Thanks to one of our frequent visitors and fellow Eric & Sookie lover, Alexandra aka Dracul…who sent us this interview and scans from Maxima Magazine all the way from Austria! This issue was published back in September, but you don’t mind…as long as you read about him, right?
Do we have your attention NOW?
Alexandra translated the interview and asked that we please excuse her English because it’s not her first language. (No worries!
You can read the interview below – followed by the scans themselves.
Interview with Alexander Skarsgard
„Schwedenbombe“
(you can’t translate this into proper english – it’s an austrian sweetie, something like a chocolate marshmallow); word by word translation would be „swedes bomb“.
Alexander Skarsgård is one of the biggest newcomer talents Sweden has to offer.
If there wouldn’t be the prominent factor (prominent father) the likeable actor would have followed his father’s footsteps way earlier. For the last ten years Alexander Skarsgård has been living in California. The first five years have been rather difficult and he spent more time sailing than going to auditions. Since the success of True Blood, Skarsgård’s career is rising and the sexy vampire can full fill his dream. He can pick roles due to creativity and not money. He is the eldest son of Swedish actor Stellån Skarsgård. He and his siblings have seen their father mostly on stage, which arouse his fascination for this profession. 1983 he succeeded in his first part in “Åke och hans värld“ (Ake and his world) but the success insecured him that much, so he stopped acting and finished school instead. After a study visit in NYC Skarsgård decided to go on with his stage work and he appeared in some Swedish productions. 2001 he visited LA and he at once he got a part in Ben Stiller’s Zoolander. Hence Skarsgård wasn’t sure about staying in Hollywood. During this phase he started to write scripts and he directed the highly acclaimed short „Att döda ett barn“ (To kill a child). He got the attention of the American critics with the mini-series Generation Kill and 2008 he got the offer to portray the 1000 yrs old vampire Eric Northman. In the meantime the 6th season is finished. Since last year the 37-year old is the first male actor who starred in a CK promotion and he even settled down.
Since five years TB is a hit series and you are named one of the sexiest vampires.
I’m not a vampire and I think that nobody sees himself as sexy.
How do you explain yourself the fascination of vampires?
Vampires are mysterious and there are lots of legends and stories around those creatures. Concerning TB, plot and characters have developed a lot, there were no recurrences during the last five years. Even we actors get to know the plot some weeks ahead of shooting. That makes it very exciting.
What have you learned by doing TV series?
Also after the 50th take you have to have the same energy like in the 1st take. Otherwise you don’t feel the character and the result is lame.
You are named a heart-throb. Is there an important wife in your life?
The most charismatic wife in my life is my granny. The wife I admire most is my mom. I have a very dearly beloved relationship with her. How she raised 6 children and earned a medical degree is unbelievable to me, taking into consideration that my father was hardly at home. He spent 16-17 hours in the theatre, Saturdays and Sundays included. When I saw my dad, it was on stage.
Despite you followed his footsteps.
Yes, and two of my siblings are actors, too. But the real star of our family is my brother, he is earning a medical degree as well.
Why did you become an actor and what have you learned from your father?
During my childhood creative people working in the theatres have impressed me already. I have seen my dad lots on stage, so I gained some knowledge there. The longer I’m living here in LA , the more I came to the conclusion that my dad guarded his private life very well. Of course, there haven’t been paparazzi in Sweden during his time and LA is different to Sweden. Cause I do know both world’s it’s important for me to keep my private life to myself. I don’t want that everybody knows where I’m refueling my car, where I do my groceries and with whom I’m having a coffee. I’ll take more attention to that as soon as I’m having a family. I don’t want my children to be children of famous parents.
That sounds as if you want to stay in America and as you won’t go back to Sweden?
Yep, I love Sweden but my home is changing in political ways. The right parties are gaining strength and that insecures me. Blaming the immigrants is too simple, instead we should ask why our society isn’t integrating them. In Sweden, it’s still a fact that a Swede has better chances to get a well-paid job as an immigrant from Iraq. Sweden was proud of being a welfare state. The last two years the level of income changed a lot. The safety net isn’t there anymore and the riots are an outcome of this inequalities.
In the movie The East you are a leader of a group of anarchists, which attack corrupt companies. Is this a current issue for you?
That’s the reason I took the part. The frustration of those people is coherent. We see every day that billions of dollars are given to lobbyists, to buy votes and power in politics. That has nothing to do with democracy. The man on the street stays behind. The difference between me and Benji – my character – is that I prefer the civil disobedience.
Speaking of money. What’s your relationship towards money?
Thanks to the success of True Blood I’m financially sound. Before True Blood I took parts to pay my bills. Now I can afford to take parts in independent movies like The East or Melancholia, where we have worked literally for free.
What was your most luxurious investment?
A house. I bought my first house two years ago. Before I was doing „couch-surfing“ a couple of years and actually I lived two years in a friend’s garage. Some day I woke up and realized that it’s time to become a grown-up and to stop my nomadic life.
You are in CK fragrance commericals. Which fragrance do you like most?
Being the first male actor, who is the face of CK is an honor to me. I love fragrances which smell natural. Maybe this has to do something with my childhood. I grew up in South Stockholm and next to my childhood house there was this butcher’s shop. I still have that smell in my nose – as soon as I’m talking about it. I prefer the smell of a sausage ten times more as every single artificial flavor.
Minibiography Alexander Skarsgård
Born: 25th August 1976 in Stockholm
5 siblings, 2 half-siblings
Father: Actor Stellån Skarsgård
Alexander Skarsgård filmography:
1983 Ake and his world
1989 Hunden som log
1999 Happy End
2001 Zoolander
2006 The Last Mission
2008 Generation Kill
2008 till now True Blood
2011 Straw Dogs
2011 Melancholia
2012 Battelship
2012 Testimonal for CK
2013 What Maisie Knew
2013 The East
(The East and What Maisie Knew are in local theatres since July 2013)
Quotes featured in the scans.
quote p25
It’s important to me, to keep my private life to myself.
~Alexander Skarsgard handling with publicity
quote p26
There are lots of rumours about me, but not that many women in my life.
~Alexander Skarsgard about his image as heart-throb
picture p26
Agent Sarah should gain influence on the anarchist Benji only to blast his plans.
Please click image for larger view.
Thank you so much Alexandra! We really appreciate this!
Nothing new in this interview, and I think the pictures have been featured somewhere else too…but I love hearing what other countries are saying about him. I think that’s the first time I’ve heard that he’s going to stay in the U.S. due to the politics in Sweden…
Thoughts? Please share ‘em below!
