Stellan Skarsgård has revealed that his youngest son gets bullied and called a nepo baby at school by “cruel kids” as he comes from a prolific family of actors.
The Mamma Mia actor was in a new interview if he considers his children to be nepo babies, since several are actors.
“No. I consider myself a nepo daddy because I get so much goodwill and maybe jobs because of them,” Skarsgård told Vulture.
Six of his eight children have followed in his footsteps, going on to become actors themselves, including his eldest, Alexander (True Blood, Big Little Lies), Gustaf (Vikings, Black Bag), and Bill, who is the star of the It franchise.
“I don’t know. I know that they haven’t recommended me for anything, because I didn’t recommend them for anything,” he replied when asked if he really did get work because of his kids.
His youngest son Kolbjörn, on the other hand, does suffer for being part of the talented family, Skarsgård revealed.
“My 13-year-old, Kolbjörn, the youngest, suffers from that,” Skarsgård said. “When his pals at school call him nepo baby, he gets so sad. He doesn’t have any friends at school. He gets isolated. Cruel kids – or cruel and ignorant. But it is such a bullshit thing. Because nobody would hire you, at least not for anything good, if you’re not good enough.”
Nepo is short for nepotism, which the Oxford Dictionary defines as “giving unfair advantages to your own family if you are in a position of power, especially by giving them jobs”.
Kolbjörn is currently starring in the Swedish TV show Blood Cruise. He debuted in 2022 with Netflix series Clark, playing the nine-year-old version of Clark Olofsson. His half-brother Bill Skarsgård played the adult version of the character.
“With all my eight kids, there’s one thing I’ve been afraid of every time I have a new kid. Not that they have Down syndrome or they’re autistic…that they’re boring. Luckily, none of them were,” he said.
He added that he has a “very good relationship” with all his children, and doesn’t believe he needs to be put on a pedestal.
“They have no respect for me just because I’m their father. Because that’s bulls***,” he said. “I don’t demand respect for being a father. I demand respect for a good idea or if I do something well or if I create something for them.”
The 74-year-old Good Will Hunting star, who currently features in Joachim Trier’s newest comedy drama, Sentimental Value, also talked about the challenges he’s faced since suffering a stroke three years ago.
Skarsgård said he found his language and ability to have a discussion had become “weaker” since the stroke.
“One of the Swedish papers had a big article with a picture of me saying that I was supporting antisemitism. The usual,” he said, referring to the backlash to his decision to donate to a fundraiser for humanitarian aid to Palestine.
“But every night, I think about it. Every night. Since I had the stroke, my argumentation is much weaker. My language is weaker. I feel that I cannot fight. I can’t have a discussion,” Skarsgård said, admitting that the stroke left him “really scared”.
Skarsgård revealed in January that the stroke affected some of his mental faculties, forcing him to utilise new technology now when he films.
Explaining the technology he used while working on Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, Skarsgård said: “They have earpieces where you have a prompter that says the line,” he explained. “It’s not enough because I have my rhythm. They have to say their line on top of my line for me to be able to answer it. They have to say it very fast, very neutral. It takes a lot of training for that guy.”
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