How Bill Skarsgård Became Hollywood’s Most Terrifying Villain

 

Who is Bill Skarsgård?

If you like supernatural horror movies, you’ve probably seen “It” (2017) and “It Chapter Two” (2019), and if you’ve ever wondered who became Hollywood’s most terrible villain whose smile is blood-curdling, let us introduce you to Bill Skarsgård. Bill received multiple prizes and acclaim for his work as the main antagonist of the mentioned movies, playing It also known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

He has nearly 40 acting credits on his record, but the aforementioned role was his breakout performance. Stay tuned to find out more about this young actor, his professional origins, and what he’s up to.

Early life, family, and education

Born Bill Istvan Gunther Skarsgård under the zodiac sign of Leo on 9 August 1990, in Vällingby, Sweden, Bill holds Swedish nationality. He comes from a family of actors – Stellan Skarsgård, his father, and Bill’s brothers, Valter, Alexander and Gustaf, are also performers. Their mother, My, is a doctor, and their two other siblings, Eija and Sam, have chosen various careers.

Stellan, their father, remarried Megan Everett, with whom he had two children, Kolbjorn and Ossian, who prefer to live their lives away from the spotlight.

Bill had an interest in acting from an early age, and as a child, he would go into his room, get dressed, and come out as a different character – his parents had to call him by his character’s name, or he would get upset.

When it comes to his educational background, he attended a local high school, and upon matriculating in 2008, he didn’t go to college but pursued his acting career.

Roles in movies

Bill made his acting debut as Klasse in the 2000 movie “Järngänget”, a thriller in which his brother, Alexander starred. Seven years later, Bill was seen as Victor in the short drama “Myskväll”, which was nominated for the Berlin International Film Festival Award for Best European Short Film. He followed with his role as Unge Herr Svenzon in another short movie “Pigan Brinner!” in 2008.

Later that year, Bill co-starred with his father, Stellan, in the action drama “Arn: The Kingdom at the End of the Road”, then in the following year, Bill landed the lead role in the fantasy comedy “Kenny Begins”, the story of a hopeless student at the Hero Academy, which was poorly rated by the audience.

Bill’s first notable role came in 2010, when he was cast to play Simon in the romantic comedy-drama “I Rymden Finns Inga Känslor” (“In Space There are No Feelings” in English), which brought Bill a nomination for the Guldbagge Award for Best Actor and the Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance in an International Feature Film – Leading Young Performer.

— Bill as Martin in “Behind Blue Skies”, 2010. pic.twitter.com/JuiHTxB4Zf

— Bill Skarsgård Italy (@SkarsgardItaly) September 4, 2017

Also in 2010, Bill starred as Martin in the drama “Behind Blue Skies”, followed by his roles in “The Crown Jewels” and “Siomn Och Ekarna” in 2011, before he made his Hollywood debut as Makhotin in the 2012 Oscar-awarded romantic drama “Anna Karenina”, co-starring with Keira Knightley and Jude Law in this love story based on the novel of the same title by Lev Tolstoy. The movie had 53 award nominations and won 33, including the Oscar for Best Achievement in Costume Design.

Next, Bill was seen as Otto in the 2013 Norwegian movie “Victoria”, in which he starred opposite Iben Akerlie and Jakob Oftebro, followed by his role as Matthew in the 2016 action adventure “Allegiant”, which was his return to Hollywood.

Bill was next cast to play Merkel in the 2017 action thriller “Atomic Blonde”, starring Charlize Theron and James McAvoy, which had 18 award nominations and won 10. Later that year, Bill was seen playing his most significant role to date, as Pennywise in the horror “It”. The movie, also starring Finn Wolfhard and Jaeden Martell, had 47 award nominations, winning 10, including Bill’s iHorror Award for Best Actor, the Fright Meter Award, and The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) Star-Meter Award- Fan Favorite.

He was also nominated for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, and the MTV Movie + TV Award- Best Villain.

This role opened many doors for Bill, and later that year, he was cast to star as Henry in the romantic drama “Battlecreek”, the story of a loner and night owl, who has a rare skin illness and has spent his entire life under the strict supervision of his frustrated mother. A young lady’s car breaks down one night, and Henry’s life is permanently changed. The movie won the City of Angels Women’s Film Festival Award for Most Inspirational Feature Film.

In 2018, Bill was seen as Mark in “Assassination Nation” and as Zeitgeist in “Deadpool 2”, before he reprised his role as Pennywise in the 2019 movie “It Chapter Two”, which brought him the BAM Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Bill said that playing Pennywise was by far the most mentally and physically draining role, which caused him nightmares after the filming finished. He added that he had very vivid and strange Pennywise dreams. He shared that he came to the audition dressed as a clown with make-up to show his commitment, and almost immediately transformed into Pennywise. Bill said that he sees his connection to Pennywise as a toxic relationship, and stated that he won’t be seen as this character in the announced series “Welcome to Derry”, a prequel to “It”.

After his role in “It Chapter Two”, Bill was seen as Kane in the 2020 movie “Nine Days”, followed by his roles in “The Devil All the Time” (2020), “Naked Singularity” and “Eternals” both in 2021, and “Burn All My Letters” in 2022.

Most recently, he played Marquis in the popular action movie “John Wick: Chapter 4” in 2023. His fans will be happy to hear that he will be seen in four new projects, entitled “Nosferatu”, “Emperor”, “Boy Kills World”, and “The Crow”, all currently in development.

Roles in series

Bill made his first television appearance as Tony in the 2002 mini-series “Pappa Polis”, followed by his role as Marten in an episode of the Sweden series “Livet and Fagervik” in 2009. In the following year, Bill was seen as Erik in the TV mini-series “Arn”, however, the role that brought him international recognition was his portrayal of Roman Godfrey in the series “Hemlock Grove” – from 2013 through 2015, Bill was seen in 33 episodes of this fantasy horror-drama, starring opposite Lande Liboiron and Famke Janssen. The series was nominated for two Primetime Emmys.

Bill was next cast to play The Kid in the series “Castle Rock”, and during 2018 and 2019 he was seen in 12 episodes of this fantasy horror series. based on the stories written by Stephen King, which had 20 award nominations.

Most recently, television viewers saw Bill as Mateo in an episode of the 2020 series “Soulmates”, followed by his lead role as Clark Olofsson in the 2022 series “Clark”, which followed the story of Sweden’s most notorious mobster, Clark Olofsson, whose horrific crimes inspired the phrase ‘Stockholm Syndrome’. Although the series had no nominations, it was well-rated by the audience (7.4/10).

Love life and relationships

Bill is quite secretive when it comes to his personal matters and hasn’t spoken about his previous relationships before he met his now-partner Alida Morberg – she’s also Swedish and an actress. The two haven’t shared how and when they met or when they started their relationships, but according to sources, they’ve been a couple for at least a few years now.

They became parents in 2018, when Alida gave birth to their daughter, whose name hasn’t been disclosed, so as of April 2023, Bill is in a relationship and has one child.

Age, height, and net worth

Bill’s age is 32, known for his muscular build, and if you’re wondering how tall he is, he stands at 6ft 3ins (1.92m) and weighs roughly 185lbs (85kgs).

In terms of prosperity, he’s amassed a sizable fortune from his acting profession. According to sources as of early 2023, Bill’s net worth has been estimated at over $5 million.