Stellan Skarsgard Spills on Hating His Mamma Mia Dance Scene

Not to oversell it, but one of Mamma Mia!’s leading men basically staged a dance revolt. Christine Baranski let slip on The Stephen Colbert Show that Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård weren’t exactly born to boogie. She joked that while 007 himself was “game” (skip-dancing down that Greek hillside like it was a Bond intro), Firth performed every shimmy with a perfectly ironic eyebrow raise—and Skarsgård? He straight-up despised it.

Baranski, a senior reporter at HuffPost, recalled how the three actors “just hated having to do the dance stuff.” Audience laughter ensued as she detailed the infamous “Dancing Queen” number. After filming the trek down the hill onto that sun-lit dock, director Ol Parker cheerfully called Skarsgård in for a special close-up. Cue Stellan’s epic string of expletives—Baranski quipped it sounded like being asked to recite “Arabic poetry while jumping rope.” Still, he bit the bullet and busted out the moves we all saw on screen.

This isn’t just backstage gossip. Skarsgård himself admitted to Vanity Fair that landing in a jukebox musical was, in his words, “absurd” since he “can’t sing, can’t dance.” He found solace in the fact that Brosnan and Firth were equally rhythm-challenged. The trio embraced their roles as the “bimbos” in this female-powered romp: look cute, act silly and most importantly, have fun—because a miserable man dancing ruins the vibe.

Pierce stepped up to the plate like a true sport—quipping “You can dance…” with cinematic swagger. Colin threw ironic side-eyes into every spin, turning awkwardness into art. And Stellan? He grumbled his way through takes until, well, the cameras rolled and the laughs hit. Baranski wrapped her tale by affectionately noting, “I love Stellan. He’s just the greatest.”

This peek behind the scenes proves that even seasoned actors can hit a wall when asked to shuffle and twirl. It also reminds us why Mamma Mia! remains a cult classic: it’s equal parts sunlit fantasy and genuine human awkwardness. If nothing else, it shows that authenticity—complete with sweaty brows and reluctant shimmy—is the secret ingredient to musical magic.

Anyway, there’s your backstage pass. Interpret at will.

Sources: Celebrity Storm and The Stephen Colbert Show, Vanity Fair, HuffPost
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed