With tears in his eyes, Stellan Skarsgård accepted the Montecito Award Wednesday night at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
“In this era of Instagram gratification, Stellan Skarsgård continues to remind us what happens when a performance creeps into your psyche and stays with you,” said actor Josh Brolin in his nearly 9-minute speech, before presenting the Montecito Award.
The Montecito Award recognizes actors who have made great contributions to film. Last year the award went to Oscar-nominated Colman Domingo, and was presented by past recipient and Montecito resident, Oprah Winfrey.
With roles in over 150 films, Skarsgård is no stranger to acting and his on-stage interview reflected just that.
In his conversation with journalist Anne Thompson, he discussed the range of his work from “Pirates of the Caribbean “to “Andor” to “Good Will Hunting.” The Swedish actor’s career is a display of versatility, adaptability, and care for his profession.
While his acting career dates back to 1968, only now has Skarsgård received his first Oscar nomination for his lead role in Sentimental Value. The film was directed by one of this year’s SBIFF Outstanding Director of the Year recipients, Joachim Trier.
The Swedish actor has expressed a preference for playing morally ambiguous characters, such as his Oscar-nominated role as Gustav Borg in Sentimental Value. He spoke about his preference in an interview with Santa Barbara News-Press’s team of Aston Smith and Anika Brodnansky.
“They’re more human. Humans are very ambiguous,” Skarsgård said.
His hard-hitting characters were explored further as he discussed his roles in the TV shows Chernobyl and Andor. He made a powerful statement about the impact of those roles.
“Us humans, we are very adaptable to authoritarian regimes,” said Skarsgård, talking about his role as Boris Shcherbina in Chernobyl.
“We compromise everything, even facts don’t matter any more,” he continued.
He soon paused before continuing on a brighter note, expressing his love for acting in television miniseries.
“There is a set end that serves to the drama of the series,” said Skarsgård, “You can make it as long as it has to be.”
Skarsgård is “always stratospherically more than good,” said Brolin, “One thing is certain, it is never with hollow execution, not from him.”
From when he dropped out of school at 17 and pursued theatre, to his most recent Oscar-nominated role, Skarsgård continues to make an impression on the world of film that will leave a long legacy.
