Bill Skarsgård’s role as the protagonist in The Crow, a new adaptation of James O'Barr's comic, might be one of the best representations of his qualities as an actor: a figure who can generate sympathy, but also inspire terror, while executing impressive action sequences. He achieves this as Eric, the vengeful soul condemned to live until brutal and ruthless justice is served.
Even in more conventional dramatic roles, Skarsgård manages to be disturbingly vulnerable. In The Devil All the Time, an adaptation of Donald Ray Pollock’s novel of the same name, he plays Willard, a man who has seen the horrors of war, but must surrender his heart and faith in a futile attempt to save his dying wife. However, he is consumed in the process, becoming a violent and oppressive figure.
Thanks to his versatility (and a peculiar talent for moving his eyes in ways that shouldn’t be possible), Bill Skarsgård has particularly shined in the horror genre. Faced with the unenviable task of embodying the terrifying clown Pennywise in a new adaptation of Stephen King’s It, the actor manages to hold his own against the legendary Tim Curry, who immortalized the character in the TV miniseries.
His reputation in horror has been so strong that the actor was given the opportunity to play another one of cinema’s most famous monsters, his original vampire and one of the most iconic in history: Count Orlok from Nosferatu, in its third version now directed by Robert Eggers. And as the trailers suggest, the actor’s unique physicality will play a defining role in his interpretation.
As hinted by The Crow, the actor has also made his mark in action films, and has managed to be both loved and hated. In John Wick: Chapter 4, it’s the latter, not so much through combat, but by sending legions of assassins and other obstacles at Keanu Reeves' protagonist. All without scruples or consideration for collateral victims.