Stellan Skarsgård says he is living ‘on overtime’ since having a stroke three years ago

The actor Stellan Skarsgård has revealed that he suffered a stroke three years ago and has been finding filming considerably more challenging since.

Speaking to Vulture to promote Sentimental Value, Joachim Trier’s Oscar-contender about a film director struggling to connect with his daughters, the actor said he had fallen ill between shooting the two parts of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies, as well as the seasons of Star Wars series Andor.

“It was perfect timing,” he said, adding that his language had become “weaker” as a result, and that he had required an earpiece on Dune: Part Two.

“Suddenly, I can’t come up with names,” Skarsgård said. “I can’t follow a thought or make an argument that spans several sentences that gets to the point […] That is extremely frustrating. But on the other hand, I’m alive. I can work.”

Skarsgård, 74, said he was “not afraid of dying, but I am afraid of not being capable of living. That is a fear.

“I feel a little more like I live under the sword now,” he continued. “Because I’ve lived a naughty life. And I’m 74, which is already on overtime.”

He added that “being boring” continued to be a concern, both for him and his offspring.

“With all my eight kids, there’s one thing I’ve been afraid of every time I have a new kid … that they’re boring. Luckily, none of them were.”

A number of Skarsgård’s children – including Alexander, Bill and Gustaf – are actors, but he rejected the idea that they had been successful on account of their father.

“I consider myself a nepo daddy,” he said, “because I get so much goodwill and maybe jobs because of them.” Both he and Alexander had films screening at the Telluride film festival in late August, he continued, recalling that when his eldest son exited the Sentimental Value screening “he came out, destroyed in his face, and he hugged me.”

Skarsgård is best known for his roles in the Mamma Mia! movies, as well as his collaborations with director Lars von Trier, including Breaking the Waves (1996), Dancer in the Dark (2000), Dogville (2003), Melancholia (2011), and Nymphomaniac (2013).

Earlier this year it was announced that the director had been moved to a care facility, following his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease.