Alexander Skarsgard returned to acting after participating in the Swedish armed forces, landing his first part in the American comedy Zoolander. He has been in Generation Kill miniseries in 2008 where he performed the role of Marine Brad Skarsgard's breakthrough role in the 2008–2014 television series True Blood was that of the vampire Eric Northman.
After starring in movies like Melancholia (2011), Battleship (2012), and The Legend of Tarzan (2016), Skarsgrd played a husband who was violent in the TV series Big Little Lies (2017–2019), for which he won an Emmy Award for Primetime, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He also appeared in the films Battleship (2012), The Legend of Tarzan (2016), and The Legend of Tarzan (2016). He made parts in the movies Long Shot (2019), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Passing (2021), The Northman (2022), and Infinity Pool (2023) between 2019 and 2023. Along with portraying tech Lukas Matsson in the drama series Succession (2021-2023) and Randall Flagg in the miniseries The Stand (2020–2021).