Vamp’s true bloodline Meet Alex Skarsgard and his brothers, the Swedish Baldwins

Vamp’s true bloodline
Meet Alex Skarsgard and his brothers, the Swedish Baldwins




Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard has been a hot item ever since HBO gave us a double dose of him in “Generation Kill” and “True Blood,” which returns to HBO next Sunday. But the sexy vampire du jour is not a solo act. It turns out there’s a whole clan of actor Skarsgards back in the old country — the Nordic Baldwins!

Basically, you can’t swing a dead cat in the Swedish entertainment biz without hitting a Skarsgard.

“They are definitely considered acting royalty,” says Swedish writer Jan Gradvall. “Remarkably enough, they seem to be liked by everyone in Sweden. All of them are nonpretentious and easygoing.”

What’s more, their father is Stellan Skarsgard, one of Sweden’s most famous actors. You know him — depending on your taste — from “Good Will Hunting,” the films of Lars von Trier, the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies (he played Bootstrap Bill) or his guest spot as the volatile director Verner on “Entourage.”

Stellan has seven kids, the youngest of whom was born last April (and has not yet declared his intentions regarding an acting career). But the rest are teenage or older, and they’re a physically impressive bunch, all strapping height and chiseled cheekbones. The Skarsgard brothers also include:

Gustaf, 29 The closest successor to Alexander. Already has a blossoming career as an actor in Sweden and will be on our shores soon. He’ll make his major English-speaking debut later this year in Peter Weir’s “The Way Back,” alongside Colin Farrell and Ed Harris, as a WWII soldier escaping from a Siberian gulag. Also appears with Alexander this year in the Swedish film “Trust Me.”

Samuel, 28 Hasn’t spent much time in front of the camera — his one appearance so far was in 1987’s Swedish film “Jim and the Pirates,” which also featured his dad (playing a character named Gustav, no less) and a rare cameo by his mom, My Skarsgard (playing a character named Mother). He’s worked as a production assistant on a couple of other movies and definitely has the looks to get back in the game if he wants to.

Bill, 19 Made his debut in the 2000 movie “White Water Fury” alongside big brother Alexander. Has since appeared in several Swedish movies and TV shows. On the horizon for later this year is the big-budget Swedish film “Behind Blue Skies.”

Valter, 14 Has already been in four Swedish movies; two of them were the “Arn” fantasy series (“The Knight Templar” and “The Kingdom at Road’s End”), which also starred Gustaf, Bill and Stellan.

So far, sister Eija, 18, has stuck to modeling.