Mads Mikkelsen Net Worth

Biography of Mads Mikkelsen

Mads Mikkelsen is a Dane with a memorable appearance and undeniable acting talent, the star of the TV series Hannibal, the films The Hunt and Casino Royale, and the winner of the prestigious Silver Palm Award.

Childhood

The full name of the actor is Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen. The boy spent his childhood in the most prestigious area of ​​Copenhagen – Osterbro. It was there that the house of his parents, the Danes of Henning Mikkelsen, by the way, also an actor, and his wife Bente Christiansen was located. Mads became the successor of glorious family traditions, following in the footsteps of his father and older (one year) brother, Lars Mikkelsen, who later “lit up” not only in Danish cinema, but also in the sensational series “Sherlock” and “House of Cards”.

In his younger years, Mads did not even think about an acting career. But, as they say, the genes still made themselves felt. He received a diploma in theater education at the Arhus Academy in 1996, already a thirty-year-old man. And before that, Mikkelsen was a professional dancer.

Actor career

The first serious work of Mads in the cinema (immediately after completing his studies at the theater school) was the Danish action movie “Dealer”. The debut was successful, and in the further continuation of the film, Mads played the first violin. Within a few years he became Denmark’s leading actor. He played on the same stage with another Danish celebrity – Nikolai Coster-Waldau.

With the onset of the millennium, the actor became famous outside his homeland. The film “Flickering Lights” brought him popularity, and the epic drama “King Arthur” with the role of the knight Tristan strengthened his position in Europe.

At the beginning of the 2000s, he starred in several films directed by Suzanne Beer, which were later nominated for an Oscar (Open Hearts and After the Wedding).

One of the first “villains” performed by Mikkelsen was the anti-hero from the next part of the Bond movie, or rather, the shadowy financial genius Le Chiffre from Casino Royale (2006).

Then there was a biographical drama about the relationship between the Russian musician Igor Stravinsky and the legendary Coco Chanel. The film received high marks and positive reviews from film critics. The authority of Mads Mikkelsen grew with each such project, he gradually became a sex symbol not only in his native country.

With his successful experience in epic sagas in mind, the actor accepted the offer to play the lead role in A Royal Affair alongside rising Swedish star Alicia Vikander.

This was followed by the film adaptation of “The Musketeers” by Alexandre Dumas, where Mads tried himself in the role of the anti-hero Rochefort.

The real heyday and peak of fame came in 2013, when Mads Mikkelsen starred in the acute social drama The Hunt, for which he later received the Cannes Film Festival award (Silver Palm Branch for Best Actor). The plot is based on the tragedy of one family, more precisely, its head, a divorced kindergarten teacher Lucas, who is fighting with his ex-wife for the right to custody of his son. In pursuit of what he wants, his wife uses the most vile method and vilifies Lars.

The depth of reflection of the protagonist, his willpower allowed Mads Mikkelsen to show his talent in full. The film was also nominated for an Oscar, but lost out in the competition to The Great Beauty by Italian Paolo Sorrentino.

Then the actor again returned to his favorite role as an anti-hero. In particular, he starred in the popular TV series Hannibal as a charming cannibal-intellectual. After the masterpiece of Anthony Hopkins in the canonical The Silence of the Lambs, few people believed that someone could cope with this role. But Mikkelsen succeeded – his Hannibal Lector did not arouse the desire to turn to comparison.

In “Hannibal” Mikkelsen was called by Hugh Dancy – the performer of the second main role, FBI analyst Will Graham. For three seasons, the project was wildly popular with viewers around the world, but in 2015, the NBC channel announced the closure of the project. The actors’ contract has expired, but both Mikkelsen and Dancy have expressed a desire to work together again if the opportunity arises.

In 2016, the actor took part in the filming of the superhero blockbuster Doctor Strange, where Tilda Swinton and Benedict Cumberbatch became his partners on the set. He could also be seen in the spin-off of the cult saga, the blockbuster Rogue One. Star Wars”.

Personal life of Mads Mikkelsen

Mads Mikkelsen lives in Toronto (Canada), where he moved with his family after the start of filming Hannibal, realizing that he was unable to endure a long separation from his family. The actor is married to Hanna Jacobson, a choreographer by profession. They met in 1987, during the period of Mikkelsen’s professional passion for dancing, and since then they have never parted. Officially, the couple formalized the relationship only in 2000. The couple raised two children: son Carl and daughter Viola.

Even in his youth, the actor became interested in motorcycles. In his garage you can find rare, collectible items from the beginning of the last century.

Mads Mikkelsen now

In 2018, the film “Van Gogh. On the Threshold of Eternity”, where Willem Dafoe appeared as a famous artist. Mads also played an episodic, but striking role of a priest. The release of the action movie “Polar” is scheduled for next year, and this time Mads will be in the foreground in the form of a dangerous killer Black Kaiser.

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