Mads Mikkelsen

Birthday: 22 November 1965, Østerbro, Copenhagen, Denmark

Birth Name: Mads Dittman Mikkelsen

Height: 183 cm

Mads Mikkelsen is a synonym to the great success the Danish film industry has had since the mid-1990s. He was born in Østerbro, Copenhagen, to Bente Christiansen, a nurse, and Henning Mikkelsen, a banker. Starting out as a low-life pusher/junkie in the 1996 success Pusher (1996), he slowly grew to become one of Denmark's biggest movie actors. The success in his home country includes Blinkende lygter (2000), En kort en lang (2001) and the Emmy-winning police series Rejseholdet (2000). His success has taken him abroad where he has played alongside Gérard Depardieu in I Am Dina (2002) as well as in the Spanish comedy Torremolinos 73 (2003) and the American blockbuster King Arthur (2004). He played the role of Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the TV series Hannibal (2013), from 2013 to 2015, with great success. Show less «

I take my work enormously seriously. When I do something it has to feel right. Everything has to be ...Show more »

I take my work enormously seriously. When I do something it has to feel right. Everything has to be right. I'm not ambitious about my career, but I am ambitious with each job. I can be fairly annoying to work with. No compromises. Let's put it this way: compromises are from hell. Show less «

[on his 1937 Danish Nimbus motorcycle] It is like something Steve McQueen would ride. I love the fre...Show more »

[on his 1937 Danish Nimbus motorcycle] It is like something Steve McQueen would ride. I love the freedom and it doesn't go quite as fast as a modern bike, which pleases my wife. Show less «

I ask a million questions, and I insist on having answers. I think that is what we have to do. I hav...Show more »

I ask a million questions, and I insist on having answers. I think that is what we have to do. I have to know what the director wants. Some are very much in their head, and I need to force it out of them. I just can't play around for eight hours and see if something happens. Show less «

[on the fact that he is voted "the sexiest man in Denmark" over and over] I'd rather be voted 'the s...Show more »

[on the fact that he is voted "the sexiest man in Denmark" over and over] I'd rather be voted 'the sexiest man in Denmark' than 'the ugliest man in Denmark'. Show less «

[on his Hannibal (2013) co-star Hugh Dancy] Hugh has become one of my very, very, very good friends....Show more »

[on his Hannibal (2013) co-star Hugh Dancy] Hugh has become one of my very, very, very good friends. We knew each other from before, but it's been so intense to spend three seasons together. I was there when he had his first little baby. It's been a fantastic journey. We were just very, very lucky that we ended up with each other. Imagine if we had ended up with someone we didn't like. Show less «

I try not to carry any character back home because that would be extremely frustrating for my family...Show more »

I try not to carry any character back home because that would be extremely frustrating for my family. It stays with you, of course, if for 14 hours a day you're being accused of something you haven't done and you can't get your frustration out anywhere. Whereas with a character like Hannibal, he's probably the happiest man I've ever played, even though he's doing horrendous things. He's a happy duckling and life is beautiful. Show less «

I'm a beer man. I tried to drink whiskey and Scotch but I don't get it. It smells like a girl who di...Show more »

I'm a beer man. I tried to drink whiskey and Scotch but I don't get it. It smells like a girl who didn't shower and just splashed a lot of perfume on. Show less «

[on his version of Hannibal Lecter] He loves fine art. He is a three-piece suit man. He loves classi...Show more »

[on his version of Hannibal Lecter] He loves fine art. He is a three-piece suit man. He loves classical music. He hates everything that is banal. And he loves the beauty of everything that's refined. He's trying to make friends with people, so I can't play that one card of being evil. It has to be hidden. Show less «

Mads Mikkelsen

Mads Mikkelsen's FILMOGRAPHY

Mads Mikkelsen'S roles

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