Ever since Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård appeared as vampire Eric Northman on HBO’s “True Blood”—the role he was born to play, in my opinion—he has left fans wanting more. And lucky for his fans, the blonde Skarsgård brother has continued choosing one good role after another, many of which started on the page.

With his recent roles in “Wicker” and “Pillion,” it seems the perfect time to look at his book-to-screen life.

The oldest son of actor Stellan Skarsgård (“Dune,” “Dune: Part Two”) and doctor My Skarsgård, Alexander comes from a talented family. The other actors in the family include Gustaf (“Vikings”), Bill (“It”), Valter (“Black Lake”) and his half-brother Kolbjörn.

Although most people think “True Blood” was the first role to put Skarsgård on the map, he appeared a few months prior, in July 2008, in another HBO series—“Generation Kill.” He played Sgt. Brad “Iceman” Colbert in the war series alongside Marc Menchaca, Jon Huertas and Wilson Bethel. The miniseries was based on Evan Wright’s 2004 book “Generation Kill.”

On Sept. 7, 2008, “True Blood” premiered on HBO and ran for seven seasons through 2014. Skarsgård’s vampire Eric, sheriff of Area 5 and owner of the bar Fangtasia, didn’t appear until Episode 4. For fans, it was love at first bite.

The series was based on Charlaine Harris’ “The Southern Vampire Mysteries” series, which she began writing in 2001. The popular series includes 13 novels and several short stories.

Afterward, Skarsgård starred in several smaller films based on books: 2013’s “What Maisie Knew,” based on the 1897 novel of the same name by Henry James; 2014’s “The Giver,” based on Lois Lowry’s 1993 book, and 2015’s “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” based on Phoebe Gloeckner’s 2002 graphic novel.

In 2016, Skarsgård donned long locks and embodied Tarzan/John Clayton in “The Legend of Tarzan.” This film was based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan novels, beginning with 1912’s “Tarzan of the Apes.” Margot Robbie played Tarzan’s Jane. Actors Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz and Djimon Hounsou were also in the cast. Skarsgård joined the ranks of other live-action Tarzans, including Elmo Lincoln, Frank Merrill, Christopher Lambert, Casper Van Dien and Travis Fimmel.

Skarsgård played Celeste’s (Nicole Kidman) husband Perry Wright in 2017’s successful limited series “Big Little Lies,” based on the 2014 thriller by Liane Moriarty. He appeared in Season 2 of the hit show as well. The story follows five women known as the Monterey Five: Celeste, Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Bonnie (Zoë Kravitz), Jane (Shailene Woodley) and Renata (Laura Dern). David E. Kelley created and executive produced the series.

Skarsgård followed “Big Little Lies” up with three book-to-screen projects: 2018’s “Hold the Dark,” based on William Giraldi’s 2014 book, 2018’s “The Little Drummer Girl,” based on the 1983 book by John le Carré and 2019’s “The Aftermath,” based on the book by Rhidian Brook.

Skarsgård joined the Stephen King universe as villain Randall Flagg in 2020’s “The Stand.” The character, a sorcerer, has appeared in several of King’s novels, sometimes under other aliases. The role has also been played by Jamey Sheridan and Matthew McConaughey.

In 2021, he starred as John Bellew, Clare’s (Ruth Negga) racist husband, in “Passing.” The film is based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel. It was written and directed by Rebecca Hall (“The Listeners”) and stars Tessa Thompson as Irene, who finds out her childhood friend Clare has been passing as white.

Skarsgård continued his adaptation streak as the titular Murderbot in Apple TV’s 2025 series based on “The Murderbot Diaries” by Martha Wells. The series has been picked up for a second season. The sci-fi comedy-thriller follows a self-hacked security construct (Skarsgård), who dislikes human emotion but is drawn to its clients. The ensemble cast includes Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tattiawna Jones and Tamara Podemski.

Season 2 adds Martha Plimpton, Wanda Sykes, Tramell Tillman, Bridget Everett, Michael Sheen, Steve Buscemi, Patton Oswalt, Blair Underwood, Brendan Hunt and more.

In February 2026, dreams were made when Skarsgård starred as dominant biker Ray in “Pillion,” based on the 2020 book “Box Hill” by Adam Mars-Jones. The story centers on a relationship within the 1970s gay biker community and explores a BDSM romance between Ray and Colin (Harry Melling).

In October, the SkarsGod had another non-human role, which was great fodder for memes. He played Olivia Colman’s character’s wicker husband in the comedic fantasy film “Wicker.” Based on Ursula Wills-Jones’ 2008 short story “The Wicker Husband,” the movie also starred Peter Dinklage, Elizabeth Debicki and Richard E. Grant.

For such a classically attractive actor, Skarsgård could easily stick to handsome leading man roles. Instead, he has played a diverse group of literary characters. After starring as a vampire, a sorcerer, a man raised in the jungle, a robot, a 1970s biker and a wicker husband, it’s not a stretch to think his next literary role will be something memorable.