2000s: Career beginnings and television breakthrough On his return to Sweden, Skarsgård began landing roles in film, television and theatrical productions. his first role in an American film. His break came when he was cast as US Marine
Brad Colbert in the
HBO miniseries
Generation Kill. An adaptation of journalist
Evan Wright's book of the
same name,
Generation Kill follows the
1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the
United States Marine Corps during the early part of the
Iraq War. Director
Susanna White wanted to cast him, but executive producer
David Simon was not convinced he could do a convincing American accent. After four auditions in three cities, Skarsgård learned the role was his just 36 hours before he had to board a plane for
Namibia where the project was filming. The cast and crew spent seven months in the desert there, shooting six days a week. Skarsgård worked with a dialect coach to master the American accent. Just before leaving to shoot
Generation Kill, Skarsgård heard about the development of
True Blood, an HBO series based on
The Southern Vampire Mysteries novels by
Charlaine Harris, which chronicle the coexistence of humans and vampires in a town in
Louisiana. Though initially reluctant about playing a vampire, he sent an audition tape for the role of
Bill Compton on learning that screenwriter
Alan Ball was behind the project. and the role brought Skarsgård to prominence. To inform his portrayal, he studied the work of actors
Max Schreck and
Bela Lugosi and the film
Nosferatu (1922). He said that playing Northman appealed to his preference for characters who were not simply diabolical or righteous. receiving mixed reviews.
2010s: Film and television success In 2010, Skarsgård portrayed Terje, a gay Norwegian trekking to the
North Pole, in the British mockumentary
Beyond the Pole. Suit-maker
Hickey Freeman chose Skarsgård to model a new look it debuted in 2010.
Annie Leibovitz photographed the ad campaign, which appeared in
The Wall Street Journal Magazine,
GQ and
Details. Skarsgård appeared on the cover of the September 2010 issue of
Rolling Stone with his
True Blood co-stars
Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer. In 2011, Skarsgård starred in
Melancholia, a film directed by
Lars von Trier. He portrayed a newlywed alongside
Kirsten Dunst as his wife in the film, which premiered at the
2011 Cannes Film Festival and also co-stars his father. That same year, he appeared in
Straw Dogs, a remake of the 1971 film of the
same name, as
Charlie Venner. The remake's director,
Rod Lurie, transferred the small town setting from
Cornwall to
Mississippi and described Venner as "an ex-football star gone to seed". The film co-starred
James Marsden and
Kate Bosworth, and was released 16 September 2011. Negatively reviewed by critics, the film had a dismal performance at the box office. He also appeared alongside
Julianne Moore and
Steve Coogan in
Scott McGehee and
David Siegel's film
What Maisie Knew, an adaptation of the
Henry James novel of the
same name. He was also part of the ensemble cast in
Henry Alex Rubin's thriller
Disconnect, playing opposite
Paula Patton. Skarsgård starred alongside
Brit Marling and
Elliot Page in
Zal Batmanglij's 2013 film
The East. He appeared in the film
The Diary of a Teenage Girl as a man who begins an affair with his girlfriend's underage daughter. The film did not generate success at the box office. It received mixed reviews, with Skarsgård's performance garnering praise. He next portrayed a deviant policeman in the black comedy film
War on Everyone, which was released that same year. He described his character as violent due to internal conflicts involving his insecurities about needing his wife. Reviewing the first-season finale,
The Hollywood Reporters Daniel Fienberg found Skarsgård's performance "utterly chilling". Skarsgård won the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie in 2017 for the role. He starred in the science fiction film
Mute as a silent bartender in a futuristic society, which was released in February 2018. It received positive reviews. In 2019, he portrayed a sensitive German architect in
The Aftermath, a film set in 1946
post-war Hamburg. He appeared in the romantic-comedy
Long Shot as the
prime minister of Canada. Critics were fond of the film, with
The Guardians Kristy Puchko commending Skarsgård in the minor role and how he "makes a meal out of it". Released in May 2019, it had an unsuccessful commercial performance.
2020s: Continued success Skarsgård starred in
The Stand, a
CBS All Access miniseries based on the
1978 novel of the same name by
Stephen King, portraying
Randall Flagg, a charming demon. It ran from December 2020 to February 2021. He next starred in the 2021 monster film
Godzilla vs. Kong, which earned positive reviews and commercial success. Skarsgård recurred during the
third season of the comedy-drama series
Succession as tech mogul Lukas Matsson, for which he received a nomination for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. He portrayed
Amleth in the epic film
The Northman. Released in April 2022, the film garnered favorable reviews, with
Richard Lawson of
Vanity Fair deeming Skarsgård "a fine vessel for the film's opulent menace". In 2023, Skarsgård starred in the thriller
Infinity Pool, and returned as Lukas Matsson for the
fourth and final season of
Succession. For his role as Matsson, Skarsgård was nominated for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2023. In 2025, he played the title role in the science-fiction comedy series
Murderbot on
Apple TV+, and stars as a sexually dominant gay biker in the British film
Pillion. Skarsgård hosted the 1,000th episode of
Saturday Night Live on 31 January 2026 with rapper
Cardi B as the musical guest. ==Personal life==