There is no doubt that Stellan Skarsgård (72) is one of the Nordic countries’ most talented actors, and the Swede can boast a number of Hollywood films and major successes on his CV.
The 72-year-old received a number of awards and honors for his roles and achievements throughout, and on August 4, Skarsgaard was scheduled to be honored once again. This time during the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, where he was to be awarded the prestigious Leopard Club award.
Also read: Skarsgård opens up about the loss: – I always long for them
Recently, however, it became known that Skarsgård is giving up the award in solidarity with the ongoing actors’ strike.
Supporting Hollywood
The Swedish actor had already accepted the award earlier this year for his efforts in the industry. On Friday, the film festival confirmed that the actor is now giving up the award.
“Stellan Skarsgård, recipient of the Leopard Club’s award, is giving up the award in solidarity with the strike,” the film festival’s management writes in a press release, according to The Express.
Furthermore, the festival states that the award ceremony, which was supposed to take place on 4 August, as well as a conversation with Skarsgård and the audience on 5 August, has also been cancelled.
“The Locarno Film Festival sees the ongoing strike as a sign of the problems the modern film industry is suffering from. We support a constructive discussion and solution between the parties and respect our guests’ decisions,” the organizers write.
Read also: Emmy Awards postponed due to actor’s strike
Every year, the Leopard Club Award pays tribute to a major film personality whose career has left its mark on the collective imagination.
– With his very powerful stage charisma, he has made every role he played unforgettable. The Locarno Film Festival is proud to give the award to an actor of such absolute value and with such an extremely important filmography as Stellan Skarsgård, stated the justification for Skarsgaard’s reception.
Suffering from the strike
As mentioned, Skarsgård has waived the award due to the general strike among screenwriters and actors. 65,000 Hollywood actors from the Sag-Aftra union went on strike on July 14.
The ongoing strike is the first major strike in the film industry in 63 years. The reason behind the strike is about pay, in addition to the use of artificial intelligence to write scripts for TV projects.
Also read: Hollywood actors go on strike – first major strike since 1960
The British actor Riz Ahmed, known from among others “Venom” and “Nightcrawler”, has also canceled his visit to the film festival. He would have received the Davide Campari award for “excellence”.
Like Skarsgård, Ahmed wants to express his solidarity with the strike, according to the press release.
However, it is not only the Film Festival in Switzerland that suffers from the strike. The Venice Film Festival also recently announced that several of the registered star actors will be absent due to the strike, reported Hollywood Reporter.
2023-07-31 19:30:20
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