Alexander Skarsgård resisted acting until his early 20s

Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård said he had no desire to become an actor as a teenager, telling mbl.is that he wanted his parents to have ordinary jobs and drive a Saab to the office. He spoke to the news site before receiving an honorary award from the Reykjavik International Film Festival (RIFF).

Skarsgård said he may have been reacting to his father Stellan’s fame and everything that came with it. He described his family as bohemian and unlike those of his friends, and said he was determined to avoid an artistic career while he was young.

After serving in the military for a year and a half, he moved to Leeds in England to work out what he wanted to do. He also considered architecture and studied it briefly, but did not find anything that excited him. Acting was not a deliberate choice, he said: after performing as a child, he remembered in his early 20s that he had enjoyed it. He went to New York to attend drama school and “got the taste for it.”

Skarsgård gained international recognition in 2008, aged 32, for playing Brad “Iceman” Colbert in the series Generation Kill. That year, he also began playing vampire Eric Northman in True Blood, appearing in 76 episodes between 2008 and 2014. His role as Perry Wright in Big Little Lies earned him Emmy and Golden Globe awards, and he later drew attention as billionaire Lukas Matsson in Succession.

The Nordic premiere of his latest film, Wicker, was held at Háskólabíó on Tuesday evening.

Skarsgård is the eldest of eight siblings. He has six brothers and one sister, including actors Bill and Gustaf Skarsgård. He said he did not necessarily feel extra pressure or responsibility as the oldest, partly because of the age gaps. He described himself as having some typical eldest-sibling traits, including being fairly organised and responsible, though not always.