We have a new Skarsgård to obsess over.
With his ghastly white makeup, unsettling gaze and raspy voice, Pennywise the Dancing Clown has been haunting audiences worldwide ever since ‘It’ premiered last week.
However, Pennywise’s tricks aren’t the only reason we’re losing our minds – you can thank Its actor, Bill Skarsgård, for that.
Those brave enough to peer beneath the layers of prosthetics know that our favourite child-eating, sewer-dwelling monster-clown is actually, um, hot.
Standing at an imposing 192cm and possessing the razor-sharp cheekbones of a Scandinavian male model (which he also is), Bill looks more like the stuff of your daydreams than the fuel for your nightmares.
You know you want more of him. Here are four quintessential films and TV shows to quench your Skarsgård thirst.
1. Atomic Blonde (2017)
Touted as a female version of ‘John Wick’, ‘Atomic Blonde’ is a spy thriller starring Charlize Theron as an MI6 field agent tasked with uncovering double agents during the Cold War. In the film, Bill has a “small but fun part playing a German punk who gets shit done” as Merkel, a stylishly-dressed CIA mission assistant to Theron’s character.
(The link in that quote leads to a fashion photo shoot and interview Skarsgård did earlier this year with menswear brand Mr Porter. You’re welcome.)
2. Hemlock Grove (2013 – 2015)
Bill first scared audiences on the small screen in Netflix horror web television series ‘Hemlock Grove’, which ran for three seasons from 2013 to 2015. Based on the novel of the same name, ‘Hemlock Grove’ centred on supernatural occurrences in a small town. Bill played arrogant and privileged high-schooler Roman Godfrey, who discovers that he is an Upir, a vampire from Slavic and Russian folklore. This would explain his brother.
The series is not for the faint-hearted, featuring violent and disturbing scenes as well as elements of body horror. Wait, that sounds familiar…
3. Simple Simon (2010)
In this light-hearted comedy, Bill plays Simon, an 18-year-old boy with Asperger’s Syndrome who embarks on a quest to find his older brother a girlfriend. Whimsical and delightful, it was Sweden’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards.
Fun fact: Simon’s older brother is played by Martin Wallström, best known to audiences as Tyrell Wellick, the power-crazed villain of hit TV series ‘Mr. Robot’. Wallström is also a beautiful Swedish man.
4. Allegiant (2016)
In his big screen Hollywood debut, Bill starred alongside Shailene Woodley in the third instalment of the ‘Divergent’ trilogy. He played Matthew, a scientist who researches serums in the Bureau of Genetic Welfare, and becomes an aide to the rebellion.
If you’re crying over the Skarsgård-shaped hole in your heart, don’t — he’ll be back soon in ‘Castle Rock’ next year. The limited Hulu series is based on stories by Stephen King, and that combination has already worked well once. Maybe this one will float too.
You must be logged in to post a comment.