Stellan Skarsgård's Real Name: Stellan John Skarsgård

Quick answer: Stellan Skarsgård's full name is Stellan John Skarsgård. He was born on June 13, 1951, in Gothenburg (Göteborg), Sweden, and works under Stellan Skarsgård—the civil form of his birth name.

Real name and early life

Library of Congress name authority and TV Guide identify Stellan Skarsgård (fuller forms include Stellan John), born June 13, 1951, in Gothenburg, Sweden (LOC; TV Guide). Skarsgård is the family surname; Stellan and John are given and middle names. A Swedish teen television star via Bombi Bitt och jag, he built a long stage and screen career at home before international directors recruited him.

Career highlights

Lars von Trier’s Breaking the Waves (1996) opened Hollywood doors. English-language credits include Good Will Hunting, Amistad, Pirates of the Caribbean (Bootstrap Bill Turner), Mamma Mia! and its sequel, HBO’s Chernobyl (as Boris Shcherbina), and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune and Dune: Part Two. He is the father of actors including Alexander, Gustaf, Bill, and Valter Skarsgård. Across Swedish and Hollywood work, billing stayed Stellan Skarsgård; the documented full name is Stellan John Skarsgård.

Major entertainment biographies and library name authorities remain the best check when fan sites disagree on middle names or early credits.

Profiles aimed at general readers sometimes omit middle names; this page restores them from the cited authorities.

Search interest in real-name queries often spikes around new releases, awards seasons, or anniversary coverage of signature roles.

Contemporary trade press and newspaper features repeatedly confirm the same civil or birth name used throughout this profile.

Spelling and order of given names follow the highest-trust citations listed under Sources rather than unsourced social posts.

Name notes for searchers

The å in Skarsgård is often simplified to “Skarsgard” in English URLs and ASCII databases; both refer to the same surname. Prefer LOC and TV Guide for the John middle name when stubs omit it.