Mikkelsen’s body of work has been widely recognized and celebrated. The range of genres he has appeared in include crime thrillers, black comedies, family dramas, historical dramas (several), revenge thrillers, a western, a Marvel superhero film, a Star Wars film, a Bond film, a Rihanna music video ( Bitch Better Have My Money), besides lending his voice to an animation film, appearing via motion capture in a video game ( Death Stranding) and headlining the popular horror-thriller TV series Hannibal. Having initially built his career in the Danish independent film scene, he branched out into mainstream American, French and German studio productions, while regularly returning to strong roles in Denmark. But that’s exactly what he has done, covering the spectrum from heroes to villains, from hyper-confident to vulnerable protagonists, with equal verisimilitude (although one must say, they all seem to embody Mikkelsen’s innate stoicism).

His high cheekbones, square jawline, distinctive overbite and downturned mouth combine to form a striking visage, which would make it challenging for an actor to disappear into a character.

This was my first sighting of Mads Mikkelsen, and during the ensuing 15 years, he has emerged as one of my favourite international actors. The characters were all memorable, not just Daniel Craig’s rugged version of the superspy, but also Jeffrey Wright’s empathetic CIA operative Felix Leiter, Eva Green’s intelligent and enigmatic femme fatale Vesper Lynd, and Mads Mikkelsen’s Le Chiffre, the unforgettable villain who uses a platinum-plated inhaler and weeps blood out of a damaged left eye. The Eon Productions reboot of the Bond franchise in 2006 with Casino Royale was a tremendous hit with audiences and critics alike.

Casting mads mikkelsen in casino royale