“He’s doing it every day, every second”: Mads Mikkelsen’s Brutally Honest Take on His ‘Hannibal’ Role Proves He is Arguably the Best Villain on Television
- Mads Mikkelsen has played some of the best villains in the history of cinema.
- He also portrayed Hannibal and believes that the character is much more than his villainous tendencies.
- The Casino Royale star believes that Hannibal is an inspiring character minus his heinous little hobby.
Mads Mikkelsen has proved to the world that Danish cinema is still worth it. Besides Danish films, he has also played a plethora of characters in Hollywood projects. One of them is Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the NBC TV series Hannibal.
Hannibal Lecter is a character that takes a lot of courage to watch so one can only imagine what it must take to play him. Luckily, Mikkelsen has all that and more because not only has he portrayed the character, but also pointed out how there is also a type of good in him that some people strive for their entire lives.
Mads Mikkelsen on How Dr. Hannibal Lecter is an Impressive Character Beyond His Serial Killer Persona
Mads Mikkelsen began earning fame with his role as a policeman in the Danish TV series Rejseholdet (Unit One). He gained international recognition with his role as Tristan in Jerry Bruckheimer’s King Arthur, which is one of those rare films that enjoyed commercial success but ended up a critical failure.
Over the years, Mikkelsen’s many Hollywood roles have included mostly those of villains, and that too in some of the best movies that have been ever made. For instance, the James Bond films Casino Royale, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and Doctor Strange.
He has also famously played the fictional serial killer Hannibal. However, the show he starred in focused on the character’s complex relationship with FBI agent Will Graham. This is unlike some other adaptations of the character in which his heinous crimes are the primary focus.
As it turns out, as villainous as Hannibal is, there is also something good in him that people in the real world try really hard to have. Mikkelsen pointed this out during an interview with ScreenSlam back in 2014.
He takes life not for granted. He tries to enjoy life every single minute, something we all keep telling ourselves not to forget. He’s doing it every day, every second.
The BAFTA-nominated actor seems to have studied the character closely rather than just taking it at face value for an empathy-lacking villain.
Mads Mikkelsen Believes Hannibal is an Inspiring Character
If there is one thing that the audience has often learned from watching villains, it is that the actors playing them have done a good job because it would not be convincing otherwise. That said, Hannibal might just be the best villain in the history of TV shows, all thanks to Mikkelsen who has proved that the character is much more developed and nuanced than one would think it to be.
The actor explained how the former forensic psychiatrist is also an inspiring entity because he prefers looking at the brighter side.
He sees opportunity around every single corner as well and if something, in our eyes, fatal, dramatically happens today that might turn my world, it doesn’t turn his world. He doesn’t see it as a problem; he sees it as a challenge. In many ways, he’s quite inspiring.
Mikkelsen insisted that if it was not for that strange little hobby of Hannibal, he might actually have been very inspiring as someone who embraces life.
Hannibal is available for streaming on Prime Video.
