Alexander Skarsgård Was Too Hot To Be Taken Seriously

As someone who writes about the entertainment industry and has been around his share of famous people (yeah, I’ve met Chris Kattan, no big deal), the question I’ve been asked by friends maybe more than any other is: who is the most attractive actor or actress you’ve ever met? Without a moment’s hesitation, I always answer Alexander Skarsgård. There’s a reason he’s playing a ripped viking in The Northman and I’m… me.

Skarsgård has been named Sweden’s Sexiest Man Alive five times, but his tall handsomeness proved to be a deterrent to sustained success early in his career. “I don’t really know if that was the reason I wasn’t getting roles. Starting out in Sweden, there was stuff about being tall and blond. But most people here are tall and blond,” he told the Sunday Times. “Still, after my first job, I was on a stupid ‘sexy hunky hot list’ and then people didn’t take me seriously. If you want characters with depth but have been labeled ‘a dude who takes his shirt off,’ you’re not going to get those offers.”

Things changed for Skarsgård when he was cast in HBO’s Generation Kill miniseries in 2008, the same year that True Blood also premiered. A decade-plus later after “questioning why I was in the industry,” he’s in both dumb, fun movies where a giant lizard beats up a big monkey (Godzilla v. Kong) and historical epics from acclaimed indie directors (The Northman), all the while managing to retain his sexy, hunky hotness.