Bill Skarsgård has played some of the most frightening characters on screen. At home, those characters sometimes come out when his children are not listening. The Swedish actor, 36, appeared on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast on Thursday, November 5, 2026, and shared a quick look at his parenting style. He said he sometimes uses his Pennywise voice from the It films when his kids act out. He also joked that Count Orlok from Nosferatu can “pop in” too. The comment quickly spread across entertainment outlets and social media because it mixed two things people know about Skarsgård: he is a devoted father, and he is very good at being scary.
What Did Bill Skarsgård Say About His Parenting Voice?
Horowitz asked Skarsgård a simple question during the podcast. He wanted to know if Skarsgård’s children had ever heard him do the Pennywise voice at home. The host expected the answer to be no.
“I would imagine you’re not doing your Pennywise voice in the company of your children. Have they heard you do Pennywise?” Horowitz asked.
Skarsgård did not hesitate.
“Yeah, if they misbehave.”
He then explained how his different horror voices move in and out of his daily life.
“He can slip out there. Can slip in, can slip out, and Nosferatu can pop in,” Skarsgård said. “There’s a whole colorful bunch of schizophrenic daddy.”
The line became the most quoted part of the interview. It was a joke, and Skarsgård laughed while saying it. Still, the comment gave a rare look at how he separates his work from his family life. The Pennywise voice is one of the most recognizable sounds in modern horror. The character first appeared in 2017’s It and returned in 2019’s It Chapter Two. Skarsgård also played Pennywise in HBO’s 2025 series It: Welcome to Derry.
The voice is not the only scary tool in his set. Skarsgård played Count Orlok in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, released in 2024. That role required heavy makeup, prosthetics, and a deep, unnatural voice that he built with an opera singer. In the podcast, Skarsgård made it clear that Orlok can also show up at home when his children are pushing limits.
How Many Children Does Bill Skarsgård Have?
Bill Skarsgård has two children with his longtime partner, Swedish actress Alida Morberg. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter, in October 2018. Their second child arrived in 2023. Skarsgård confirmed in 2023 that he was a father of two.
The family keeps most details private. The name and sex of the second child have not been shared publicly. Skarsgård and Morberg have chosen not to post photos of their children on social media. That choice is common among actors who want their kids to grow up outside the public eye.
Skarsgård has spoken about fatherhood in small doses over the years. During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in September 2019, he talked about his daughter’s baby room. He said it was filled with Pennywise teddy bears and other merchandise he had received over the years. The image was funny to viewers because it placed a horror icon inside a nursery. It also showed that Skarsgård does not hide his work from his family, even when the work is dark.
His children are growing up in a household where both parents work in entertainment. Alida Morberg comes from an acting family and has appeared in Swedish film and television. She and Skarsgård shared screen time in the 2022 miniseries Clark. The couple has been together since around 2016 and are not married, but they maintain a long-term partnership.
A Private Family Life with Alida Morberg
Skarsgård and Morberg have built a life that stays mostly out of celebrity magazines. They live in Stockholm, Sweden, and raise their children away from red carpets and film sets when they can. Morberg is 40 and has worked steadily as an actress. The pair rarely walk red carpets together, and they do not share family updates on a regular basis.
That privacy makes moments like the Happy Sad Confused interview stand out. Skarsgård does not often talk about his children in detail. When he does, he keeps the tone light. The “schizophrenic daddy” joke is a good example. It lets him acknowledge that his work is strange and intense while also making fun of himself as a parent.
The podcast also touched on Halloween. Skarsgård said his oldest daughter is a big fan of the holiday. She went trick-or-treating dressed as a classic vampire. She even asked her father if he would dress as Nosferatu for the night.
“She said like, ‘You could go as Nosferatu,’” Skarsgård recalled. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, just tell your makeup people to put on the makeup. Eight hours later.’ I was like, that’s not exactly how it works.”
The story gave another small window into his home life. His daughter knows his characters well enough to suggest a family costume. Skarsgård’s reply showed that the transformation into Orlok was not a quick process. The makeup and prosthetics for Nosferatu took hours to apply, and the voice work added another layer.
From Pennywise to Nosferatu: The Voices That ‘Pop In’
Skarsgård’s career has been built on characters that are hard to forget. Pennywise is a shape-shifting entity that uses a clown form to lure children. The role made Skarsgård a household name in horror. Count Orlok is an ancient vampire in Nosferatu, a character that first appeared in silent film and has been remade many times. Skarsgård’s version was praised for its physical detail and unsettling vocal quality.
Both characters require a full-body performance. The voices are not simple impressions. They are built from breath, pitch, and rhythm. Skarsgård has said that the Orlok voice was developed with the help of an opera singer, which explains why it sounds so deep and unnatural. The Pennywise voice is lighter but more playful, with a childlike tone that turns threatening without warning.
That contrast is part of what makes the “schizophrenic daddy” line work. Skarsgård is not saying he is actually schizophrenic. He is using the word in a casual, joking way to describe the many voices that live in his head as an actor. The joke landed because it was self-aware. He knows that his job is unusual, and he knows that using a horror voice on his children is not a normal parenting tactic.
The interview also covered his thoughts on playing more villains. Horowitz asked whether Skarsgård would take on another dark role after Pennywise and Orlok.
