Stellan Skarsgard Talks ‘Nazi’ Ingmar Bergman, ‘Sentimental Value’

Stellan Skarsgård opened up about working with Ingmar Bergman at Karlovy Vary Film Festival.

“My complicated relationship with Bergman has to do with him not being a very nice guy. He was a nice director, but you can still denounce a person as an asshole. Caravaggio was probably an asshole as well, but he did great paintings,” said the Swedish actor. 

“Bergman was manipulative. He was a Nazi during the war and the only person I know who cried when Hitler died. We kept excusing him, but I have a feeling he had a very weird outlook on other people. [He thought] some people were not worthy. You felt it, when he was manipulating others. He wasn’t nice.”

Skarsgård, in town to present “Sentimental Value” and pick up Crystal Globe award at the festival, also discussed Joachim Trier’s latest film.

“I’ve seen him really see the actors he’s worked with. He’s become more skilled with each film and there’s this playfulness that’s very generous.”

In “Sentimental Value,” two sisters reunite with their estranged father, Gustav, who used to be a known director. He offers one of them a role in his comeback film.

“This is a director who’s not a very good father. I started to think about other directors I knew and then thought: ‘Don’t go there – you don’t have to. Look at yourself instead.’ I’m an artist, and sometimes I’m a good father, and sometimes not so good. We are all flawed. You can be a good parent but not a perfect one, and you will be accused of something by your kids anyway.” 

Awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes, it has since become an Oscar contender.

“I know this business; I know how short-lived that fucking fame is. But it’s fun to be surprised by yourself. I am surprised – by me – and that’s fun. I’ll be dead soon, so I have to take care of the moments that are left,” said Skarsgård.

During a masterclass, he recalled some of the biggest…