Childhood
The boy became the second child in the acting family. So it is not at all surprising that from early childhood he dreamed of joining this craft. By the way, his brother Lars, who is only a year older, also followed in his father’s footsteps and chose an acting career. But Mads significantly overtook him in popularity.
However, there has always been competition between the brothers. And quite often the younger one, due to his age, lost these competitions. Maybe this is what made him make every effort to reach heights in the family’s traditional profession. But this is still ahead.
Little Mads began attending choreography school early. Surprisingly, the boy absolutely loved moving to the music and conveying his feelings with the help of plastic movements. For some time he even dreamed of becoming a famous choreographer. But in adolescence, dancing was replaced by another hobby - motorcycles.
During all his free time from studying, Mads began to disappear on the street in the company of local bikers. He even begged his father for a used motorcycle and tinkered for hours in the garage, trying to turn it into a decent iron horse. When he becomes famous, he will have one of the best motorcycle collections in Europe. But he always remembers this first one with special warmth.
Mads Mikkelsen: "The film is quite tough, and I liked it"
All your images are always very accurate: be it the villains, like in Casino Royale or Doctor Strange, or the hero (well, almost) in the film Polar. In “Lost in the Ice” you play an ordinary person - just like the rest of us. Who is more interesting for you to play?
My favorite type is the villain who looks like a hero. But if I play a hero, then he is always a kind of obstacle to everything that surrounds him. In this sense, “Lost in the Ice” was a very good experience, because here the character is not black and white, but multifaceted. He has weaknesses, he makes certain choices, and not always the right ones.
Mads Mikkelsen in Moscow
Weren’t you afraid to act with a debutant (for director Joe Penn, “Lost in the Ice” is the first full-length film)?
Of course not. When I first talked to Joe, I realized that everything he wanted to say with this film coincided with my expectations. In addition, when a person makes a film for the first time, he is more relaxed, nothing is impossible for him. The energy of not knowing the limitations that experienced directors have encountered many times before is energizing. The film also has a very strong script; there are no unnecessary sentiments or flashbacks. It's quite tough - and I liked that too.
About flashbacks. Since they are not in the film (which, by the way, is not very typical for films about survival in general), then for the viewer your hero, conditionally, has no past. We see him only here and now. Is it easier or more difficult to work with such a character?
If the character of the hero depends on his fate, for example, on his relationship with his father, then, of course, I need to know this background. But in this case, in a picture where the main question we ask is “Should someone be nearby so that even in the harshest conditions you remain human, or not?”, it is not at all necessary to be a witness to history. Of course, someone is waiting for my hero, but we deliberately hide this fact. Some survival films even rely on flashbacks and, in my opinion, become overly sentimental because of them. For example, I already know that the hero has a wife and three children - why should I see them, why should I know that, in addition to the kids, there is also a dog waiting for him at home? In Lost in the Ice there is only man and ice. And of course, it is not his character that plays a big role here, but rather his ability to use common sense.
The movie turned out to be breathtakingly beautiful - the Arctic landscapes are undoubtedly mesmerizing. Sometimes it seems that nature is just as full-fledged a hero here. Was it difficult to resist her?
I had a little more lines (laughs)! But seriously, you can’t beat nature, and that’s what the film is about. My hero has no meaning, because one day he will be gone, but what surrounds him will live forever.
So you are on the side of nature?
In general, it seems to me that there is no need to take sides here. Nature simply needs to be loved and respected, which is what we have actually done for tens of thousands of years. But in a battle with natural forces, of course, it is not man who will emerge victorious.
And finally, back to my first question about heroes and villains. Can you name your favorites?
Bruce Lee, of course! This is my favorite superhero. And among the villains, the Joker is extremely interesting to me, but he has already been played brilliantly several times, so I try not to think about him.
Probably,
Career
Since studies and especially the exact sciences never attracted the future star, after receiving his certificate, he, without hesitation, followed his brother to acting school. Any transformation was easy for the boy, so he soon became one of the best students on the course.
Immediately after graduating from acting school, he began to be invited to filming. And after two simple short films, Mads gets a supporting role in the crime drama “Dealer”. But viewers will see this film later, when the actor has already become famous. Its premiere will take place only a few years after the end of filming - in 2004.
But while working at a Danish film studio, he met other famous directors and gained enormous useful experience. He begins to actively act in film, and by 2000, most of his compatriots consider him a rising star of Danish cinema.
After working in the film “Flickering Lights” (a gangster action film), which was released internationally and caused great resonance and positive reviews from critics, Max acquired a worldwide reputation. And the role of a policeman in the film “Special Forces” brought him the status of the sexiest Dane.