“It would have to be something that felt original to me, that was something that I hadn’t done before,” Skarsgård said. “I feel, kind of, spent with those things. But there’s villains [that] could be really fun in different ways and if it’s the right kind.”
He added that he is not “actively looking for” villain roles at this point in his career. The choice has to come from a feeling of being drawn to the material.
“A lot of people ask me what goes into picking your roles or whatever and I don’t really know how to say it other than I feel drawn or compelled,” he explained. “It’s something that you can’t really put your words on it and describe why it’s happening. I’ve also noticed that I don’t want to become jaded … which means that I think I could probably go long stretches without working and just waiting for something to be compelling enough for me to work on.”
That answer gave more context to the parenting joke. Skarsgård is not a actor who takes every project that comes his way. He waits for roles that feel necessary to him. When he does take a role, he goes deep into the character. The voices stay with him long after the cameras stop rolling.
The James Bond Villain Joke
The conversation took a funny turn when the topic of James Bond came up. Skarsgård joked that he had not been called about playing a villain in the famous spy series.
“They didn’t call me about [James Bond],” Skarsgård said. “I wasn’t even thrown into the mix, you know. Come on, man.”
He then added that he would be open to playing “one” Bond villain. He also made a joke about stroking a cat, a reference to the classic Bond villain trope.
“I love to stroke cats,” he said. “That sounded weird.”
The moment was pure comedy. It also showed that Skarsgård is comfortable talking about his career with a sense of humor. He does not treat his horror roles as a burden. He treats them as part of a job that he enjoys, even when the job involves scaring people.
The Bond joke also fits with the theme of the interview. Skarsgård has played two of the most famous monsters in modern cinema. A Bond villain would be another kind of monster, but one with a different style. The idea is not confirmed, and no studio has announced any talks with Skarsgård about the role. The comment was a joke, not a casting update.
What Else Did He Discuss on the Podcast?
The Happy Sad Confused episode was not only about parenting and villains. Skarsgård also spoke about his role in Hideo Kojima’s game Physint. He said he is a big fan of the Metal Gear series and shared a conversation he had with Kojima about cinema. The game was first announced with Skarsgård in the lead role in September 2026.
He also addressed rumors about X-Men casting. Skarsgård played down his involvement with the upcoming X-Men movie.
“I didn’t read any scripts. It’s Jake [Schreier]…” he said during the podcast.
The comments helped clear up speculation that had been circulating online. Skarsgård did not confirm any role in the X-Men franchise. He also did not confirm any role in a DC Comics project, though he said he would be interested in the right superhero part.
His latest film project is Peter Berg’s The Mosquito Bowl. The film is based on Buzz Bissinger’s nonfiction book about college football stars who played a game on Guadalcanal on Christmas Eve 1944 before heading into World War II combat. Skarsgård described the shoot as physically demanding. It involved practical explosions, handheld cameras, and intense training in Australia.
“I was trying to, because the shoot was really tough, but I’m like, ‘Just do it for nine-year-old Bill, he wouldn’t believe where you ended up.’”
The role is a change of pace from his horror work. It is grounded in history and real human stakes. Skarsgård said the experience was one he had wanted since childhood.
The Reaction to the ‘Schizophrenic Daddy’ Comment
Entertainment outlets picked up the parenting quote quickly. Entertainment Weekly, UNILAD, Jezebel, Soap Central, and ComingSoon all published stories about the podcast within a day of its release. The phrase “schizophrenic daddy” appeared in several headlines because it was unusual and funny.
Social media users reacted with a mix of laughter and mild concern for the children. Some commenters joked that Skarsgård’s kids have the most terrifying discipline method in Hollywood. Others pointed out that the actor was clearly making a joke and that his children are likely too young to understand the full context of Pennywise.
The quote also brought attention to the It: Welcome to Derry series, which streams on HBO and Max in the United States and on Sky and Now in parts of Europe. The show returned Skarsgård to the Pennywise role in 2025. For viewers who grew up with the It films, the podcast moment was a reminder that the actor behind the clown is a father with a sense of humor.
Bill Skarsgård’s Career Beyond Horror
Skarsgård’s filmography is wider than his horror roles suggest. He played Marquis Vincent de Gramont in John Wick: Chapter 4. He starred as Keith in Barbarian. He played Eric Draven in The Crow. These roles showed that he can move between action, thriller, and dark drama without losing his intensity.
The common thread is not genre. It is commitment. Skarsgård builds characters from the outside in. He changes his voice, his posture, and his physical presence. That approach is why his Pennywise and Orlok feel so different from each other, even though both are monsters.
The parenting joke made sense because it connected that commitment to his real life. He does not leave his characters at the studio. They stay with him, and sometimes they come out when his children are testing boundaries.
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A Quick Recap of the Key Facts
- Bill Skarsgård has two children with Alida Morberg.
- Their first child, a daughter, was born in October 2018.
- Their second child was born in 2023.
- Skarsgård said he uses his Pennywise voice when his kids “misbehave.”
- He joked that Count Orlok from Nosferatu can also “pop in.”
- He called himself a “colorful bunch of schizophrenic daddy.”
- The comments came on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast on November 5, 2026.
- Skarsgård is not actively looking for more villain roles, but he is open to the right part.
- He joked that he was not contacted about a James Bond villain role.
Also Read: Bill Skarsgard and Colman Domingo’s Crime Drama ‘Dead Man’s Wire’ Lands on Netflix for Global Streaming
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