BILL SKARSGARD

I've lived in California for six years and I've never surfed.

I have three older brothers, and each one of them has chosen one of my parents' education. Two of them are actors, and the third is a doctor as my mother is.

To me, it's all about inspiration. What gets me creatively excited is a challenge.

In movies we tend make things black and white: you're either this, or you're that.

A character on screen that's the 'good guy' or the 'bad guy,' they're never interesting. There's got to be an internal struggle, the duality is important to find.

I can deal with it now, but 13 is a tough age to be recognized and famous. It's a tough age, period.

I needed to be myself and find my own identity.

My height can be a problem. A lot of directors and photographers are sometimes not happy because I'm pretty tall and especially if I work with short actors the difference can be pretty massive.

There's something I love about how stark the contrast is between January and June in Sweden.

Acting was always there, it's true. But for a long time, in my teenage years, I wasn't sure about it - not because I didn't like it, but I didn't want people to think I hadn't earned it.

I come from a family of pacifists, so it's not like I was going to join the war. Sweden is not like the States or England where you might get sent to Afghanistan next month.

I'm always looking for something that's real and that's got meat on it. I think it's artistic suicide if you're too vain, or if you're afraid to play ugly. I would never fall for that.

I see myself as most people see themselves, you have good days and bad days. I don't think I'm better looking now than I did three years ago.

In terms of jobs, I'm an actor. There's gotta' be depth there. I'd never say yes to something just to play the hot guy. That's not what I'm interested in.

Sweden is a small country and, well, our family's pretty prominent in that world, I guess. And I really didn't like the sound of just being 'the fourth acting Skarsgard.'

A true artist, in my mind, is willing to fail sometimes, because if you're not brave enough to say yes and follow your gut, it's never going to be good.

I worked with Lady Gaga for a day on a video shoot. It was crazy; we had a lot of fun. I had a great time.

When I read a script and have my first interaction with this character, do I feel like there's something I'm gonna' learn here? If I feel like it's something I've done before, then what's the incentive for me to do it?

Louis CK is so brilliant and smart and clever and funny and also very bizarre.

I started acting when I was 9.

I think December has always been the most haunted month, from the gothic-narrative point of view - a lot of Edgar Allan Poe stories are set in December. It's the last month of the year, and it's supposed to be sort of this mystical, spiritual month. And being Swedish, December is also the darkest month out of the year.

I think I've gotten that before - people have been like, 'Oh, you have a creepy stare.' My energy personally is not as threatening, I don't think.

I always feel like a foreigner in America.

I did a lot of research on what solitary confinement does to you, how you become acclimated to being surrounded by people again after being by yourself for such a long time. It's really a horrific thing. It's definitely worth considering it as torture. We're just not meant to be in solitary confinement.

The horror fan base is fantastic. It really has devoted fans, and I like that aspect of the genre. The people who are making it are always really wonderfully nerdy, creative people, which I always love.