Mads Mikkelsen is a Danish film and television actor who was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on November 22, 1965. He began his acting career in 1996 and became famous when he played a drug dealer in the first two ‘Pusher’ trilogy films. Since then, he has appeared in many successful films, including ‘King Arthur’, ‘Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky’, ‘The Hunt’, ‘Dr. Strange’, ‘Arctic’, ‘Polar’, ‘Chaos Walking’, and ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’. However, it was playing the main antagonist Le Chiffre in the 2006 James Bond film ‘Casino Royal’ that shot him to worldwide fame. In terms of his television career, he is best known for playing Hannibal Lecter in NBC’s ‘Hannibal’. Although he is a well-known actor, there are many things that people do not know about him. Here are 20 facts you probably didn’t know about Mads Mikkelsen:
1. He Was a Gymnast and Professional Dancer
According to What Culture, Mads Mikkelsen trained as a gymnast in his youth as he had dreams of pursuing a career in athletics. He also studied dance at the Balettakademien in Gothenburg. By the mid-eighties, he had begun his career as a professional dancer. It wasn’t until 1996 after more than a decade of working as a dancer that he decided he wanted to become an actor. To switch career, he studied drama at the Arthur Theatre School in Denmark.
2. Lar Mikkelsen is His Brother
Mads Mikkelsen is from a talented family because his brother, Lars, is also an actor. Lars Mikkelsen is best known for his roles in ‘House of Cards’, ‘The Killing’, ‘Sherlock’, ‘Borgen’, and ‘Star Wars Rebels’. This actor won the Reumert Prize of Honour in 2011. Mads and Lars’ parents are Bente Christiansen and Henning Mikkelsen, neither of whom are in the entertainment industry.
3. He Has Done a Lot of Death Scenes
IMDB notes that Mads Mikkelsen is one of only a few actors to have had roles in a Bond film, a Marvel Cinematic Universe Film, and a Star Wars film. These films were ‘Casino Royale’, ‘Doctor Strange’, and ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’. Although this is a rare achievement, the more interesting point is that all three of the characters he has played in these three films has died.
4. He Can Speak Five Languages
Mikkelsen is a hugely talented man, and one of his skills is that he is multilingual. The Humor Nation says that he can speak five languages. His native language is Danish and he learned to speak Swedish while he was at dance school. The other languages in which he is fluent are English, German, and French.
5. Bruce Lee is one of His Idols
Mikkelsen loved action films as a child and he grew up watching Bruce Lee films, so Lee is one of his idols. Although he loves all five of Bruce Lee’s films, his favorite is ‘Game of Death’. This is the film that Lee did not finish, but Mikkelsen likes it because of the iconic stunts, says Shortlist. Another of Mikkelsen’s idols is Buster Keaton, as this is another actor that he enjoyed watching in movies as a child.
6. Mikkelsen is a Huge Fan of Graphic Novels
Something about which Mikkelsen is passionate is graphic novels, says Polygon. He has always loved comic books and he went through a phase of collecting first editions and he still likes to get them out to look at them. However, he no longer actively collects graphic novels. He has said that one of his favorite comic book characters is Corto Maltese, and he would love to play this anti-hero if there was ever a film.
7. He is a French Knight
Mikkelsen was named as a Chevalier of the Prestigious Order of Arts and Letters in April 2016 along with Danish film director Thomas Vinterberg. The ceremony took place at the Embassy of France and the honor was bestowed on them by French Ambassador Francois Zimeray. The pair were presented with green cross medals, says What Culture. Mikkelsen spoke at the ceremony and said that the French film industry had boosted his career.
8. He Likes Cooking Asian Food
Mads Mikkelsen loves eating his native Danish food and he has many personal favorites. However, in an interview with Shortlist, he admitted that he is not very good at cooking Danish food. Instead, he prefers to cook Asian food. Mikkelsen loves throwing ingredients into the wok and likes to add extra chili. One of the dishes he believes he cooks the best is coconut shrimp soup. In fact, he has bragged that no restaurant version of the dish is as good as his own. Therefore, he must have excellent skills in the kitchen.
9. He Has Won Multiple Awards
Throughout his career, Mikkelsen has been nominated for multiples awards in recognition of his talents. According to TV Guide, some of these include two Bodil Awards for the Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2005 and 2014. He also won the 2012 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award and two Robert Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role, one in 2005 and the other in 2014. Other awards won by this actor include two Zulu Awards for Best Actor, a Rouen Nordic Film Festival Award for Best Actor, a Fantasporto Award for Best Actor, and a Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival Award for Best Actor. Furthermore, he has also won a Palm Springs International Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his role as Jacob Petersen in the 2006 film ‘After the Wedding’.
