Alexander Skarsgard struggled to be taken seriously as an actor because of his good looks.
Alexander Skarsgard was frustrated early in his career
The 45-year-old star admits he struggled to find credible roles earlier in his career because so much focus was put on his appearance.
Reflecting on his troubles in the movie business, he revealed: "I was left auditioning to play the boyfriend of a girl who gets killed in scene four of a low-budget horror movie."
Alexander - who was born in Stockholm, Sweden - was often overlooked for "meaty" roles due to his good looks.
He explained to the Sunday Times newspaper: "Starting out in Sweden, there was stuff about being tall and blond … But most people here are tall and blond.
"Still, after my first job I was on a stupid ‘sexy hunky hot list’ and then people didn’t take me seriously. If you want characters with depth but have been labelled ‘a dude who takes his shirt off,’ you’re not going to get those offers."
The ‘Legend of Tarzan’ star described the movie industry as "incredibly ridiculous".
And he believes that its "strict hierarchy" is actually really unhelpful.
He said: "This industry is incredibly ridiculous.
"In meetings people are really insecure and eager to please. But it’s a strict hierarchy. If people at the top say something is good, people fall in line. Also, menial trivial b****** stuff becomes very important to people.
"As an actor the value placed on how important something is can become laughable to me."
Despite this, Alexander was still inspired to become an actor by his dad Stellan Skarsgard, who has starred in movies such as 'Good Will Hunting' and 'Dune'.
Alexander said: "Dad was happy. He’d come home from set when I was young and I’d think, ‘If he is having that much fun on a Monday morning, why am I against being an actor?'"
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