Mads Mikkelsen is one of the few lucky actors who have successfully dabbled in big and small productions. Fans of franchises like the MCU and Star Wars will know him from Doctor Strange and Rogue One. The Danish actor played the characters of Kaecilius and Galen Erso in those films respectively. People who love murder mysteries and thrillers will surely have seen him in Hannibal, where he plays the titular cannibalistic character. However, even after being in famous and lauded productions, or maybe because of it, the actor feels that he is undergoing an identity crisis.
Mads Mikkelsen Explains His Issues With Identity
As per Celebrity Net Worth, Mads Mikkelsen boasts a $14 million fortune. As such, one would expect that with the kind of money as well as filmography he has amassed over the years, the actor would be content. But turns out that’s not the case. In a 2016 interview with The Independent, Mikkelsen explained that he is still trying to define his identity between the Danish and English languages. As per the star:
“Danish is my language. I don’t have to think twice about it. But, then again, I don’t have to do that when speaking English. I’m still looking for my identity in the English language, and once you have that, you can start playing characters from there. I’m getting there, the more I spend time in England or America. But then you meet someone from f***ing Australia and you start changing your accent again and you’re back to square one [Laughs].”
However, the actor confirmed at the end that Danish is the language that comes naturally to him. He explained:
“Yet, Danish is my first language, and without any doubt, it’s the easiest to follow.”
The Casino Royale actor also said that in terms of humor, there’s a lot the Danes have in common with the English. As per him, it’s because they were raised on Month Python, which had a dry and mad English sense of humor. Due to this, the Danes identified as well as loved it. In the same interview, the actor also clarified why he always keeps playing the villain in Hollywood films.
Mads Mikkelsen On Playing A Hollywood Villain Every Time
Whether it was Le Chiffre in Casino Royale or Kaecilius in Doctor Strange, Mads Mikkelsen seems to get a call from Hollywood only to play the antagonist. However, in European movies, he tends to play the good protagonist. During the interview with The Independent, the host asked the actor about his thoughts on this peculiar phenomenon. As per Mikkelsen, it’s all because of his funny accent. He said:
“It’s hard to say. It’s been very popular to use British actors to play the villains, but – for some reason – they need an even funnier accent to play the villain which is the Scandinavian one. We’re the villains right now. Why they’re doing it, it’s hard to say.”
However, the actor then mentioned that he has also been part of projects like Hannibal where the line between the hero and the villain blurs a lot. Mikkelsen expressed that he has been fortunate to play such grey characters. It’s still a tad bit hilarious that the actor still gets calls to play major villains to this day. In the upcoming Indiana Jones 5 film, he’s playing the antagonist, Jürgen Voller, as well. However, he seems to have a blast playing the smarmy villains.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will release on 30 June 2023.
Source: The Independent
