The Male Model: Zoolander & Zoolander 2 (2001 & 2016)
Ben Stiller’s comedy classic is built around the premise that Jerry Stiller’s son, Owen Wilson, and Benedict Cumberbatch are male models. A fun piece of trivia is that Skarsgård was inserted as one of Derek’s United Nations of conventionally attractive roommates. Baby-faced Meekus is hilariously bad at bitchy teenage girl humor and loves orange mocha frappuccinos. He gets in a gasoline fight in the first installment that results in a fiery death, but returns for the sequel in a brief cameo, perfectly cast as the original man.
The Vamp: True Blood (2008–2014)
Skarsgård’s breakout role remains one of his most iconic: Eric Northman, a thousand-year-old Viking vampire and Louisiana bar owner on HBO’s True Blood. The role ran for the full seven-season arc of the show and established him as a leading man capable of commanding both menace and magnetic charm in equal measure.
