There’s a good chance you first knew Alexander Skarsgård as one of two things: the occasionally villainous vampire Eric Northman in True Blood, or the eldest child of beloved actor Stellan Skarsgård. Like his father, Skarsgård got his start in Swedish cinema. But after a few parts in films like White Water Fury and Wings of Glass — and a short service in the Swedish Navy — he landed his first Hollywood movie: Zoolander, in which he memorably played one of the titular model’s orange mocha frappuccino–sipping pals.

After a few roles in series like Generation Kill and movies like Kill Your Darlings (2006), he began his stint in the cult-favorite, seven-season vampire series that would launch a major new direction in his career, starting in 2008. Since then, Skarsgård has played a wide variety of characters, showing his range: a US Navy commander in Battleship, a post-jungle king of the jungle in The Legend of Tarzan, a seemingly perfect husband in Big Little Lies, a skeezy prime minister in Long Shot, a disgraced geologist in Godzilla vs. Kong, and a billionaire CEO in Succession. His latest roles — as a documentary director in Charli XCX’s mockumentary, The Moment, and as a BDSM-practicing biker in Pillion opposite Harry Melling — add even more diversity. 

Keep reading to learn about more of Skarsgård’s movies, which are available to watch on Netflix.

The Northman

This period action drama, based on the legend from ancient Danish historian and theologian Saxo Grammaticus’s Gesta Danorum, stars Skarsgård as Amleth, an exiled Viking prince on a quest for revenge. When Amleth was a child, his uncle, Fjölnir (Claes Bang), staged a coup and killed the king (Ethan Hawke). Years later, Amleth, now a near-mythic warrior, returns to claim the throne — and his uncle’s head. Nicole Kidman (The Perfect Couple), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit), Willem Dafoe (Animal Factory), Gustav Lindh (Faithless), and Björk co-star in this movie, co-written and directed by Robert Eggers (Nosferatu).

The Northman

2h 16m   R   2022

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Hold the Dark

Director Jeremy Saulnier’s (Rebel Ridge) 2004-set neo-Western thriller follows Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright), who’s hired by a woman, Medora Slone (Riley Keough), to hunt down a pack of wolves terrorizing her small town in Alaska. When Medora’s husband, Vernon (Skarsgård), returns home from deployment in Iraq, Russell is forced to contend with the family’s troubling dynamics as he unearths just how animalistic humans can become. The movie, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, is based on William Giraldi’s 2014 novel and also stars James Badge Dale (Only the Brave), Tantoo Cardinal (Godless), and Julian Black Antelope (Tribal).

Hold the Dark

2h 5m   TV-MA   2018

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Mute

This tech-noir action flick stars Skarsgård as Leo, a bartender in a bustling, near-future city who was rendered mute after a childhood accident. When his girlfriend, Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh), goes missing, Leo tracks her down while juggling a host of eccentric characters, including Paul Rudd (Living with Yourself) and Justin Theroux (Running Point) as Cactus Bill and Duck, respectively, a pair of fast-talking black market surgeons who are quick to tell a joke — and end up at the center of the mystery. Robert Sheehan (The Umbrella Academy), Noel Clarke (Brotherhood), Florence Kasumba (Kitz), and Dominic Monaghan (Moonhaven) also star.

Mute

2h 6m   TV-MA   2018

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Passing

Based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel, this historical drama follows two former childhood friends, both Black, who are reunited by accident in New York City in the 1920s. Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) is shocked to learn that her long-lost friend, Clare Bellew (Ruth Negga), is now “passing” and living as a white woman — and even married a racist white man (Skarsgård), who is unaware of his wife’s true racial identity. But Clare underestimated how much she missed her friend and the Black community that raised her, and soon risks her new life to reunite with them. Negga was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in this film, which also stars André Holland (The Eddy), Bill Camp (Wildlife), Gbenga Akinnagbe (A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE), and Antoinette Crowe-Legacy (Godfather of Harlem).

Passing

1h 39m   PG-13   2021

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