Stellan Skarsgård is a celebrated Swedish actor whose career spans more than five decades across European and Hollywood cinema. He first gained attention in Scandinavia before becoming an international screen presence in films such as Breaking the Waves and Good Will Hunting. He went on to deliver acclaimed performances in movies like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Dune, Dune Part 2, and television series like Andor and Chernobyl. In his latest, Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, Skarsgård gifts us with perhaps his most robust and richest work in the form of Gustav, a once-prominent filmmaker struggling to mend fractured ties with his daughters. On this episode, he details the environment Trier created, through love, attention, and enthusiasm, that laid the tracks for that work to travel. He talks about the importance of “sabotaging your tools,” why he’s careful not to infect a director’s vision, the emotional agility necessary for working with David Fincher, why relief from being an “acting addict” doesn’t interest him, and much more!
Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify. And if you’re enjoying what you are hearing, please subscribe and rate us! Follow Back To One on Instagram.
Follow Back To One on Substack.