Danish star Mads Mikkelson has developed a reputation for excelling in unhinged characters on-screen. And why not, his very own debut in Hollywood depicted his most gruesome character to date. The actor turned heads with his impeccable performance as Hannibal Lecter in the 2013 horrors series Hannibal. He earned massive recognition for the series, and has become a common face in most action features. Surprisingly, that was not his finest villains.
Way before he shot to stardom, Mikkelson made himself known with the one character that remains his best franchise villain portrayal till now. 1996’s Pusher starred Nicolas Winding Refn and Mads Mikkelson, both debutants playing best friends. However, the light somehow shined brighter on Mikkelson, coming off as his most deranged character.
Mads Mikkelson hasn’t yet outdone himself
The 58-year-old actor recently impressed fans as the Nazi scientist Dr. Jürgen Voller in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Another of his deranged characters, Dr. Voller makes one of the most powerful villains in the age-old adventure franchise. Prior to that, Mikkelson also made appearances as Dr. Doom in MCU, as the ruthless serial killer and psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter, and in the spy series, James Bond as Le Chiffre.
Although, the Danish actor really started his career with a bang. Even if not in terms of character development, Mikkelson’s appearance as Tonny was particularly spine-chilling. The Pusher featured Mikkelson with a shaved head adorned by a mighty ‘RESPECT’ tattoo on the backside. Thus, the comparison with Hannibal reveals the grittiness of his appearance as Tonny.
What was The Pusher about?
The film unfolds around a drug deal gone wrong, forcing the street-level drug dealer to deal with the loss of a massive amount of heroin lost, in addition to paying the debts to the drug kingpin. The movie received critical acclaim, which encouraged its trilogy sequels, Pusher II and Pusher 3. Notably, The Pusher was led by Kim Bodnia and not Mad Mikkelson. Yet, the latter’s intensely-tattooed character dominated the screen over Bodnia’s.
As per Collider, the movie set in Denmark, emerged to be one of the first Danish gangster movies and was an immediate success with a rating of 7.3 on IMDb. Following this, the sequels hit theatres in 2004 and 2005, also making hits in the theatres. However, if one may have watched the movie, Mikkelson’s character is actually hiding behind his tattoos. Being part of the drug-dealing industry, Tonny was bound to compensate for his lack of street prowess with his gory look. This side of his character is eventually revealed after he miserably fails to show off a kick stunt.
Apart from wowing the audience with his deranged characters in Hollywood, Mikkelson also remains true to his Danish roots. He appeared in Riders of Justice and The Green Butchers to give back to th Dutch film industry that gave him the platform initially. Now, a well-known figure in Hollywood, fans tend to look forward to any thrilling characters he might be pursuing in the future.
