Bill Skarsgard and the other stars in IT Chapter 2 don’t need to promote it at all. IT 2 will be a huge hit no matter what, and despite the runtime. I think movies should be an hour and forty five minutes long tops, maybe two if there’s a lot of story. It’s too much to have to sit in a theater for over two hours at this point, but IT Chapter 2 is two hours and 49 minutes long! (I really wanted to put that in all caps.) Edit your movies! I know that End Game made a bajillion dollars and that IT 2 will as well, but a nearly three hour runtime is so indulgent. Advance reviews are largely positive, but say that it’s too long and falls apart in the last half. Less is more.
Anyway Bill is covering CR Men, a division of CR Fashion Book. I can’t find the interview online, but I’ve found some out of context quotes in other sources.
On acting: Acting is a very expensive way of letting that inner child play again.
On driving around Hollywood with Pennywise makeup on after his second audition: [It was] a metaphor for what the profession of acting feels like.
On how he describes himself: [I’m] a bit strange but definitely not an outsider.
American vs. Swedish actors:In America, stars are taught to say they are boring, but they don’t expect us to believe them. I prefer the Swedish system. It prizes actors as craftsmen, not as celebrities.
[From CRFashionBook via Just Jared and Page Six]
I lived in Germany for a few years and really noticed the difference in how celebrities were treated there. It’s not so much the system as the general culture, which doesn’t hype things like we do in America. Americans can put a lot of emotion, exaggeration and drama into things that Germans see in a more practical, matter-of-fact way. I haven’t spent time in Scandinavia, but I believe it’s similar. Their celebrity culture doesn’t elevate them like we do because their culture is just more low key. German shows were like that too. Their reality shows seemed boring to me because they were more slice of life and not as ridiculous as our shows can be.
As for Bill, I like that he realizes he’s not an outsider, since his dad, Stellan, and his brother, Alex, are both internationally known. You can see that he’s carving a career for himself as a craftsman. He’s not on social media, he’s not hyping himself much, and we know barely anything about his personal life. (He has a one-year-old child with Swedish actress Aida Morberg. He’s been with her for years, but it was hard to find out much about them.) I respect that, as much as I’d like to know more about him. He’s only 29! He could easily be a heartthrob, but he’s focusing on his work. Also, I just realized how telling that quote about wearing his Pennywise makeup is. He feels like he’s wearing a mask in his profession in general, like he can’t be himself.
Here’s a trailer for Villains, Bill’s movie with Maika Monroe (It Follows), Kyra Sedgwick and Jeffrey Donovan. It’s out September 20th and looks amazing! I so want to see this.
These men!!
Embed from Getty Images
photos via CR Look Book and credit: Getty
I wonder how these differences in regional culture and values develop. Is it the weather? Shared history? Anyway, I think he has a very healthy perspective.
Their father is an amazing actor. I loved the TV series “River”.
Me too – loved that series…..He was also great in Chernobyl.
The way people elevates celebrities to gods is scary and unhealthy.
Lena you got comment of the week in the podcast! That post will go up shortly.
Haha it’s really sweet! Thanks a lot. I listen to the podcast every week when I go to work. Can’t wait for the next one then.
This. And it’s why we have stan culture and Trump as President.
Absolutely. It’s almost as if some people create their own gods in the form of celebrities and celebrity worship is a new religion.
That movie looks GREAT!
I really like him as an actor, and he’s picking interesting projects. The movie with Kyra Sedgwick looks crazy but good, and I’m glad to see her too.
Almost 3 hours for It 2? Ugh.
He is so beautiful and so terrifying all at once. Absolutely brilliant in Castle Rock.
he is so, so pretty…and in make up as Pennywise scary AF!!!
I just came back from a trip to Sweden. It’s an amazing country and I can totally see what he’s saying. Very level-minded people, very inclusive, tolerant and respectful in general.
I loved it.
Lived there love the place and the people,such a laid back atmosphere,outdoorsy and very into sports,I thought the people were genuinely kind and hospitable.Most beautiful country I’ve traveled to.Agree that their celebrities are not worshipped by fans the same as we do in US.
I have no idea how I will sit through the movie but I! Will! Do! IT!!! As for Bill, I absolutely love him. He’s so gorgeous and talented. I also love everything he says here (which he has been saying for years).
Too bad he’s an ass irl (most people in Stockholm regard him and Gustaf as the “pretentious” full of themselves ones compared to the rest of the fam).
Not true. Where did you read that? They are all very nice.
I didn’t read that. I know it, as I lived in Stockholm for almost six years (in Södermalm where the whole family lives) and just moved back to the US last year.
Lina, what about Stellan, Alex, Sam, Eija and Valter? Are they arrogant and stuck up too?
I’ve not heard this,and I’ve many friends and family in Sweden,do you mean just him or him and entire family?
His brother Gustaf is also an actor – played Floki on Vikings and was in Westworld . Stellan Skarsgard has 8 kids, so there are a lot more potential actors to come from that family!
he has such a mesmerizing quality to him. like – you just cannot stop looking at him.
i feel the same thing about kristen stewart. she is compelling to watch – not necessarily b/c she is a good actress (although i think she is) but b/c she has this intangible magnetism.
For real? When I see Kristen Stewart on screen I feel nothing but a deep, deep desire to go to sleep.
i personally find her visually striking. i find her magnetic on screen and in photos but particularly in movement…despite being subdued. in my opinion he has the same quality.
@Lizzie I agree. I think Kristen is mesmerizing. I just saw Equals and good lord is she stunning in that.
His lips can get it.
Not entirely true. Everything just happens on a smaller scale, and tabloids are busy writing about international stars. But sure, it’s not as crazy as in the US. There’s not that much money in the movies and theater either in Europe.
Exactly. The Swedish tabs right now (like Expressen) even have a write-up of their sister’s wedding that happened this weekend. Everything in Sweden is just on a smaller scale, so not as in your face, but it all still exists.
I don’t mind long movies as long as the pace is good. But I’m a movie buff so that may be why.
Is it also because of the money? I don’t know for Sweden, but in Croatia the best thing you can hope for as an actor is to get a permanent spot at a theatre ( preferably a state one because salaries and pensions are higher) and earn pretty much an avarage salary. People who do movies and commercials earn more but they’re still not millionaires, not even close. So the lifestyle they lead is not different from the lifestyle of the average person.
This is apropos of nothing, but hot damn Bill Skarsgard makes my heart race. I have no idea why I have such a massive physical reaction to him. I find him gorgeous and utterly mesmerizing to look at, especially in video. I never saw him in anything until Hemlock Grove, and I was so bummed when I finished binging that series!
Anyone else? I mean….he’s gorgeous, right? It’s just me??
No not just you. He does crazy things to me too! I think he is so insanely gorgeous. Castle Rock was my first viewing of Bill and then I got straight onto Hemlock Grove. Yum.
Think he looks like Chucky Therons little brother. Lots.