MovieChat Forums > Insomnia (1998) Discussion > Who's better than Stellan Skarsgard?

Who's better than Stellan Skarsgard?

posted 17 years ago by groggo
12 replies | jump to latest

In my opinion, Stellan Skarsgard is one of the greatest actors in Western cinema today, a younger version of Max von Sydow's sweeping versatility and cinematic artistry. Skarsgard is just dynamic in everything he does, even when he's playing an American in 'Good Will Hunting'. In 'Breaking the Waves' (Lars von Trier's film), he breaks your heart.

What do you think? Do you rank Skarsgard high on your list? (His performance in 'Insomnia,' in my opinion, was nothing short of brilliant.)

Is there an American actor to match him? I can't think of anybody.

There are tremendous actors in Scandinavia, an astonishing achievement when you consider that the combined population of the four 'Nordic' countries is about one-third that of England. But Scandinavia has a very rich history in the dramatic arts (think of Strindberg, Ibsen and Bergman for starters).

I find it significant that so many of Hollywood's much-in-demand English-speaking actors aren't even American: Michael Caine, Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, Emma Thompson, Geoffrey Rush, Tim Roth, Jeremy Irons, Hugh Jackman, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, Ralph Fiennes, Hugh Grant, Ryan Gosling, Hugh Laurie, Donald & Keifer Sutherland, Anthony Hopkins, Toni Collette, Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman, Clive Owen, Ewan McGregor, Cillian Murphy, Colin Farrell, Christian Bale, Orlando Bloom, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce. The list doesn't seem to end.

Dustin Hoffman, Forest Whitaker, Jodie Foster, Susan Sarandon, Sissy Spacek, Al Pacino, Brad Pitt, Tommie Lee Jones, Denzel Washington and a few others come to mind, but in mind, American actors are lacking.

Anyway, Skarsgard should have won a ton of acting awards by now.

[–] Vladi_lee 17 years ago

Nobody answered your question, that seems to be the answer.

[–] morganseer 17 years ago

Stellan Skarsgard? Oh yeah. All that, and sexy too. No, I don't know of a comparable American actor.

[–] Theo87 17 years ago

i agree that skarsgard is a very good actor but i have to defend the american actors (and i'm not american, so that's not the reason). in addition to those you've named a lot of awesome actors came out of the US. i'm not sure whether they all are americans and i'm too lazy to look them up but here are a couple: robert de niro, marlon brando, harrison ford, james dean, morgan freeman, henry fonda, humphrey bogart, cary grant, gary cooper, kirk douglas... or are you merely talking about actors who are still alive? i'm sorry but all of those are miles better than skarsgard.

also, i'm not sure if it really matters where an actors comes from. why shouldn't english actors get the chance to star in american movies. after all, they all speak the same language.

[–] unclecessna 17 years ago

Harrison Ford better than Skarsgard?? I don't know what your smoking but you should quit....

[–] Theo87 17 years ago

there's a reason why ford has become a star and at least three of his roles became instantly-recognizable icons of pop culture (han solo, indiana jones, and rick deckard). i don't think any other actor can say this of himself. maybe you should start smoking something mind-expanding. it might help.

[–] unclecessna 17 years ago

well I'll say this - he got the Indiana Jones and Deckard roles because other actors either had to pull out or bailed at the last moment.
I doubt that most people in the street would instantly-recognise Han Solo or Rick Deckard as either "icons of pop culture" or anything else for that matter. Indiana Jones is a different story as it's the closest thing Americans have to a James Bond.
Ford is pretty bland and mannered in general and more often than not plays it safe when choosing his roles. The only things that I think Ford is truly worthwhile as an actor in is "the Conversation", "Apocolypse Now" and "Witness".
"Mosquito Coast" was a good effort that didn't pay off.
He's made a career out of playing essentially the same role - grumpy everyman action hero.
When Ford pulls his finger out and actually acts he can be very good like in the films I mentioned. Nowhere near as good as Skarsgard though IMHO.

[–] Theo87 17 years ago

yes, sometimes it bothers me that ford hasn't done more image-challenging roles. but most stars from 40 - 60 years ago haven't done this either, i.e. john wayne and charles bronson. henry fonda was one of the first big stars to really challenge his image with his role in Once Upon a Time in the West. i believe hollywood needs the kind of actors who can play a role better than no one else and stick with it. no question, ford was good in Witness but his screen time in The Conversation and Apocalypse Now was way too limited to have much of an impact on me. have you seen Regarding Henry and Presumed Innocent? he was amazing in those. anyways, i think it takes a lot to create a character who everybody knows. you were right about rick deckard not being instantly recognizable but ford's acting in Blade Runner was awesome all the more. i certainly believe that EVERYBODY would recognize han solo in the street. c'mon, i live in germany and even here everybody knows this guy.

i believe skarsgard is a fine actor but he's not really memorable. he certainly was oustanding in Insomnia but other than that he only left a lasting impression on me in Good Will Hunting. i think we'll never agree on who is the better actor though.

[–] jimmy_miller 17 years ago

Mickey Rourke.

[–] tdglory49 17 years ago

3 actors that are better (and you forgot):

Gary Oldman
Edward Norton
Robert Downey Jr.

Two of them are American, and going by some of the names on your list of non-American actors (Hugh Grant, Ewan McGregor, Kate Beckinsale) there are a lot more American actors you could add to your list:

Robert DeNiro, Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Jeff Bridges, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Ellen Burstyn, Will Smith, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

That's just off of the top of my head. Although I will agree that I can't think of too many young American actresses that are that great. I can think of some tv actresses that are good, but that doesn't necessarily translate.

[–] TheManInOil 16 years ago

He does have a range that few can match. He can play pretty much any type - hero or villain, thug or sophistocate. And he brings an intensity to each role that's compelling. I'd like to see more of him.

"Do you realise that Otto spelled backwards is Otto?"

[–] tmisterb 16 years ago

Totally, totally agree.

[–] redanman 16 years ago

Well, he surely got plenty of attention in Entourage. Maybe we'll see more of him. He is as good as it gets in Insomnia, that's for sure, it introduced me to it when I viewed the original Norwegian after seeing the Hollywood version. Agree, no comparison.