Stellan Skarsgård says he was ‘flabbergasted’ by male attention after going out in drag
Skarsgård said he now knows how "seductive and also objectifying" it is to be a woman
By Aaron Sugg
Stellan Skarsgård detailed the first time he got into drag, borrowing a girlfriend’s clothes and going out, where he attracted the attention of young male suitors.
Best known for his role as Bill in the Mamma Mia films and as Baron Harkonnen in Dune, Stellan began his acting career in theatre, obtaining his first professional theatre job at age 13.
The Swedish actor spoke about his rise to the big screen in an interview with New York Times, highlighting that each of his roles looks completely different.
“I come from theatre, so you’re used to wigs” – Stellan Skarsgård on film costume
“The last four projects I’ve done, I look completely different,” he said. “From the fat guy in Dune to the wigs in Andor and this one [Sentimental Value].”
He recalled: “I come from theatre, so you’re used to wigs and doing several different characters… There’s a childish satisfaction of becoming an invented person.”
Earlier this year, at 74 years old, he made another notable character transformation as he revisited his drag fantasy in a photo shoot for W magazine.
“I put socks in the bra and put on makeup and went out” – Stellan recalls the moment he first got in to drag
Inspired by his son, Pillion star Alexander Skarsgård, who appeared in full drag at the 2015 premiere of his film The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Stellan reflected on his younger self: “I dressed the first time in drag when I was 15 years old.”
He explained: “I just borrowed a girlfriend’s clothes, and I put socks in the bra and put on makeup and went out.”
He recalled being “flabbergasted” by the attention he received from young men, admitting he now knows how “seductive and also objectifying” it is to be a woman.
Whilst Stellan has reportedly never played any prominent gay roles in film, his son Alexander stole the show in the 2025 gay biker kink film Pillion.
“No notes from daddy” – Alexander Skarsgård watching Pillion with his father
Alexander plays the loving biker leader Ray, who takes a liking to submissive Colin, played by Harry Potter actor Harry Melling, as the pair enter a sub/dom relationship.
Alexander watched the film, which includes several explicit sex scenes, with his father at the 69th BFI London Film Festival, where Stellan praised his son’s performance.
He told On Demand Entertainment that his father had no notes on the performance: “No notes from daddy. He really enjoyed it. It meant a lot to me because it’s very dear to me, this film.”
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