Alexander Skarsgård:
a study in contrasts

Life could have turned out very differently for Alexander Skarsgård had his younger self got his way. ‘My goal was to work in an office. I wanted to wear a suit and have a briefcase’, the actor reveals, recalling his early teenage dreams to distance himself from the Skarsgård family legacy. Luckily, like any great story arc, things worked out for the best. The Swedish star has, since his breakout on cult vampire drama True Blood, brought us some of the most nuanced character studies of recent years, from his Emmy award-winning role in Big Little Lies to the multi-faceted, mild-mannered Ray in the queer rom-com Pillion.  

However, Skarsgård’s talents span far beyond the realm of his acting credits. Unexpectedly, perhaps, it has been his ability to blur the lines between his on- and off-screen personas that has grabbed even more real estate in the current cultural landscape. Typically known for his considered personal style – he has a ‘one in, one out’ wardrobe policy – the actor’s cheeky red-carpet looks of leather thigh-high boots and backless halternecks have gone viral. This sartorial self-fashioning has become a kind of performance in itself, sparking wider conversations on the nature of creative fluidity, vulnerability and style. ‘It's not like I show up to the red carpet or to an event as my character from the movie but it is an opportunity to be inspired by and celebrate the theme of the film’, he explains. ‘Fashion is inspiring and creative.’ By happy accident, the actor has since become the poster boy for pushing the limits of personal taste and having fun with fashion.  

We sat down with Alexander following the COS Spring Summer 2026 campaign shoot to discuss his journey into acting, his capsule wardrobe and why he believes, contrary to his bolder choices, that there’s no such thing as method-dressing. 

ON HIS JOURNEY INTO ACTING 

‘As a teenager, my journey was to rebel against my creative family. My father's an actor, but my extended family are mostly people who work creative jobs; painters, composers, authors. I remember as a teenager loving them as individuals but wanting to go in a different direction. My goal was to work in an office. I wanted to wear a suit and have a briefcase.’  

ON EXPECTATIONS 

‘I was sick of people going, “Oh, you're going to be an actor like your father.” I was desperately trying to find something else to do that was far from that world. I think that's why I studied political science at school, I joined the military and I moved to Leeds for a while to study English. My journey was several years of desperately trying to find something else to do and then caving in, giving up and ending up following in my dad's footsteps anyway!’ 

ON THE POWER OF COMEDY 

‘I loved comedies when I was younger. I still do. I was very excited and inspired by a lot of comedians. We had old VHS cassettes of the Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. I'm a child of the ‘80s, so also a lot of the big comedians like Chevy Chase and Steve Martin inspired me a lot.’  

ON VARIETY 

‘I can't pinpoint one thing that's consistent in all the projects that I've gravitated towards. It's so dependent on where I'm at in life, what I've just come off. If I've done something really intense and dark, I tend to gravitate towards lighter, more fun projects and vice versa. The question that I try to answer when I read a script is: ‘How badly do I want to spend two years with this character?’ 

After Pillion, I did two films that I'm going to Sundance with, one called Wicker, in which I play a character made completely out of wicker. And then The Moment with Charli XCX, which is a mockumentary about the aftermath of the Brat summer. So, two tonally very different projects!’ 

ON BEING ALLOWED TO FAIL 

‘It’s very important for me to feel emotionally safe on a set. I need to feel that I can be horrifically bad, but it's okay! That there's room for taking risks and trying something in a scene, even if I think that it might be terrible. I think it's important to feel that you're creatively protected. If you're on autopilot, or when there's no sense of discovery or evolution, that would scare me a lot.’ 

ON HIS TIGHTLY EDITED WARDROBE 

‘I have a capsule wardrobe. After living on the road for many years, I like the idea of having my stuff in one suitcase that I can bring, and that there's versatility to the pieces that I can mix and match.  

I want each and every piece to mean something to me. I want it to be something that I know that I'm going to love and wear for a long time. I don't go out and shop for a lot of clothes. In our society we're consuming a lot of goods and clothes that we wear once and then discard. I have a one in, one out policy. I don't want to accumulate. 

I own a COS cashmere knit that I bought six years ago. I know it doesn't sound a lot, but it's a key piece of my knitwear arsenal, and I wear it all the time. I love it.’ 

ON THE COS SS26 COLLECTION 

‘On the shoot I discovered a lot of great pieces. What I love about them is when you put them on and feel them, they’re quality, they’re well made. I could mix and match them with other pieces easily and would get some mileage. COS is the sweet spot where you can buy well-made, beautiful clothes that you’ll wear for a long time.’ 

ON DRESSING HIS CHARACTERS 

‘When I played Lukas Matsson on Succession, we were having a hard time finding the character in terms of the clothes that Lucas would wear. For one of my first scenes on the show, the Roys come to see me for a negotiation. I knew that they would be dressed in really luxury attire. The costume designer and I tried a bunch of things together for my character in the morning and nothing felt really right. Then I asked, ‘What if I just wear my own clothes, like an old $15 T-shirt, a pair of slacks and rubber slides?’ That's what my character ended up wearing in the scene and it makes for an interesting power play.’ 

ON METHOD DRESSING 

‘I don't subscribe to method dressing. These past couple of months, we've been going to film festivals with Pillion. But it's not like I show up to the red carpet or to an event as Ray, my character from the movie. Instead, it is an opportunity to be inspired and to celebrate the theme of the film. I really enjoyed that because fashion can be really inspiring and creative. I get my fix of that on the press tour where I can have a bit more fun and go for something a bit more playful and daring. It’s been a fun contrast to my everyday wardrobe.’