Who is Gustaf Skarsgård?
Swedish actor, screenwriter and director Gustaf Caspar Orm Skarsgård was born in Sodermalm, Stockholm, Sweden on 12 November 1980, making Scorpio his zodiac sign. He’s appeared in over 50 movies and TV series, and is perhaps known best for starring as Floki in the action adventure series “Vikings”, which also starred Alexander Ludwig and Katheryn Winnick, and was created by Michael Hirst. It follows the life of Viking warrior Ragnar Lothbrok who wants to raid distant shores; the series aired from 2013 through 2020 and won 46 of its 180 award nominations.
Gustaf’s today highly active in the film industry, and is currently shooting for the upcoming movie “Oppenheimer”, and the series “Ondskan”.
Education and early life
Gustaf was raised in Stockholm alongside his five siblings and two half-bothers, by their father Stellan Skarsgård and his mother My. Stellan’s a famous Swedish actor and screenwriter who’s appeared in over 150 movies and TV series, while he’s won 17 of his 43 award nominations; he starred in several critically acclaimed movies, such as the 1997 biographical historical drama “Amistad”, the 1997 romantic drama “Good Will Hunting” and the 2013 drama “Nymphomaniac: Vol. I”. Gustaf’s mother My’s a physician, and his brothers Valter, Bill Istvan Gunther and Alexander Johan Hjalmar are all today popular actors.
Looking up to his father, Gustaf became interested in acting at a very early age and was six when he enrolled at acting school; at the age of eight, he made his debut film appearance by playing Sonen Erik in the 1989 thriller “Codename Coq Rouge”, and the same year also saw him play Spinken in the short movie “Prima Ballerina”.
Gustaf then focused on his education, and had no roles in the following five years. He studied at a local high school in Stockholm, and upon matriculating in 1999 focused on acting, rather than pursuing a college degree.
Roles in movies
Gustaf played Robber in the 1994 short drama “Euroboy”, and the following year saw him portray Steffe in the drama “Sommaren”.
He gained recognition in 2002, when cast to play the lead character Nicklas in the fantasy thriller “The Invisible”, which also starred Tuva Novotny and Li Bradhe, and was written and directed by Joel Bergvall. It follows a man who’s become trapped between life and death, and the movie won 10 of the 13 awards for which it was nominated. Some of Gustaf’s following roles were in 2002 in the short drama “Gavan” and the short action “Kontrakt”, then the 2003 drama “Evil”.
The year 2007 saw him play Knut in the romantic action “Arn: The Knight Templar”, which starred his father Stellan, Joakim Natterqvist and Sofia Helin, and was directed by Peter Flinth. It follows high-ranking Swedish nobleman’s son Arn who’s become a Knight Templar, and the movie won three of its five award nominations. Some of Gustaf’s roles in the remainder of the 2000s were in the drama “Mellan 11 och 12”, the crime thriller “Iskariot” and the romantic action “Arn: The Kingdom at the End of the Road”, all released in 2008.
In 2012, he starred as Bengt Danielsson in the critically acclaimed biographical action adventure “Kon-Tiki”, which also starred Anders Baasmo and Pal Sverre Hagen, and was directed by Joachim Ronning. Set in 1947, the movie follows legendary explorer Thor Heyerdahl as he’s crossing the Pacific on a raft, wanting to prove that South Americans were able to settle in Polynesia; the film won 12 of its 26 award nominations, including an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year.
A couple of Gustaf’s following roles were in the short action comedy “The Big Leap”, the drama “Vi” and the thriller “Autumn Blood”, all released in 2013.
The year 2017 saw him play the lead character Frans in the drama “Darling”, which Birgitte Staermose directed, and which also starred Ulrich Thomsen and Danica Curcic. It follows the life of an aspiring dancer, and the film was nominated for five awards.
Some of Gustaf’s most recent film roles have been in 2022 in the short horror “Soul of a Man”, the crime drama “What Remains”, and in the 2023 sports drama “Air”.
Roles in TV series
Gustaf’s debut TV series role was playing Jan in all the four episodes of the 1994 family mini-series “Min vän Percys Magiska Gymnastikskor”, while the year 1996 then saw him star as JB in all three episodes of the fantasy horror mini-series “Skuggornas Hus”.