10. He Doesn’t Watch Television Often
According to Polygon, Mads Mikkelsen hardly ever watches the television or goes to the movie theatre. However, he has admitted watching ‘The Walking Dead’ with his son and he found it addictive. In terms of his favorite movies, he loves the humor of ‘The Hangover’ series of films.
11. Mikkelsen Prefers Beers to Spirits
When it comes to his favorite tipple, Mikkelsen is strictly a beer man, says The Humor Nation. He has said that spirits are not his thing and he really doesn’t like Scotch and Whiskey. Mikkelsen says that he has tried them, but they remind of the smell of a girl who has just put perfume on instead of taking a shower.
12. He is a Motorcycle Enthusiast
One of Mads Mikkelsen’s greatest passions is motorcycles, says Famous Fix. He enjoys riding motorcycles in his spare time. One of Mikkelsen’s most prized possessions is his 1937 Danish Nimbus.
13. He is a Family Man
Although he has a busy professional life, Mads Mikkelsen is also a family man, says TV Guide. His wife is choreographer Hanna Jacobsen, who he met when he was training as a dancer in 1987. The couple did not marry until 2000. They have two children together; a son, Carl, born in 1997, and a daughter, Viola, born in 1992. The family lived in Copenhagen until 2012 when they moved to Toronto, Canada, for Mikkelsen’s work.
14. He Has Been Voted a Sexy Man on Many Occasions
Anyone who has seen Mads Mikkelsen may have noticed that he is a good-looking man. This hasn’t gone unnoticed in magazine polls as he is regularly voted in polls as the sexiest man in Denmark, reports Famous Fix. He was also voted as the sexiest man in the world by the Danish magazine ‘Woman’. Mikkelsen has spoken about being voted as one of the sexiest men in Denmark time and time again. He has said that he would rather he was considered sexy than the ugliest man in Denmark.
15. Mikkelsen’s Personal Net Worth is $10 Million
Celebrity Net Worth estimates that Mads Mikkelsen has a personal net worth of $10 million. He has made most of this money by landing major roles in commercially successful films. As his career is still thriving, he has the potential to further increase his personal net worth.
16. He Once Walked Out of an Audition
Throughout his career, Mads Mikkelsen has had many terrible audition experiences. The worst was probably when he walked out of the audition for the 2005 film ‘Fantastic Four’. Fact Republic tells the story of how Mikkelsen was auditioning for the role of Mr. Fantastic in Tm Story’s film. He found the audition frustrating, especially when he was asked to extend his arms like a rubber man. This prompted him to walk out of the audition.
17. He Believes the English and the Scandinavians Are Similar
In several interviews, Mads Mikkelsen has compared Scandinavians to the British. IMDB quotes him as saying that he has always thought that the English and Scandinavians have a lot in common, such as their sense of humor. He uses Monty Python as an example of the type of humor enjoyed in both nations. Mikkelsen has also said that British actors are often cast in the role of the villain. However, there is now a trend for even weirder accents, and Mikkelsen thinks that this is the reason why Scandinavian actors are now commonly cast in the role of villains. Mikkelsen himself has become almost typecast in villainous roles, which he doesn’t mind as it gives him the chance to act in American films.
18. His Favorite Country is Iceland
Mikkelsen played the role of Overgard in the 2018 survival film ‘Arctic’. Most of the filming for this movie was done on location in Iceland. In an interview with WWD, Mikkelsen said that he was already familiar with Iceland as it is his favorite country in the world. Not only does he love the Icelandic landscape, but he also adores the people of the country. One of the things he loves is that nobody cares about celebrities in Iceland. On the downside, the weather is unpredictable, and at one point, this put a stop to filming for four days.
19. Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy Have Worked Together Twice
Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy have worked together on two separate occasions, says BuzzFeed. The first time was in the 2004 historical adventure film ‘King Arthur’. This was written by David Franzoni and directed by Antoine Fuqua. In this film, Mikkelsen played Tristan and Dancy played the role of Galahad. During the planning stages of ‘Hannibal’, the NBC psychological horror-thriller series, Dancy recommended Mikkelsen for the lead role of Hannibal Lecter. In this series, Dancy plays the role of special investigator Will Graham. This series first aired on NBC on April 4, 2013, and both actors appeared in this series until it ended in 2015.
20. He Has a Huge Social Media Following
Mads Mikkelsen is an active user of social media and he has a large following on all his accounts. His Twitter account has 111 thousand followers. He predominantly uses this account to post about his professional life. Mikkelsen’s Instagram account has 559 thousand followers. The photographs he posts on this account are mostly of him in films or attending events. However, he does have some photos of himself enjoying activities in his personal life.
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