Alexander Skarsgård Has Been Taking His Shirt Off On Screen For 18 Years And Somehow It Keeps Getting Better
Alexander Skarsgård has spent nearly two decades building one of the most respected careers in Hollywood. He’s also spent a fair chunk of that time without a shirt on. The 49-year-old Swede has said he doesn’t mind nudity, and frankly, neither do we. From vikings and vampires to Tarzan and a murderous robot, here’s every role where Skarsgård blessed our screens with a wardrobe-optional performance.
Brad “Iceman” Colbert in Generation Kill (2008)
Before most of the world knew his name, Skarsgård played a laconic Marine sergeant in HBO’s Iraq War miniseries. It was his first major American role, and the first time US audiences got a look at what was hiding under that body armour. David Simon clearly knew what he was doing with that casting.
Eric Northman in True Blood (2008–2014)
Six seasons as a thousand-year-old Viking vampire gave Skarsgård plenty of opportunities to lose his clothing. Eric Northman became the role that made him a household name, and specific scenes are seared into collective memory: the naked snow-covered mountaintop reading session, the fantasy butt sex scene with Ryan Kwanten as the local deputy sheriff, and basically every interaction he had with anyone. The man spent more time shirtless than clothed, and we were all better for it.
Tarzan in The Legend of Tarzan (2016)
This is the one that required a full physical overhaul. Skarsgård trained for four months, gained over 11 kilograms of muscle, and ate 7,000 calories a day to become the king of the jungle. He told interviewers he didn’t want to “look like a bodybuilder,” insisting every muscle had to look like it served a purpose. The result spoke for itself. Have you ever seen abs with their own lighting? Because that’s what happened here.
Perry Wright in Big Little Lies (2017–2019)
A darker turn. Perry Wright was a violent, abusive husband, and the nudity in Big Little Lies served the story rather than the audience’s thirst. Skarsgård called the nude scenes “quite liberating” in an interview with W. He won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for the role, proof that he’s far more than the “sexy hunky guy” label he’s been trying to shake for years.
Amleth in The Northman (2022)
Robert Eggers’ brutal Viking revenge epic required Skarsgård to be shirtless for most of the film’s battle sequences, and fully naked for the climactic volcano fight scene. He kept the thong he wore during filming as a wrap gift. Historically, Vikings reportedly stripped before battle to intimidate opponents, which tracks. If you looked like that, you’d want people to know.
Murderbot in Murderbot (2025–present)
A socially awkward security android who’d rather watch soap operas than deal with humans. Skarsgård waxed his entire body for the part (and later said he regretted it) to achieve that smooth, not-quite-human look. The show features a full-frontal scene in the pilot, though Murderbot is anatomically smooth, being a robot and all. It’s somehow both the most and least sexy he’s ever been on screen. The show holds a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so clearly the performance goes well beyond the physical.
Ray in Pillion (2026)
And then there’s Pillion. Skarsgård plays Ray, a stoic, impossibly built biker who draws a timid younger man (Harry Melling) into an intense dom/sub relationship. He spends much of the film in a chest-baring leather bodysuit, looking, as one critic put it, “even more like a Nordic god than usual.” It’s his first explicitly queer role, it’s directed by Harry Lighton, it’s based on Adam Mars-Jones’ novel Box Hill, and A24 released it. For the DNA readership, this one was made for us.
Skarsgård once told Variety that being put on “sexy hunky hot lists” actually cost him roles because directors stopped taking him seriously. That’s their loss. The man has a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and a filmography that ranges from Lars von Trier art films to Marvel blockbusters. The fact that he looks like that while doing all of it? Just a bonus.
