| Bill Skarsgård | |
| Birth Name: | Bill Istvan Günther Skarsgård |
| Birth Date: | 9 August 1990 |
| Birth Place: | Vällingby, Stockholm, Sweden |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1999–present |
| Father: | Stellan Skarsgård |
| Children: | 1 |
| Partner: | Alida Morberg |
Bill Istvan Günther Skarsgård (in Swedish pronounced as /ˈbɪlː ˈskɑ̌ːʂɡoːɖ/; born 9 August 1990) is a Swedish actor. He is best known for portraying Pennywise in the horror films It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019), based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. Other horror appearances were the series Hemlock Grove (2013–2015) and Castle Rock (2018–2019) and the film Barbarian (2022).
Skarsgård has also appeared in the comedy Simple Simon (2010), the thrillers (2016) and Atomic Blonde (2017), the drama Nine Days (2020), and the action movies (2023) and Boy Kills World (2023).
Skarsgård was born on 9 August 1990 in Vällingby, Sweden, the son of actor Stellan Skarsgård and doctor My Skarsgård.[1] [2] [3] He has seven siblings: Alexander, Gustaf, Valter (all actors), as well as Sam, Eija, Ossian and Kolbjörn. Ossian and Kolbjörn are half-brothers from Stellan Skarsgård's remarriage to Megan Everett.[4]
In 2011, Skarsgård was nominated for a Guldbagge Award for his leading role as Simon in Simple Simon.[5] At the age of 21, he won the European Film Academy's Shooting Stars Award in 2012.[6] Beginning in 2013, Skarsgård played the role of Roman Godfrey in the Netflix original Hemlock Grove.
In April 2014, Skarsgård featured on the cover of Hero – a bi-annual men's fashion and culture magazine, shot by Hedi Slimane. In the issue, he is interviewed by his father.[7] Skarsgård played Matthew in the science fiction thriller (2016), his first major American film.[8]
He played horror villain Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the 2017 film It and reprised the role in the 2019 sequel, directed by Andy Muschietti.[9] Speaking about what led him to casting Skarsgård, Muschietti said: "One second he can act all cute, and then the next, there's something ancestral and dark that just appears. His ability to transform is mind-blowing to me.”
Skarsgård was a series regular on 2018's Castle Rock, as a young man with an unusual legal problem.[10] That same year, he portrayed Zeitgeist in Deadpool 2.[11] In 2020, he played Mateo in episode 4 of AMC's anthology series Soulmates. In 2021, he voiced the main antagonist Kro in Eternals.
In the 2022 Netflix miniseries Clark, Skarsgård portrayed Clark Olofsson, the notorious Swedish criminal whose involvement in the Norrmalmstorg robbery gave rise to the term Stockholm syndrome.[12]
Skarsgård played the lead villain role of Marquis de Gramont in (2023). He was the titular character in Boy Kills World.
He led the reboot of The Crow directed by Rupert Sanders.[13] Skarsgaard said: "I had a great shoot, a lot of night shoots. … You’re kind of preoccupied in a bleak state of mind for a while. I like to be consumed by it when I’m doing it. Actually, we were working out a lot, I found it really helpful. There’s nothing like being tired and sweaty to get the demons out."[14]
He has been cast as Count Orlok in the upcoming remake of Nosferatu.[15] Speaking on his experience portraying the titular role, Skarsgård said: "It was like conjuring pure evil. It took a while for me to shake off the demon that had been conjured inside of me."[16] He is also set to reprise his role as Pennywise/IT in the prequel TV series It: Welcome to Derry.
Skarsgård is in a relationship with actress Alida Morberg.[17] In October 2018, their daughter was born.[17] [18]
In February 2024, Skarsgård was arrested and fined for marijuana possession in Sweden.[19]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | White Water Fury | Klasse | ||
| 2007 | Spending the Night | Victor | Short film | |
| 2008 | Pigan brinner! | Tonårs-Nosferatu | ||
| Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End | Erik | |||
| 2009 | Kenny Begins | Pontus | ||
| 2010 | Simple Simon | Simon | ||
| Behind Blue Skies | Martin | |||
| 2011 | The Crown Jewels | Richard Persson | ||
| Simon & the Oaks | Simon | |||
| 2012 | Anna Karenina | Captain Makhotin | ||
| 2013 | Victoria | Otto | ||
| 2016 | Matthew | |||
| A Stone Appears | Man | Short film | ||
| 2017 | Atomic Blonde | Merkel | ||
| Alteration | Alejandro | Short film | ||
| Do You Like the Taste of Beer | Man | |||
| It | Pennywise the Dancing Clown | |||
| Battlecreek | Henry Pearl | |||
| Moomins and the Winter Wonderland | Moomintroll | Voice[20] | ||
| 2018 | Assassination Nation | Mark | ||
| Deadpool 2 | Axel Cluney / Zeitgeist | |||
| 2019 | Villains | Mickey | ||
| It Chapter Two | Pennywise the Dancing Clown | |||
| 2020 | Nine Days | Kane | ||
| The Devil All the Time | Willard Russell | |||
| 2021 | Naked Singularity | Dane | ||
| Eternals | Kro | Voice | ||
| 2022 | Barbarian | Keith Toshko | Also executive producer | |
| 2023 | Marquis Vincent de Gramont | |||
| Boy Kills World | Boy | |||
| 2024 | Eric Draven / The Crow[21] | Post-production[22] | ||
| Count Orlok | Post-production[23] | |||
| Philip II of Spain | Completed[24] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Laura Trenter – Dad, the Policeman | Tony | 2 episodes | |
| 2009 | Livet i Fagervik | Mårten | 1 episode | |
| 2013–2015 | Hemlock Grove | Roman Godfrey | Main role | |
| 2018–2019 | Castle Rock | Henry Deaver / The Kid (season 1) The Angel (season 2) | Main role (season 1); guest star (season 2) | |
| 2020 | Soulmates | Mateo | Episode: "Layover" | |
| 2022 | Clark | Clark Olofsson | Main role | |
| 2025 | It: Welcome to Derry | Pennywise the Dancing Clown | Main role; also executive producer[25] |
| Year | Nominated work | Association | Category | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Simple Simon | Guldbagge Awards | Best Actor | ||
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in an International Feature Film – Leading Young Actor | ||||
| 2012 | Himself | Berlin International Film Festival | Shooting Stars Award | ||
| 2017 | It | Fright Meter Awards | Best Supporting Actor | ||
| Seattle Film Critics Awards | Best Villain | ||||
| 2018 | It | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor | [26] | |
| MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Villain | [27] | |||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie Villain | ||||
| 2020 | It Chapter Two | Fright Meter Awards | Best Supporting Actor | ||
| Best Ensemble Cast | |||||