How Mads Mikkelsen almost blew the biggest movie of his career: “A complete disaster”
Mads Mikkelsen is one of those actors who, even if you don’t know much about him, demands instant respect. His versatile nature is impressive, and you can’t help but be drawn to his characters, even when they’re evil and incredibly cunning. From acclaimed roles in movies like Another Round to more commercially viable appearances in the Fantastic Beasts and Indiana Jones series, Mikkelsen has risen from being a modest Danish star to a Hollywood icon.
Mikkelsen has proven himself capable of a range of genres and characters, yet his most well-known performances are the ones where he plays villains, something he just happens to be spectacularly good at. From Kaecilius in Doctor Strange to the titular character in Hannibal, Mikkelsen can bring out an unnerving look and snarling line delivery as though it’s second nature while balancing out these characters with a hearty dose of charm and charisma.
One of Mikkelsen’s most iconic villains, however, is Le Chiffre, whom he played in Casino Royale. The role shot Mikkelsen to international fame following several years of working in Denmark. He’d previously earned acclaim for starring in Pusher and its sequel, as well as another Nicolas Winding Refn movie, Bleeder. The actor had also collaborated with Anders Thomas Jensen several times and starred in one of Norway’s most successful movies, I Am Dina.
Yet, when he was given the role of Le Chiffre, Mikkelsen’s talents were exposed to a wider audience. Starring opposite Daniel Craig, Eva Green and Judi Dench, the actor gave one of the movie’s most compelling performances. His character (who Ian Fleming wrote with Aleister Crowley in mind) funds international terrorism and inflicts some pretty heinous torture on James Bond. In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, Le Chiffre ties Bond to a chair and whips his bare testicles, even threatening to castrate him if he does not exchange valuable information.
Le Chiffre is shot dead, which saves Bond’s life, yet Mikkelsen’s character is still remembered as one of the franchises’ most menacing villains. However, Mikkelsen almost ruined his chances of securing the role when he made a mindless mistake. He explained to Vulture, “I got the script before I did the casting, and it was the first time I got a script where your name is printed on every page. I fell asleep on the plane, and I forgot it on the plane. I am the reason why they put your name on the script.”
Mikkelsen’s mistake could’ve been serious – if the script had got into the wrong hands, the whole screenplay for Casino Royale could’ve been leaked, and it would’ve been game over for the actor. “This is what they’re trying to avoid. I panicked. I was out of the plane. I’d walked maybe a minute or something. I realised, ‘Oh, no’, and I went back, and they wouldn’t let me in.”
He was lucky enough that the script was never made public, and he managed to land the role, regardless of his near-fatal mistake. “I think somebody who cleaned up that plane had no idea what it was and threw it out. But that is obviously a complete disaster if it ends up on the front page of The Sun. I mean, this is the worst way of blowing it. I got ahold of those scenes somehow, and I went and did the audition.”
