Hollywood-actor-ego in check. Skarsg\u00e4rd noted, \u00ab\u00a0They don’t say like Americans \u2013 OH MY GOD, IT’S YOU!!!\u00a0\u00bb
He’s recognizable from any number of roles over the decades, from Hollywood blockbusters (\u00ab\u00a0The Hunt for Red October\u00a0\u00bb, \u00ab\u00a0Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End\u00a0\u00bb), popular streaming shows (\u00ab\u00a0Andor\u00a0\u00bb), European art-house fare (\u00ab\u00a0Breaking the Waves\u00a0\u00bb), and even an ABBA musical.
I said, \u00ab\u00a0This morning I was watching you singing in ‘Mamma Mia’.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0Oh. Watching is okay, but listening to it?\u00a0\u00bb Skarsg\u00e4rd laughed. \u00ab\u00a0I’ve tried to get into projects where I enjoy myself and have a fun time. And that’s why I’m not bored. I made 150 films. I still love it, you know?\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0It seems impossible to make that many films\u00a0\u00bb, I said.
\u00ab\u00a0Well, some are very short.\u00a0\u00bb
His break came at age 16 on Swedish television, in \u00ab\u00a0Bombi Bitt och jag.\u00a0\u00bb Now, at 74, he’s reached a new high, in the Norwegian film \u00ab\u00a0Sentimental Value.\u00a0\u00bb He plays a once-successful filmmaker trying to reconcile with his estranged daughters.
He described getting the role as a chef’s kiss.
\u00ab\u00a0You think this is the best role for you ever?\u00a0\u00bb I asked.
\u00ab\u00a0Maybe \u2013 I don’t know\u00a0\u00bb, Skarsg\u00e5rd replied.
He picked up a Golden Globe for his performance just last week.
He has many moments in the film where the camera just watches him, where he’s not saying much, but he is saying a lot with his expression. \u00ab\u00a0I love that stuff\u00a0\u00bb, he said. \u00ab\u00a0Movies, real movies are not literature. Cinema to me is what happens in the image. Not what is said; what is not said.\u00a0\u00bb
In the film, he plays a father of two. In real life he’s the father of eight. All live nearby, and all have worked in the film industry, five of them actors. \u00ab\u00a0It’s insane\u00a0\u00bb, he said of the \u00ab\u00a0family business.\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0I mean, what is the chance? I didn’t encourage them. They have no illusions about the business. They see I am I’m happy and I’m enjoying what I’m doing, so they probably learn from that.\u00a0\u00bb
He playfully sparred with one of his sons, Alexander, when the two were nominated for the same Gotham Award last year.
Alexander: \u00ab\u00a0‘Sentimental Value’, beautiful film. You play yourself, right?\u00a0\u00bb
Stellan: \u00ab\u00a0That’s an insult.\u00a0\u00bb
Alexander: \u00ab\u00a0Absentee father.\u00a0\u00bb
I asked Stellan, \u00ab\u00a0Did you ever find that you had difficulty in balancing family and career?\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0I sort of made sure that I was at home a lot\u00a0\u00bb, he replied. \u00ab\u00a0You can’t be a perfect father always. I mean, you gotta accept, and the kids have to accept, I’m flawed. Good luck!\u00a0\u00bb
At Stockholm’s Royal Dramatic Theatre, he recalled appearing in Moliere’s \u00ab\u00a0The School of Wives\u00a0\u00bb, but stumbled on the name of his co-star. \u00ab\u00a0That’s what I’m talking about\u00a0\u00bb, he said. \u00ab\u00a0Had a stroke. That makes me forget my language, forget words, and that makes me more stupid and makes me less funny and everything.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0Do you really feel that? Less funny?\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0I felt so funny before.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0Must be tough.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0Yeah, well, I’m 74 years old, and I’m alive.\u00a0\u00bb
Since that 2022 stroke, he wears an earpiece on set to help with lines. \u00ab\u00a0It’s actually more complicated than learning the lines, because the prompter has to say their line while the other actor is talking\u00a0\u00bb, he said.
He wore it while shooting \u00ab\u00a0Sentimental Value\u00a0\u00bb, a film about the pull between career and what’s really important.
Skarsg\u00e5rd said, \u00ab\u00a0I’ve had kids in the ’70s, in the ’80s, in the ’90s, in the ’00s, and in the ’10s.\u00a0\u00bb
I asked, \u00ab\u00a0Do you learn more from having kids for five decades, or making 150 films?\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0Maybe I couldn’t have made 150 films if I hadn’t have eight kids to learn from\u00a0\u00bb, he replied. \u00ab\u00a0I stole things from them. Like, expressions and the sort of naive attitude towards everything. Just watching them is fantastic.\u00a0\u00bb
It’s a curiosity in humanity that Skarsg\u00e5rd explores, and expresses, through acting. \u00ab\u00a0It is like being a child\u00a0\u00bb, he said. \u00ab\u00a0You never grow up. You’re allowed to play all the time, even as an adult.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0Is that how you feel now?\u00a0\u00bb I asked.
\u00ab\u00a0Yeah. It’s make-believe, and kids in the sandbox, they do it all the time. And they shouldn’t stop.\u00a0\u00bb
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Watch an extended interview with Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd (Video)<\/p>\n