Soon Hollywood directors drew attention to the handsome and talented guy. And in 2004, he received an invitation to star in the large-scale historical project “King Arthur”, however, in the supporting role of Tristan. But this was the beginning of his ascent to Hollywood Olympus.
In 2004, the actor consolidated his success by starring in the sequel to the crime drama “Dealer,” which made him popular in his homeland. 2006 was a successful year for Mads, when he played in two films at once - the next part of the Bond movie "Casino Royale" and the melodrama with a deep philosophical meaning "After the Wedding", which received an Oscar nomination for best foreign film.
Although Mads acted almost continuously, leading roles remained unavailable to him for a long time. His finest hour was the release of the first episodes of the psychological thriller “Hannibal”, where he superbly played a psychotherapist. The first and second seasons enjoyed huge audience success, but the third already looked drawn out and the project was closed.
Interestingly, the actor was best at portraying complex characters with numerous problems or vices. So he amazingly played Igor Stravinsky in the filmed story of the Russian composer with the legendary Coco Chanel. The role of a psychopathic pedophile in the film “The Hunt,” which was highly praised by critics, became even more striking.
After audiences were accustomed to seeing the artist in historical or crime films, his appearance as the main villain Kaecilius in the comic book-based fantasy blockbuster Doctor Strange, which was released with stunning success in 2020, was very unexpected. In total, the actor’s filmography includes more than 40 large and small works.
Personal life
He met his future wife, whom Mads himself calls the love of his life, back in 1987, when both of them were dancing. Later, Hanne Jacobsen, who had a successful career as a choreographer, also appeared in films several times. But she preferred dancing.
Despite the five-year age difference and her status as a sex symbol's girlfriend, Hannah had the wisdom to maintain their relationship, which at some point was almost on the verge of collapse. Moreover, Mads did not formally propose to her, even though in 1992 Hannah gave him a daughter, and a few years later a son.
With wife and children
Only during the long filming of the series “Hannibal,” which took place mainly on the American continent, did he realize how dear his family was to him, and how difficult it was to be away from them for a long time.
He took the family to Toronto, and in 2000 the couple finally appeared at the altar.
Mads Mikkelsen
dnipro19
• 07.23.2019 at 23:45 • Positive
“NOW”/”NU”, 2003
.....A man and a woman meet in 1960. They get married only because it was the custom. But something goes wrong on their wedding night. They have no idea what to do with each other. Both intimately and emotionally. A man meets another who knows how to behave and what to do with his sexuality. His hands do things that no one else has ever done before, and so do his lips. They secretly love each other. But there is a problem - a woman. And she has her own ace up her sleeve. Will it work? Yes, it will. What will happen? Unknown to anyone......Black-and-white short films by the outrageous Danish director Simon Staho are perhaps nothing more than a stream of painful memories of an elderly man already on his deathbed, whose role in the film was played by Ingmar Bergman's regular actor - the star Swede Erland Jozefson. As expected, flashbacks take the viewer back to the youth of the hero (no less stellar Dane Mads Mikkelsen), where the viewer finds him in the role of a groom next to his beautiful chosen one (the completely unknown Elin Klinga from Sweden). Quite strange, to say the least, the relationship between the newlyweds immediately leads to sad thoughts about the haste of their marriage. Further more. Melancholy and depressive “scenes from married life” follow one after another, into which a mysterious male character unexpectedly invades, and with his appearance there is also a place for suspense…..Then the action unfolds either against the backdrop of lifeless landscapes, or in gloomy hospital corridors, sometimes in strangely empty rooms, the ascetic furnishings of which seem to indicate the inner emptiness of their inhabitants..... It seems that the short running time of the film was quite enough for Simon Stacho to show the existential tragedy of two people, their loss of harmony, happiness and, ultimately, the meaning of existence. It is clear that the reasons for such mental and spiritual discord can always be different, but in this case the director touches on the uncomfortable topic of sexual perversions for many, which in real life often ruin people’s destinies, becoming a stumbling block, including in relationships between spouses, when they often suffer and children..... Finally, in relation to this film, I would like to note a certain influence of Ingmar Berman with his greatest attention to detail and the emotional and psychological state of the characters, without forgetting about his characteristic cold Scandinavian mentality. Therefore, it seems no coincidence that the invitation to the role of one of the oldest members of the friendly acting family of the Swedish director - the talented and beloved Jozefson, as well as the famous Swede Mikael Persbrandt, and no less famous. Danish Henning Moritzen... I RECOMMEND to a very limited audience of viewers….
