Gustaf Skarsgård plays the boarding school bully Silverhielm in Mikael Håfström's Ondskan

Gustaf Skarsgård readily agrees that an actor's life is tough. He says, "There are not enough parts in Sweden. Not enough films are made and most actors don't get work in films or theatre. It is a privilege. I accept what I can get with gratitude." For Gustaf Skarsgård, the second oldest son of Stellan Skarsgård, Sweden's most internationally well-known actor, his route to the profession was a straight one. From the age of 6, and all through theatre school, he has had acting as his main goal.

"But now I feel that I would like to do something else for a while. I need more experience of life. I need to come to a place where I am not the sum of my background, of who my father is, or where I grew up and so on." Having the name Skarsgård and being an actor naturally has both positive and negative aspects. Gustaf Skarsgård says, "It means, of course, that people are interested from the very beginning. You get the chance to prove that you are good enough, both positively and negatively. Most people go through school and then start getting work. For me it has come parallel."

In the summer of 2003 Gustaf Skarsgård acted in the Norwegian film Not Naked.

"I appear naked for the first time on the big screen," he says with a laugh and with reference to his father's many nude scenes in films throughout the years."

While growing up, all six Skarsgård children have travelled and been to school all over the world. Their parents have often taken them along when filming and from an early age they have met giants of the film world. As Skarsgård recalls, "Wow. The first time I met Robert De Niro, I was just big enough to hold his hand, which I did for a long time. He started looking at me a little strangely. I frightened him."

Gustaf Skarsgård concludes that all the travel to various film locations has got him used to many aspects of the profession, allowing him to meet "people as they are".

"At the same time, this is something of a disadvantage, since the environment of luxury hotels and film sets are not the true life of an actor. Hollywood gives a distorted image. It is fun to go to unusual locations, even if it's only Trollhätten in Sweden."

FILMOGRAPHY:

Babylonsjukan (2004)
Ikke naken (2004) .... The Stranger
Swedenhielms (2003) (TV)
Detaljer (2003) ... aka Details
Ondskan (2003) ... aka Evil
Kontrakt (2002)
Gåvan (2002)
Den Osynlige (2002) ... aka The Invisible
"Skuggornas hus" (1996) mini TV Series ... aka "House of Shadows"
Sommaren (1995) ... aka Between Summers
"Min vän Percys magiska gymnastikskor" (1994) mini TV Series
Prima ballerina (1989)
Täcknamn Coq Rouge (1989) ... aka Code Name Coq Rouge