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Alexander Skarsgård's red nail polish served as a contrast to his black Saint Laurent tuxedo.

[Red lacquer detail  Photo: Amy Sussman / Getty images / Profimedia]

On Sunday, the Swedish-born actor attended the 2025 Governors Awards, also known as the Honorary Oscars. This ceremony takes place a few months before the Oscars. This year, legendary Hollywood figures, including Dolly Parton, Tom Cruise, Debbie Allen and Vin Thomas, were honored for their unparalleled contributions to the film industry.

Alexander Skarsgård appeared at the glittering ceremony in a Yves Saint Laurent suit. However, it was his freshly painted, bright red nails that caught all the attention. It is safe to say that the 49-year-old actor broke stereotypes with his striking "nail art", further erasing gender boundaries.

Likes to experiment While some men are known to wear black nail polish as part of an edgy, grunge or rock-inspired style, Alexander Skarsgård's flame red nails certainly made a stronger and bolder impression.

[Cristina Massey / Alamy / Profimedia ]

[Gregory Pace / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia]

[Jennifer Graylock-Graylock.com / Avalon / Profimedia]

[Amy Sussman / Getty Images / Profimedia]

Alexander Skarsgård remains completely fearless when it comes to fashion experiments. Last month, the actor walked the red carpet at the BFI London Film Festival in another striking outing. He drew on a Ludovico de Saint Sernin creation from the designer's Fall 2025 collection. The outfit consisted of a white, open backless halter shirt, paired with a skinny leather tie. Alexander teamed it all up with skinny leather lace-up trousers and chunky Jimmy Choo round-toe boots.

In recent months, there was the thigh-high Saint Laurent kinky boots he wore to the Cannes Film Festival in May, the hedonistic Magliano button-up he donned at the Zurich Film Festival (which was printed with an image of dildos, bottles of lotion, and a bong), and the trap-forward Ludovic de Saint Sernin halter top tucked into a pair of leather lace-up pants that he strutted on the BFI London Film Festival red carpet. Then, this past weekend, Skarsgård continued the fetish fun at the Oscars-adjacent Governors Awards in Los Angeles, where he wore an elegant, double-breasted Saint Laurent tuxedo punctuated with a sleepover staple: red-painted nails.

Few accessories are as contentious on a man as painted nails. Over the summer, the proverbial “performative male” received a social lashing in the form of opinion pieces and ironic costume contests promoted on TikTok; the abundant commentary made fun of the archetype’s overt, virtue-signaling preference for feminist literature, oat-milk matcha lattes, and painted nails. On this specific type of “performative” man, painted nails can seem like a contrived flourish, especially when they’re mailed in: typically guyishly unkempt or and painted in a “safe” color option like black. However, Skarsgård’s ruby reds read as playful and genuine.

The actor’s manicure struck a certain nostalgia for those of us who grew up DIY-ing our own manis or getting our nails painted by our friends. He’s not wearing acrylic claws or gel nails—which is to say they don't look costume-y or professionally done—and he went for a bright, bold color option commonly selected by women and girls. Peeking out from his classic movie-star monkey suit by Saint Laurent, the red nails almost feel like an accident—like you’ve just seen the buffest guy at your gym squat a 400 only to bend over and reveal a lacy pink thong.