I admit, I didn’t know of the existence of Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen until I saw him in A Royal Affair, and then? WHOO BOY! Those cheekbones! He’s done a ton of historical films, and clearly I need to line them up. Let’s do this:
I Am Dina (2002)
A Norwegian-Swedeish-Danish film set in 1860, about a woman who has trouble letting go of the people she loves. Looks like a tragedy!
King Arthur (2004)
Mads played the small part of Tristan (as in Tristan and Isolde) in this “let’s make Arthur Roman/Guinevere Celtic? Anglo-Saxon? Some kind of warrior badass.”
Flame & Citron (2008)
Two real-life Danish resistance workers, one of whom is played by Mikkelsen, during World War II.
Valhalla Rising (2009)
A 12th-century Norse warrior (Mikkelsen) finds himself in a strange land.
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009)
A fictionalized account about a rumored affair between the famous fashion designer and composer.
Clash of the Titans (2010)
A remake of the film set in ancient Greek myths. Mikkelsen plays “Draco, captain of the royal guard of Argos who accompanies Perseus.”
The Three Musketeers (2011)
Yet Another Adaptation of the 17th century-set novel. Mads plays the Comte de Rochefort, a baddie.
A Royal Affair (2012)
He plays Johann Friedrich Struensee, doctor, philosopher, and statesman, who had an affair with Danish Queen Caroline Mathilda in the 1770s.
Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas (2013)
An adaptation of a story set in the 16th century about a German merchant whose “grievance against a Saxon nobleman developed into a full-blown feud against the state of Saxony, thus infringing the Eternal Peace of 1495,” per Wikipedia.
The Salvation (2014)
A Danish western set in the 1870s.
At Eternity’s Gate (2018)
A biopic about painter Vincent van Gogh’s final years in Provence. Mikkelsen plays “The Priest.”
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
A Harry Potter movie set in the 1930s. Mikkelsen plays Gellert Grindelwald.
Indiana Jones 5 (coming in 2023)
Not sure when exactly this is set — 1940s, I assume? Mads’ role is as yet unnamed.
The Bastard (coming in 2023)
According to the Hollywood Reporter, he’ll be playing “Captain Ludvig Kahlen, a 17th century soldier who sets out on an impossible mission: to clear and cultivate the wild Jutland heath for the Danish crown.”
Which is your favorite Mads Mikkelsen historical role?
The Three Musketeers is so bananas; somehow even worse than the 1990s version that cast Charlie Sheen of all people as Aramis. Although I will give it credit for introducing me to Luke Evans – Mads I’d already seen in King Arthur (alongside Hugh Dancy, well before their Hannibal days). I do recall, even as a wee baby literature lover, being mad that his Tristan was reduced to a generic ‘silent vaguely Eastern warrior’ type when I knew the story of Tristan and Isolde and how tragic it was.
Mmmmm King Arthur not just for Mads though but for all the knights.
Terrible history but plenty of totally edible man-candy.
Mads, and Joel, and Clive, and Ray, and the other Ray. Mmmm.
What a waste of a fantastic cast, almost all of whom I love in something else. Mads Mikkelsen, Clive Owen, Stellan Skarsgård, and I keep forgetting Til Schweiger’s in it.
A movie that belies its own premise. “This is the realistic King Arthur, and by ‘realistic’ we mean we have no damn clue what Sub-Roman Britain should look like.” It wasn’t even the first attempt or the most realistic.
Well, now I know why Dumbledore is heartbroken over Grindelwald.
Yeah, I know it’s not in your wheelhouse, but definitely Hannibal. Now do a review on his oh so lovely brother Lars. Start with The Witcher and work your way back.
Yes! I actually thought they were the same person (not my type so not paid much attention) but Mikklesons be multiple!
MAAAADDDDSSSS! Oh, how I’d love to see him playing Roald Amundsen!
Ewa, what a brilliant idea! I could drag my husband to that; he loves all those masochistic guys who trudged through the ice with their dogs. Anyway, clearly M.M. is one of those actors whose face was born to frock-flick. (Off-topic: A man and his pups: https://amundsen.mia.no/en/resource/amundsens-dogs/)
A Royal Affair
Great sad movie … oh the ending.
I’m apparently a lover of Mads in frock flicks, because I’ve seen several of these.
-King Arthur, not a great movie but the knights, sweet Jesus, the knights.
-A Royal Affair was enjoyable. I like Alicia Vikander, and they did a nice job of showing the king’s eccentricities w/o going full-blown crazy balls. The Danish court had several factions, one of which Struensee led, and the maneuvering is interesting. They take the tack that Queen Caroline Mathilda definitely had an affair w/him, which unless I remember incorrectly, hasn’t been totally confirmed.
-Flame and Citron is VERYVERYVERY GOOD! Sorry for yelling. It is heartbreaking, and beautiful, and just, go rent it.
-Not a frock flick, but I did enjoy his performance as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale. He was the first genuinely chilling, not cartoonish, Bond villain in a long time.
Great choice. He’s one of my favorite actors working today. I love him in period pieces but he’s also great in contemporaneous roles. Le Chiffre in Casino Royale (2006) (one of the best Bond movies) and Jagten (The Hunt) (2012) for example.
Be sure to check him out Mænd & høns (Men & Chicken) (2015) for a fantastic comedic performance. Wholesome, family entertainment that one.
Denmark. Land of beautiful men with amazing cheekbones.
Oh, God, I can’t even. All I can say is THANK YOU FOR THIS ONE!!
I didn’t like him in “The royal affair” because he was just looking too much bad ass for me when I compare him to the sources about Struensee. Maybe the costumes were a problem too. But I like him as an actor and I have to underline that I’m allways happy to recognize that he still makes smaller films in his homecountry and is not too much focussed on international productions.
I loved MM since seeing him Unit One years ago…but recently read he is a pal of Johnny Depp which cooled my old lady crush significantly…