skarsgård first met salming about five years ago and, upon visiting toronto, saw firsthand how the player known as “the king” lives on in the city where he spent 16 memorable seasons.
“even though he was big here, going over there, people that weren’t even alive when he left toronto still know him so well,” he said. “it’s 50 years later and he’s still appreciated over there. it was lovely to see.”
skarsgård says he was drawn to the role in part because of the contrasting aspects of salming’s personality. on the ice, salming was fearless and instrumental in challenging the north american stereotype of european players as being timid. away from the rink, however, he was known for his kind and gentle demeanour.
hailing from the northernmost municipality in sweden, salming’s sámi origins were also an important part of his identity. he grew up in kiruna, a town within the arctic circle with a strong sámi presence.
valter skarsgård is börje salming in börje: the journey of a legend.
jenny unnegård
skarsgard said the first time they spoke, salming shared stories about the challenge of maintaining a tough exterior in the hockey world, despite his inherently kind nature.
“he was telling me stories about how he didn’t, at the time, know why he behaved in certain ways, but he could now understand the emotional situations that he’d gone through that made him be that way,” skarsgård said. “and the duality of that, that was just something i couldn’t miss out on.”