In 2002, he portrayed Jonas in five episodes of the comedy “Cleo”, which starred Loa Falkman and Suzanne Reuter, and was created by Michael Hjorth. It follows single woman Cleo whose son’s about to move away from home, and the series won four awards. Gustaf had only two other TV series roles in the 2000s, playing Karl XI in all the three episodes of the 2006 historical action “Snapphanar”, and Knut in four episodes of the 2010 romantic action mini-series “Arn”.
as Knut – Arn (2010) pic.twitter.com/oNP2yg769r
— best of gustaf skarsgård (@archivesgustaf) September 28, 2019
The year 2011 saw him star as John in all the three episodes of the drama mini-series “Bibliotekstjuven”, which also starred Guniila Roor and Reuben Sallmander, and follows a librarian working at Stockholm’s National Library, who’s just stolen and sold a number of rare and valuable books; the mini-series was nominated for a 2011 Kristallen Award for Best Television Drama. Some of Gustaf’s following roles were in both episodes of the 2014 crime thriller mini-series “The Fat and the Angry”, five episodes of the 2018 mystery science fiction “Westworld”, and 10 episodes of the 2020 adventure fantasy “Cursed”.
Most recently, in 2022, he starred as Karl Oskar in the three episodes of the historical mini-series “Utvandrarna”, which also starred Sofia Helin and Tove Lo, and follows a group of people emigrating from Sweden to the USA in the 1840s; the mini-series won a 2022 Camille Award for Best Orchestral Score.
Other credits
Gustaf wrote and directed the 2011 short movie “Människor Helt Utan Betydelse”.
Some of his most recent talk-show appearances have been in “RIX MorronZoo”, “Varvet” and “Tilde”.
Awards and nominations
Gustaf’s won three of his seven award nominations: a 2004 Screamfest Festival Trophy for Best Actor for his performance in “The Invisible”, and in 2007 a Berlin International Film Festival Shooting Star Award and a Guldbagge Award for Best Actor (Basta Manliga Huvudroll), for “Forortsungar”.
Love life and relationships
Gustaf keeps his love life away from the media’s attention, but there are two women whom he’s been with, that we know about. From 1999 through 2005, he was in a relationship with famous Swedish actress Hanna Carolina Alstrom, who’s appeared in 46 movies and TV series, and is probably known best for playing Princess Tilde in the 2014 action adventure comedy movie “Kingsman: The Secret Service” and its 2017 sequel “Kingsman: the Golden Circle”.
Gustaf’s today in a relationship with Caroline Sjöström, a non-celebrity Swedish woman; neither has spoken about how long they’ve been together, but it’s believed that the went on their first date in December 2018. The two have daughter November together, born on 15 November 2020.
Gustaf hasn’t married as of May 2023, and has a daughter with his girlfriend Caroline Sjöström.
Interesting facts and hobbies
His second name ‘Orm’ means ‘snake’ in Swedish.
Gustaf’s godfather is Peter Stormare, a famous Swedish actor, screenwriter and producer who’s appeared in more than 200 movies and TV series, but is probably still known best for playing Gaear Grimsrud in the 1996 crime thriller “Fargo”.
Gustaf’s best friend is Swedish actor Matias Varela, known for portraying Emir in the 2016 action science fiction adventure movie “Assassin’s Creed”.
He’s an Instagram star, as over 1.4 million people are following him on the network today, while Gustaf’s posted only 114 pictures and videos; most of his content’s about the movies and TV series in which he’s appeared.
Gustaf’s a philanthropist and a climate activist; he’s also a huge lover of animals, and has volunteered at a number of animal shelters.
One of his favorite actors is Ralph Fiennes, and some of his favorite movies include “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, “The Menu” and “Four Quartets”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Gustaf’s age is 42. He has blue eyes and brown hair, is 6ft 4ins (1.93m) tall and weighs around 195lbs (89kgs).
Gustaf’s net worth’s been estimated at over $8 million, as of May 2023.
Leave a Reply