Bill Skarsgård isn't a household name yet, but give it time: he's the younger brother
of The Legend of Tarzan star Alexander Skarsgård and son of veteran actor Stellan Skarsgård,
and this emerging star is set to make a name for himself as the terrifying Pennywise in
the upcoming big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel It.
The demonic clown was brilliantly played by Tim Curry in the 1990 TV miniseries version
of the book, so Skarsgård has some big clown shoes to fill — but he also has more acting
experience than you might think.
Here are a few projects you may have seen him in:
Arn: The Kingdom at Road's End
Arn: The Knight Templar and Arn: The Kingdom at Road's End were combined into one epic
cut for international release in 2010, though in Sweden they were released as two separate
films based on fictional hero Arn Magnusson.
Bill's father Stellan played Arn's uncle Birger and reprised the role for the sequel, bringing
his son Bill in to play Erik, son of the King, played by Bill's older brother Gustaf.
The Skarsgård-filled epic two-parter is the most expensive Swedish film of all time, costing
around thirty million dollars.
Kenny Begins
Skarsgård went from a deadly serious historical epic to a completely ridiculous sci-fi comedy
in 2009's Kenny Begins, a feature length prequel to Swedish TV series Kenny Starfighter.
Kenny is a hopeless "Galaxy Hero" who crash lands on Earth and meets Skarsgård's Pontus,
an equally unfortunate 15-year-old with terrible eyesight and a problem with local bullies.
Simple Simon
Skarsgård's next performance not only impressed domestic critics, it also won plenty of praise
Stateside.
The Hollywood Reporter said 2010's Simple Simon "performs the neat trick of finding
laughs and wisdom about a central character who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, yet
does so without trivializing the serious nature of the affliction," and called Skarsgård's
performance "superb."
Behind Blue Skies
While The Hollywood Reporter was impressed by Simple Simon, their review of the second
Bill Skarsgård film to come out in 2010, the '70s satire Behind Blue Skies, wasn't
quite as kind.
"Satirical pokes at Swedish society at the time are unlikely to strike too many chords
overseas.
While there are some appealing performances, the picture seems bound for a cloudy time
beyond home territory."
Still, it wasn't all bad.
Singling Skarsgård out to praise his performance as Martin, a troubled boy with an abusive
father, Variety argued that he "makes the most of a real star turn" in this "joyously
clever take on the coming-of-age story."
Anna Karenina
Making his English-language debut, Skarsgård appeared in a minor supporting role in the
2012 British historical romance Anna Karenina, an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's classic novel
of the same name.
Unfortunately for Skarsgård, the project he chose as his maiden voyage into English
cinema was a story that for years had been deemed impossible to successfully adapt due
to the sprawling nature of the source material.
Reviews were mixed, and the box office results were lukewarm.
Hemlock Grove
Netflix original series Hemlock Grove got off to a great start in 2013, pulling in more
viewers over its release weekend than House of Cards.
Interest in the Eli Roth werewolf thriller soon began to wane, however, and Netflix announced
that the third season would be the its last.
Skarsgård played sulky vampire-like creature Roman Godfrey, who uses his supernatural powers
to get what he wants …
"Shut up and kiss me."
Allegiant
Dystopian teen franchises became big business in Hollywood after The Hunger Games, but they
can't all be blockbusters.
Case in point: The Divergent series, which suffered diminishing returns at the box office
and progressively worse reviews over the course of its first three installments, bottoming
out with 2016's Allegiant.
It was all a learning experience for Skarsgård, who played Matthew, a scientist sympathetic
to the protagonists' cause.
If the franchise failed to live up to expectations, the second-generation star said he used it
as an example of a lesson he'd taken from his father.
"Even if it was the worst, most horrendous production and the movie turned out garbage,
whatever it is, the experience was something that he learned from and he wouldn't want
to live without."
Atomic Blonde
Before terrorizing the kids of Derry, Maine in It, Skarsgård appeared in what he described
as a "small but fun part playing a German punk" in Atomic Blonde, the feature length
adaptation of Antony Johnston's Cold War-set spy thriller graphic novel The Coldest City
starring Charlize Theron.
Atomic Blonde earned largely positive reviews from critics, and it's got franchise potential:
a prequel to The Coldest City entitled The Coldest Winter was published in 2016.
Whether Skarsgård will return remains to be seen.
Either way, expect the brooding Swede to pop up with increasing regularity in Hollywood
over the next few years.
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