Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård was BOTD in 1976. Born in Stockholm, the eldest son of actor Stellan Skarsgård, he made his screen debut aged seven in the film in Åke och hans värld (Åke and His World) and became well-known in his teens as the star of TV drama Hunden som log (The Dog That Smiled). Uncomfortable with fame, he quit acting and served in the Swedish Navy, moving to New York City in 1997 to study acting at Marymount Manhattan College. He made his Hollywood debut in the 2001 comedy Zoolander, playing a vapid male model, and appeared in the TV drama series Generation Kill. He rocketed to global stardom as the bisexual vampire Eric in Alan Ball’s 2004 drama series True Blood, gleefully performing sex scenes with male and female co-stars, and made an amusing appearance as a hen-pecked husband in the music video for Lady Gaga’s 2009 hit single Paparazzi. His erratic (if highly entertaining) film roles have included Lars von Trier’s film Melancholia; a modern-day adaptation of Henry James’ story What Maisie Knew; the lead role in shirtless schlock-fest The Legend of Tarzan; and a predatory stepfather in The Diary of a Teenage Girl. His role as a violently abusive husband in the 2016 TV drama series Big Little Lies was highly praised, winning him an Emmy Award, while his performance as a well-oiled and frequently shirtless Viking seeking revenge in The Northman also drew praise for his muscled physique. In 2025, he starred in Harry Lighton’s film Pillion, playing a handsome dom top who breaks in a willing submissive bottom, based on Adam Mars-Jones’ novella Box Hill. Premiering at the Cannes Festival where it won the Queer Palm, the film turned Skarsgard into a fully-fledged gay icon. His enthusiastic promotion of the film – including appearing at press screenings in leather trousers and BDSM-themed T-shirts, and a widely-misquoted statement about his past sexual experiences – prompted extensive media speculation about his possible bisexuality. Skarsgard is in a relationship with Swedish actress Tuva Novotny, with whom he has a child. He earns Honorary SuperGay Status for playing gay, convincingly and often, long before it was fashionable, and for stirring the loins of straight and queer fans worldwide.