Stellan Skarsgård

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Stellan Skarsgård

Born	June 13, 1951 (age 55) Göteborg, Sweden
Notable roles	"Bootstrap Bill" Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Stellan Skarsgård (help·info) (Swedish IPA: ['stɛl:an 'skɒ:ʂˌgoɖ]) (born June 13, 1951, Göteborg, Sweden) is a Swedish actor. During his early career most of his work was confined to his native Sweden. He is particularly associated with director Lars von Trier, having starred in three of the Danish auteur's features, including The Kingdom, Dogville and Breaking the Waves. Aside from these, his best-known Scandinavian work is probably his leading role as the guilt-ridden policeman Jonas Engstrom in the original Insomnia.

His best-known English language film roles include Russian submarine captain Tupolov in The Hunt for Red October; an engineer in The Unbearable Lightness of Being; an MIT professor of mathematics in Good Will Hunting, a young Lankester Merrin in Exorcist: The Beginning (and the Paul Schrader version of this story, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist), Gregor in the film Ronin, the Saxon warlord Cerdic in King Arthur, "Bootstrap Bill" Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, and Joe Heiser in Wind. He is set to appear in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. He is the father of Alexander Skarsgård and Gustaf Skarsgård.

[edit] Filmography

Bombi Bitt och jag (Bombi Bitt and Me, 1968, mini TV series)
Firmafesten (The Office Party, 1972)
Strandhugg i somras (Raid in the Summer, 1972)
Magnetisören (1972, TV)
Fem døgn i august (1973) ("Five days in August")
Bröllopet (1973) ("The Wedding")
Anita: Swedish Nymphet (1974)
The Intruders (Fait acompli/Inkräktarna/Let Us Play Sex/Swedish Sex Games, 1974)
Tabu (Taboo, 1977)
Hemåt i natten (Homeward in the Night, 1977)
Den enfaldige mördaren (The Simple-Minded Murder, 1982)
P & B (1983)
Åke och hans värld (Åke and His World, 1984)
Falsk som vatten (False as Water, 1985)
Noon Wine (1985)
Pelle Svanslös i Amerikatt (Peter-No-Tail in Americat, 1985, voice)
Ormens väg på hälleberget (The Serpent's Way, 1986)
Jim & piraterna Blom (Jim and the Pirates, 1987)
Hip hip hurra! (1987)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
Vargens tid (Arilds tid/Time of the Wolf, 1988)
Friends (1988)
The Perfect Murder (1988)
S/Y Glädjen (S/Y Joy, 1989)
Täcknamn Coq Rouge (Code Name Coq Rouge, 1989)
Vildanden (The Wild Duck, 1989)
Kvinnorna på taket (The Women on the Roof, 1989)
Förhöret (1989)
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
God afton, Herr Wallenberg (Good Evening, 1990])
Oxen (The Ox, 1991)
Den demokratiske terroristen (The Democratic Terrorist, 1992)
Wind (1992)
Kådisbellan (Innocent Life, 1993)
Sista dansen (The Last Dance, 1993)
Jönssonligans största kupp (The Jönsson Gang's Greatest Robbery, 1995)
Kjærlighetens kjøtere (1995)
Hundarna i Riga (The Hound of Riga, 1995)
Harry och Sonja (1996) ("Harry and Sonja")
Breaking the Waves (1996)
Insomnia (1997)
My Son the Fanatic (film) (1997)
Amistad (1997)
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Riket II (1997)
Glasblåsarns barn (The Glass-blower's Children, 1997)
Savior (1998)
Ronin (1998)
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
Passion of Mind (2000)
Signs & Wonders (2000)
Timecode (2000)
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Aberdeen (2000)
The Hire: Powder Keg (2000)
Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) (2000)
Taking Sides (2001)
The Glass House (2001)
City of Ghosts (2002)
No Good Deed, (2003)
Att döda ett barn (To Kill a Child, 2003, voice)
Dogville (2003)
King Arthur (2004)
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
Beowulf & Grendel (2005)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Goya's Ghosts (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Arn (2007)

[edit] Trivia

Was considered for the role of Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List. Interestingly, Skarsgård reports that people often mistake him for Liam Neeson, who portrayed Schindler in the film. Skarsgård had actually replaced Neeson in Exorcist: The Beginning (2004).
Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly named their son Stellan (born August 5, 2003) after the actor.
His sons, Alexander Skarsgård and Gustaf Skarsgård are actors. (He is of no relation to actor Peter Sarsgaard; apparently fans have mixed up the names and have thought them to be father and son.)