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Who are the lesser-known Skarsgård siblings, Sam and Eija? Only 2 of Dune actor Stellan Skarsgård’s 8 children have shunned acting, so what do they do, and what do their famous brothers think?

Eija and Sam Skarsgård are the only two members of the Skarsgård family who haven’t gone into acting. Photo: @eijalo; @alexandersarsgard_archive/Instagram

In case you hadn’t yet linked all of these famous actors together via their distinctly Swedish surname, Stellan, Alexander, Gustaf, Bill and Valter Skarsgård are all from the same family.

Stellan Skarsgård, the patriarch of the Swedish family and a veteran Hollywood actor. Photo: @shoemedia_/Instagram
You may recognise patriarch Stellan Skarsgård from Mamma Mia!, Dune and Chernobyl, or his son Alexander from Succession and Big Little Lies. Meanwhile, Stellan’s fourth-born child Bill recently caused a stir for his edgy appearance in The Crow remake, and even Gustaf and Valter are TV and film stalwarts in both Hollywood and Sweden.

But there are two members of the family who have opted out of the limelight – Sam and Eija Skarsgård. So what do we know about the siblings, and how do their Hollywood fam feel about them?

How many children does Stellan Skarsgård have?

Gustaf, Bill and Alexander Skarsgård are all Hollywood actors like their father. Photo: @holacom/Instagram

Stellan Skarsgård began acting in his home country of Sweden in the late 1960s and scored his first big Hollywood role in 1997’s Good Will Hunting. The now 72-year-old actor married his first wife My Skarsgård in 1972 and they had six children together: Alexander, Gustaf, Sam, Bill, Eija and Valter, per People.

Alexander Skarsgård and his mum My Skarsgård. Photo: @alexanderskarsgard_archive/Instagram

Stellan and My divorced in 2007 and he married Megan Everett two years later, with whom he now has two young sons – Ossian and Kolbjörn – who are also child stars! Talk about acting being in the genes …

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What does Sam Skarsgård do?

Alexander Skarsgård (left) and Sam Skarsgård. Photo: @alexanderskarsgard_archive/Instagram

Sam Skarsgård is the third eldest son of Stellan and My, coming into the world in 1982 after older brothers Alexander and Gustaf, and at first it seemed like he’d caught the showbiz bug too.

At the age of five he had a minor part in a film called Jim & Piraterna Blom that his dad co-wrote and starred in. He seemed to dabble in the industry once more as a body double in 2002 film The Invisible alongside his brother Gustaf, and then as a production assistant on To Kill A Child directed by Alexander.

Brothers Sam, Bill, Valter and Gustaf Skarsgård. Photo: @skarsgard_bro

However when it came to choosing a career, Sam pivoted to medicine – just like his doctor mum – and is now an ICU doctor in Stockholm, Screenrant reports.

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Who is Eija Skarsgård?

Dune actor Stellan Skarsgård and Eija, his only daughter. Photo: @eijalo/Instagram

Eija Skarsgård, 32, is the only daughter of the family, and according to her famous father, that’s just how she likes it. “During each of my wives’ subsequent pregnancies, my daughter would say, ‘I hope it’s not a girl,’” Stellan told The Guardian in 2015. “She’s very strong, stronger in many ways than the boys, and relishes her position.”

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What does Eija Skarsgård do for a living?

Eija Skarsgård gave modelling a shot before working behind the scenes in Hollywood. Photo: @eijalo/Instagram

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that the offspring of a Hollywood actor tried her hand at modelling at first. According to her profile on the Fashion Model Directory, she stands at a lofty 1.79 metres tall and was signed to Stockholm’s MIKAs agency. However, in the last few years she’s clearly found her calling behind the scenes in Hollywood – as a casting assistant.

Per IMDB, her first big gig was in the casting department on Swedish comedy Lust, and most recently she helped out on Netflix’s Young Royals.

Eija Skarsgård and her husband Zeke Tastas. Photo: @eijalo/Instagram

What do the Skarsgård siblings think of each other’s jobs?

Eija and her younger brother Valter Skarsgård. Photo: @eijalo/Instagram

It clearly amuses the men in the family that so many of them are in the same industry. “If you need a Skarsgård for a movie and one of us isn’t available, it’s like, ‘How about this one?’” Alexander once joked to Interview magazine.

My and Stellan Skarsgård with their sons Gustaf, Sam and Alexander in the 1980s. Photo: @sgarsgard_bro/Instagram

But it was Bill Skarsgård who admitted that all the family members in the entertainment industry bow down to Sam and their mum My: “There’s definitely a sense of embarrassment about what it is artists really do, at least for me in terms of acting,” he told Interview. “We have a mum and a brother who literally save lives.”

  • Most will know Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård from Dune, Mamma Mia! or Thor, but did you know that Hollywood actors Alexander, Gustaf, Bill and Valter Skarsgård are his sons?
  • Incredibly, all 8 of Stellan Skarsgård’s children have an IMDB page – but two of them decided to go in a different direction – and seem to have earned the respect of their siblings as a result …