Latest news with #GenerationKill
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Alexander Skarsgard on cahllenges he faced in acting career, recalls "crying in the shower" after bad auditions
Actor Alexander Skarsgard opened up on the challenges he faced in Hollywood in the initial years of his career, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Actor Alexander Skarsgard opened up on the challenges he faced in Hollywood in the initial years of his career, according to The Hollywood Reporter. During a recent appearance on Jesse Tyler Ferguson 's Dinner's on Me podcast, the actor recalled "crying in the shower" after bad auditions, before his 2008 breakout year with his roles in Generation Kill and True Blood, as per the outlet. "I found those experiences -- they were horrible -- when you go in for something that you know you're not right for, and you're not connecting with a character at all, but you're at a place where you feel like you can't say no to the audition," Skarsgard said of his struggles with the audition process, even after he starred in 2001's Zoolander. "I was always on the cusp of being fired by my agents," the Pillion actor added. "If I say no to this audition, they're probably gonna drop me, so I gotta go in, but I don't connect to the role. I'm completely wrong for it." He admitted he gets "a little PTSD" thinking about that time in his career, "because I remember the feeling of coming back to my little shitty apartment in L.A., you know, crying in the shower after a day like that. I just felt filthy in my soul and, like, zero confidence. I was like, 'I'm the worst actor in the world, and I also have no dignity because I go in and audition for this stuff. I'm wasting their time.' It's a rough feeling," according to The Hollywood Reporter. A son of actor Stellan Skarsgard , he began acting at age seven but quit at age thirteen. After serving in the Swedish Navy, Skarsgard returned to acting and gained his first role in the US comedy film Zoolander (2001). After appearing in films such as Melancholia (2011), Battleship (2012) and The Legend of Tarzan (2016), Skarsgard starred in the drama series Big Little Lies (2017-2019) as an abusive husband, which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. He went on to appear in the films Long Shot (2019), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Passing (2021), The Northman (2022), which he also produced, and Infinity Pool (2023).
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Alexander Skarsgard 'cried in the shower' after awful auditions
Alexander Skarsgard used to end up "crying in the shower" after bad auditions. The Big Little Lies actor has recalled the tough time he had before breaking into Hollywood - which still gives him "a little PTSD" when he faced a lot of rejection. He told Jesse Tyler Ferguson's Dinner's On Me podcast: "I remember the feeling of coming back to my little s***** apartment in LA, you know, crying in the shower after a day like that. "I just felt filthy in my soul and, like, zero confidence. "I was like, 'I'm the worst actor in the world, and I also have no dignity because I go in and audition for this stuff. I'm wasting their time.' It's a rough feeling.' He eventually landed breakout roles in Generation Kill and True Blood in 2008, but before that he found the whole process "horrible". Even after appearing in 2001's Zoolander, Alexander was still in a difficult position. He said: "I found those experiences — they were horrible — when you go in for something that you know you're not right for, and you're not connecting with a character at all, but you're at a place where you feel like you can't say no to the audition." Alexander - who was following in his father Stellan Skarsgard's footsteps - admitted he was close to getting dropped by is agent. He added: 'I was always on the cusp of being fired by my agents. 'If I say no to this [audition], they're probably gonna drop me, so I gotta go in, but I don't connect to the role. I'm completely wrong for it.' He previously dabbled in acting as a child but quit when he turned 13, and returned to it when he reached adulthood. At 19, the Swedish-born star signed up to national service and joked it was all because he wanted to be like the next James Bond, although it wasn't quite like the glamour seen in the Hollywood film series. He told The Times newspaper: "Now it's mandatory, but it wasn't then and I didn't do it for patriotic reasons to defend my country, to keep the Russians from invading Sweden, because that wasn't even on the radar at the time. I did it because I was 19, I didn't know what I wanted to do and I wanted to be James Bond for 18 months.. "Definitely less champagne and models. "It was quite bleak. But it was also a really good experience for me because I was a team leader, and when we were out on missions it was mostly me and three other guys, which was a lot of responsibility for an idiot teenager. So I had to grow up a bit."
Perth Now
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Alexander Skarsgard pitches 'polite' James Bond
Alexander Skarsgard would like to play a "very polite" James Bond. The 48-year-old actor explained how he undertook national service in Sweden as a teenager because he liked the idea of being like the suave spy, and with no successor yet appointed to take over the role from Daniel Craig, he pitched the idea he could take the part - but with "no violence at all". He told The Times newspaper of his national service: "I did it because I was 19, I didn't know what I wanted to do and I wanted to be James Bond for 18 months.' Asked about taking the character to the big screen, he added: 'I could be a very polite, diplomatic Swedish James Bond, who negotiates. There'll be no violence at all. It'll just be boardroom meetings where people try to find consensus, everyone's stressed out and desperately tries to avoid an argument or complications, that's very Swedish. I'll pitch it!' After getting his big break in 'Zoolander' when he was 25, Alexander struggled for some time to get roles of "substance" because of his good looks. He recalled: "There were definitely some rough years. 'I was in my twenties, trying to get a job in LA, but I would never come across anything of substance. Any time I read something that was even remotely interesting, someone more established would come and take it. "I was auditioning for jock number three in a bad TV series and not getting it. It wasn't, 'I'm too good for this s***,' but it wasn't a great feeling either.' And after seven years, he was asked to audition for war drama 'Generation Kill' - which cast unknown actors - and he recalled the "horrible" wait to find out if he had got the part - and when he did, he couldn't stop worrying that things were "too good to be true". He said: 'Waiting to hear was horrible, horrible, horrible. Every time the phone rang, I would get heart palpitations — it was either get your dream job and fly to Namibia for seven months or go back to unemployment. But I got it and the next day I was on a plane with seven thick scripts, incredibly insecure and scared because it was too good to be true.'
