What Is Stellan Skarsgård's Net Worth and Salary?
Stellan Skarsgård is a Swedish actor who has a net worth of $50 million. Stellan Skarsgård is one of Scandinavia's best-known and well-established performers. Skarsgård became known to American audiences only after he landed roles in two consecutive dramas, 1996's "Breaking the Waves" and 1997's "Good Will Hunting." Other movies, which only boosted his international acting career, include "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006), "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (2007), "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" (2011), "Thor" (2011), and "The Avengers" (2012).
Early Life
Stellan John Skarsgård was born on June 13, 1951, in Gothenburg, Sweden. The son of Gudron and Jan Skarsgård, the family moved all around Sweden during Stellan's childhood and lived in many other places in Helsingborg, Totebo, Kalmar, Marielund, and Uppsala.
Acting Career
While perhaps still not a household name to all audiences in the States, Skarsgård has more than 150 acting credits to his name, as well as loads of awards and nominations under his belt. He began his acting career in 1968, and by the age of 21, his experience in film, TV, and stage was already staggering. Many of his roles were in Swedish TV, such as "Bombi Bitt," and films. In 1981, he played roles in the mini-series "Skärp dig, älskling" and "Babels hus." The following year, the actor was cast in the Swedish drama flick "The Simple-Minded Murderer." Soon after this, he appeared in the movies "Åke och hans värld" and "Falsk som vatten."
Of his work in Swedish films, Stellan is well known for portraying Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg in "Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg." Skarsgård is well associated with director Lars von Trier and has appeared in six of his feature films: "The Kingdom," "Breaking the Waves," "Dancer in the Dark," "Dogville," "Melancholia," and "Nymphomaniac." He's also worked closely over the years with Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland, who has directed him in "Zero Kelvin," "Aberdeen," "In Order of Disappearance," and "A Somewhat Gentle Man." The two are close friends, and Skarsgård has said of their fond relationship: "We're like an old married couple and I get separation anxiety."
Stellan is also well known for the role of Jonas Engstrom in the 1997 Norwegian film "Insomnia." His first American film was in 1985's "Noon Wine," directed by Michael Fields. He starred in another American film in 1990, "The Hunt for Red October." Skarsgård made waves with his role in the hugely popular and critically acclaimed film "Goodwill Hunting" when he played Professor Gerald Lambeau.
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Stellan was considered for the lead role of Oskar Schindler in "Schindler's List," but lost to Liam Neeson, his lookalike that people often mistake him for. (Skarsgård later went on to replace Neeson in 2004's "Exorcist: The Beginning.") Stellan appeared as a guest star on the HBO series "Entourage" shortly after. In 2002, he won Best Actor at the Mar del Plata Film Festival for his role in "Taking Sides." He appeared in both "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." In 2008, he starred as Bill Anderson in the super popular "Mamma Mia!" and went on to reprise his role in the sequel ten years later. He played roles in the movies "Angels & Demons" in 2009 and "A Somewhat Gentle Man" in 2010.
In 2011, he played Dr. Erik Selvig in Marvel's 2011 "Thor," and then reprised the role in 2013 for the sequel "Thor: The Dark World." In 2021, Skarsgård was awarded the Career Achievement Award at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. He also appeared in 2012's "The Avengers" and 2015's "The Avengers: Age of Ultron." He teamed up yet again with "Thor" director Kenneth Branagh for the 2015 live-action adaptation of Disney's "Cinderella," playing The Grand Duke. Also in 2015, Stellan played John River in the TV series "River." Two years later, he starred in the flick "Borg McEnroe."
(Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)
In 2019, he appeared in five episodes of HBO's "Chernobyl," for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Best Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series and a British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2021, he starred as villain Vladimir Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" adaptation. In 2022, he began starring on the Disney+ series "Andor," a prequel to the "Star Wars" film "Rogue One," on which filming was delayed extensively by the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to film and television work, Skarsgård has appeared in several music videos alongside fellow Swedes, including Eva Dahlgren's video for "Vem tänder stjärnorna" ("Who Lights the Stars") in 2009 and in Lykke Li's 2011 music video for "Sadness is a Blessing."
Personal Life
Stellan was married to physician My Skarsgård from April 1975 until May 2007. They have six children, most of whom are actors: Alexandar Skarsgård (of "True Blood" and "Big Little Lies" fame), Gustaf (of "Westworld" fame,) Sam, Bill Skarsgård (known for playing Pennywise in Stephen King's "It" and "It Chapter Two"), Eija, and Valter. Stellan and My divorced in May 2007. Stellan married Megan Everett in January 2009, and the couple had two sons. In an interview, Skarsgård stated he had a vasectomy and said that he "felt eight children was enough."
