At the Karlovy Vary film festival, Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard (74) made explosive comments about legendary director Ingmar Bergman.
While accepting a Crystal Globe award, Skarsgard called Bergman “a Nazi during the war” and claimed he was “the only person I know who cried when Hitler died”.
Stellan describes Bergman as ‘manipulative’
He described Bergman as deeply “manipulative” with a “very weird outlook” that treated some people as “not worthy”.
These remarks reference Bergman’s own admissions: In his 1987 memoir, Bergman wrote he was “on Hitler’s side” for years and kept Hitler’s photo by his bed as a teen after seeing him speak in 1934.
Skarsgard worked with Bergman on a 1986 stage play, but called their relationship “complicated” due to Bergman’s harsh personality.
He clarified: “He was a nice director, but you can still denounce a person as an {a*******}”
Though Bergman renounced Nazism after WWII’s horrors, calling the Holocaust a “hideous shock”, Skarsgard implied his earlier beliefs shaped his cruel behavior.
The actor contrasted this with director Lars von Trier (who faced controversy for Nazi jokes), defending him as fundamentally “the opposite” of a Nazi despite flawed humor.
Festival revelations and legacy reflections
Skarsgard’s comments came while promoting *Sentimental Value*—a new film where he plays a flawed director-father.
He reflected on artistic legacies, noting fame is “short-lived” and admitting, “I’ll be dead soon”. The festival honored his 50+ year career, from child actor in Bombi Bott to Dune and Mamma Mia!, where he joked about being objectified as one of three “cute and stupid” male “bimbos”.
Despite recent health struggles affecting his memory, he vowed to keep acting: “Is there something I’d still like to try? Certainly”.