‘ON OVERTIME’

‘Dune’ Actor, 74, Gives Health Update After Suffering Stroke

Stellan Skarsgård gave a rare insight into his current health condition after falling ill in 2022.

Emmy-nominated actor Stellan Skarsgård has a rare glimpse into his health, three years after a stroke saw him struggle to continue working while filming Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two. The 74-year-old Swedish star spoke at the Los Angeles premiere of his latest film, Joachim Trier’s critically acclaimed Sentimental Value, telling People that he is “good” but has had to adjust as he can no longer memorize his lines. The workaround—having dialogue fed through an earpiece—is “not as easy as you’d think,” he added. “It sounds like, ‘Oh, yeah. He just listens to his dialogue and assesses it,’ but... the rhythm of the scene has to be as if he wasn’t there, the voice in the ear,” he explains. “So he has to say his lines very fast and very neutral and on top of my co-worker’s lines.” The Mamma Mia! actor has eight children, including actors Alexander and Bill Skarsgård, and is best known for films including Breaking the Waves, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and Good Will Hunting. While the stroke didn’t slow him down—he finished Dune and the Disney+ TV series, Andor—Skarsgård told Vulture that he feels “a little more like I live under the sword now” following the health scare. “I’ve lived a naughty life. And I’m 74, which is already on overtime.”