Friday 11th July is the day, the Congress Hallat the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is the venue, 11.00am is the time, an episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast is the reason and the topic of conversation is the stellar career (in every sense) of Stellan Skarsgård who right now is not only coming off the second season of Andor (with every chance of award nominations at the very least coming his way) but also a possible Oscar nomination for his role in Joachim Trier’s dramedy Sentimental Value.
He is being celebrated for a film career that has included standout performances in numerous Lars von Trier projects (1996’s Breaking the Waves, 2000’s Dancer in the Dark, 2003’s Dogville, 2011’s Melancholia and 2013’s Nymphomaniac), as well as 1988’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being, 1990’s The Hunt for Red October, 1997’s Good Will Hunting and 2011’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; the Dune, Pirates of the Caribbean and Mamma Mia! franchises; and several Marvel films. His TV credits include the 2019 limited series Chernobyl, for which he won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy, and the drama series Andor, which ran from 2022 through 2025.
The honor comes at the outset of an awards season that could bring Skarsgård his first Oscar nomination. Indeed, he has received some of the best reviews of his career for his portrayal of a famous filmmaker who has a complicated relationship with his daughters (Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), but has charmed the star of his latest film (Elle Fanning), in Joachim Trier’s dramedy Sentimental Value. It premiered — and was awarded the Grand Prize — at May’s Cannes Film Festival, and will be released by Neon in the U.S. on Nov. 7.
