Stellan Skarsgård is one of the most respected actors in the world. That is why it is a bit of a surprise that the journeyman international star from Sweden is only now at this moment getting nominated for an Oscar. Already a winner of the European Film Award and his second Golden Globe (the first came in TV for Chernobyl) this season, Skarsgård is also up for his first Oscar in Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a famed film director who has seen better days and is looking for a big comeback, with a script in which he has written a starring role for his estranged actress-daughter. She wants no part of the script — or him.
The 73-year-old Skarsgård — father of enough actors to put him in the winners circle if they are all members of the Academy — is well known to moviegoers through his memorable appearances in such film franchises as Dune, Thor, Mamma Mia, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and countless others. His acclaimed performances have included Breaking the Waves, Good Will Hunting, The Hunt For Red October, Dogville (one of many collaborations with Lars von Trier) and too many others to list here. But we talk about many of them as he joins me for this new episode of my Deadline video series The Actor’s Side.
We also discuss if he will appear in sequels to Mamma Mia! and Dune 3; how he has produced such a famous family of actors; and the effect a 2022 stroke had on his ability to keep acting and making movies in a unique way.
To watch our conversation and get the “actor’s side” of things from Stellan Skarsgård, watch the video above.