Alexander Skarsgård says he retired from acting at 13 after early fame: 'It was rough'

USA Today

4 days ago

Alexander Skarsgård revealed how his first taste of fame as a teenage TV star in Sweden turned him off from acting for years.
The "True Blood" alum, 48, opened up on the July 21 episode of the "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard" podcast about feeling "incredibly self-conscious" after his breakout role in the 1989 Swedish movie "Hunden som log."
"It was rough. I didn't like being recognized. I didn't like going to school and kids at school being like, 'I saw the movie!'" Skarsgård told Shepard and cohost Monica Padman. "My confidence was down the drain."
He continued: "I was like, 'This is terrible. And I've (only) done one 50-minute made-for-TV movie. I don't want to keep doing this.'"
That was nearly the end of his acting career, which has since seen Skarsgård earn Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
"I retired, threw in the towel at 13," he added.
Alexander Skarsgård on his first role: 'Classic case of nepotism'
Skarsgård first acted as a 7-year-old in 1984's "Ake and His World." This happened due to a "classic case of nepotism," he admitted on the podcast, explaining that his dad's friend, the late actor and director Allan Edwall, offered him the gig.
Skarsgård's father is Stellan Skarsgård – of "Good Will Hunting," "Mamma Mia!" and "Dune" fame – and three of his seven younger siblings – brothers Gustaf, Bill, and Valter Skarsgård – are also actors.
"Even though my dad was an actor, my younger brother, from when he was like 5, 6, he was adamant about 'I'm going to be an actor.' And I wasn't," Skarsgård said on the podcast. "I'd done a couple of odd jobs here and there, but it wasn't like I was pursuing it."
"It wasn't a difficult decision," he explained of quitting acting as a teen. "I was like, 'I don't want to be an actor; I just want to drive a Saab. So I just kind of stopped doing it."
He went in the opposite direction from his "bohemian" parents and eventually enlisted in the Swedish Navy.
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"My teenage years, (I was) adamant about not following Dad and becoming an actor," Skarsgård said. He'd thought at the time: "You know what? I'm going to go off and be out all on my own on an island in the archipelago far from all the Skarsgårds," he said, adding: "And I hated it. I don't recommend doing it."
He later continued: "You don't want to have to join the military for a year and a half to get independent. I don't recommend it."
'Zoolander' got Alexander Skarsgård back into acting
Skarsgård briefly attended New York City's Marymount Manhattan College and then returned to Stockholm, where he worked "odd jobs" at a coffee shop, a clothing store, and as a busboy. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he booked several Swedish TV shows and movies.
He found his way to Hollywood when another opportunity landed in his lap courtesy of his famous father.
His father's manager sent him out to an audition for "Zoolander," Skarsgård said. "And I booked that baby."
"I was just like, 'Oh, I guess this is how Hollywood works. You walk into a room and Ben Stiller's sitting there and you're like, all right!'" he joked.