Actor Alexander Skarsgård has opened up about his biggest career hurdle: Hollywood considered him too sexy to be taken seriously.
Skarsgård, 45, known for his roles in True Blood, The Stand, and Melancholia, has earned a reputation for his comfort in performing nude scenes, often as sexually fluid characters. In a new interview with The Sunday Times, however, the actor reveals that he struggled to get work early in his career because of his comfort with his body…and how good he looked naked.
“I don’t really know if that was the reason I wasn’t getting roles,” Skarsgård explained. “Starting out in Sweden, there was stuff about being tall and blond. But most people here are tall and blond. Still, after my first job, I was on a stupid ‘sexy hunky hot list’ and then people didn’t take me seriously.”
Related: This weekend, hang with a pair of queer stars and a very naked Alexander Skarsgård
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“If you want characters with depth, but have been labeled ‘a dude who takes his shirt off,’ you’re not going to get those offers,” he added.
Lucky for him (and us), Skarsgård has rebounded well. His six years on True Blood made him a bonafide star in the US, and led to him nabbing roles in The East, The Legend of Tarzan, and Big Little Lies, which nabbed him an Emmy Award in 2017.
Oh, and he did manage to appear shirtless or wearing even less in all the aforementioned titles.
Ahead of Skarsgård’s upcoming turn in The Northman, we’ve gone to the liberty of reviewing some of his most famous, er, looks from some of his most popular screen appearances. We’re hoping Hollywood has learned: the man is a fine actor. Emphasis on fine.
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lou lou de la falaise
He’s too sexy for his shirt, too sexy….
MikeM
I know exactly how he feels
Leash
😀
thisisnotreal
I wouldn’t worry about it too much buddy, time has a way of evening the playing field with a lot of things. So you may be “too sexy” now, but eventually you will age past your prime and then Hollywood will be looking for the next hunk to fill your shoes.
howardstern
Lol, that is the whole point. You get slumped into that category and there are already plenty of people who look good. You are also easily replaceable.
He simply wanted roles with more depth. Actors want challenges not some continuously sexy roles that eventually will die out because looks fade away.
FridM
We Swedish guys are pretty damn sweet!!!…Live it up while we can.
ShiningSex
LOL.
who?
Jim
Yeah that’s it. Not the limited acting skills.
BoylesqueBubble
How this applies to the website, other than being one of David’s fantasies in his nerdy spankbank, is beyond me.
Jack
How much you want to bet that he’s too vane to gain 40lbs to get a role with “depth”? There’s prosthetics…..there’s roles where you keep your damn shirt on. This is white man privilege in its highest form. Kind of gross.
Heywood Jablowme
Being too tall has ALWAYS been a minus in getting movie roles, the concern being that they’ll look too tall next to the other actors esp. the women.
ShiningSex
Seriously? This is the most stupid story post. If he really believes it then someone is lying to him. He’s not all that.
johncp56
True Blood I fell in love!! no one is ever to sexy ever
Major
I think there is jelly on some of the comments here.
Alexander… keep doing what you have been doing… and feel free to continue doing those nude scenes, when appropriate.
Essie
Maybe he didn’t get roles because his acting isn’t that good. At least I never thought he was all that in the acting department or the looks department. I mean, there are literally thousands of men in Hollywood who are either as good looking or better looking who can’t get work. At least he got some work, probably because of his father but it doesn’t matter, he’s a working actor, not the STAR that Brad Pitt is but he’s earning a living. Stop complaining. It’s unattractive.
Polaro
Cry me a river. I love him, but he needs a reality check.