‘Angels & Demons’ Actor: Dan Brown A ‘Terribly Bad Writer’

First Published: May 15, 2009 11:12 AM EDT Credit: WireImage

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Caption Stellan Skarsgard at the premiere of ‘Mamma Mia! The Movie’ in London (June 2008)Actor Stellan Skarsgard says he’s not a big fan of Dan Brown’s writing and accepted a role in “Angels & Demons” only after reading the script based on Brown’s book.

“I think Dan Brown is a terribly bad writer, but he has cliffhangers after every chapter which makes you continue reading,” Skarsgard told Swedish broadcaster SVT.

“It’s like eating peanuts at a bar. You don’t like them, but you keep on eating them anyway,” he said.

The Swedish actor, who plays the head of the Pope’s Swiss guard in the movie, said director Ron Howard’s script was significantly different from the book.

Tom Hanks returns in the lead role as Harvard professor Robert Langdon in “Angels & Demons,” a sequel to the “The Da Vinci Code” — also based on Brown’s novel with the same name. It will be shown around the world starting Friday.

“Angels & Demons” is better than the first film, Skarsgard said in the interview aired late Wednesday, because “the story is more simple and straightforward but just as dramatic.”

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