Mads Mikkelsen has had many iconic roles throughout his lengthy and impressive career. He has played some of the most captivating and psychologically complex characters, with some examples being Hannibal Lecter in the hit television series, Hannibal, Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, and the role of Kaecilius in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Doctor Strange.
Before his appearance alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in the 2016 film, it would seem that there was another opportunity for him to join Marvel more than a decade before this film came out. It was revealed by the actor that he was in the run of playing the role of Reed Richards in the 2005 movie, Fantastic Four until he let it go because of a bad audition.
Mads Mikkelsen Auditioned For Reed Richards
The first adaptation of the iconic comic group, The Fantastic Four, was certainly extremely memorable, regardless of how it was received critically. Having an iconic cast with actors like Jessica Alba, Ioan Gurffudd, and Julian McMahon, the film had excellent performances, not to mention the fact that Chris Evans first appeared in this film, before starting as Captain America for the better half of the MCU‘s run.
The casting process of any project is extremely lengthy. This is especially true when it comes to casting someone in pre-existing and beloved roles, like that of the Fantastic Four, a group that can be put next to the Avengers and The X-Men. It is no surprise that this was also the case for this movie. It is, however, surprising to find out that the beloved actor, Mads Mikkelsen auditioned for the role of the one, and only Mister Fantastic, before Gurffudd, his good friend, bagged the role.
Mads Mikkelsen’s Audition Was Awful
According to an interview with the Vulture, Mads Mikkelsen confessed to having auditioned for the role of Reed Richards, the beloved leader of the Fantastic Four who is known for his abilities to stretch and expand his body. Apparently, the actor wasn’t all too happy with the audition process itself, as the majority of casting was heavily dependent on first impressions.
“Yeah, and actually a good friend of mine got it, Ioan Gruffudd. I know a lot of casting is just first impressions — is there anything there that reminds the producer and the director of the character they’re looking for?”
The reason why this was an issue for him was that this audition specifically required him to say a single line of dialogue while pretending that he had 80-foot arms. Being an actor who relies extensively on portraying complex presences on screen, who require a lot of depth and layers, it is understandable why he would take issue with this.
“But I find it rude to ask people to come into a room and say one line while pretending you have 80-foot arms like the rubber man. ‘Grab that cup of coffee over there’ — it’s like, Are you crazy? There’s not even a scene here. It was kind of humiliating.”
He added that when he was asked to do this, he was extremely confused, trying to understand what the scene was here. He added that this was extremely embarrassing and humiliating for him as it reduced an extremely smart and complex character down to his ability to stretch and be flexible.
Also Read: Mads Mikkelsen’s Insane Casting Coincidence Before Indiana Jones 5: “My friend made a list”
