‘If you violate his moral code, he eats you’
From cannibals to flawed doctors, Mads Mikkelsen likes chewy roles
TORONTO • He doesn’t talk fava beans or Chianti, but Mads Mikkelsen has an undeniable appetite for human flesh — metaphorically speaking.
The man who won the best acting prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival for his turn in The Hunt, Thomas Vinterberg’s story of a teacher accused of child abuse, says he’s only attracted to roles that have a human scent, otherwise he’s totally bored.
“It’s very uninteresting to play the good guy or the bad guy because it’s not real at all. In my world, the actor’s world, the only things worth doing are the parts where you have a chance to explore the duality of the human condition,” Mikkelsen says.
“There must be human dimension … and a sense of personal morality.”
He points to his recent projects as perfect cases in point. The Hunt features Mikkelsen as a “good guy” accused of something awful. The period piece A Royal Affair explores the love connection between a Danish queen and her husband’s ambitious physician. And Hannibal is a new TV show that explores the cannibalistic history of a psychiatrist specialist.
Mikkelsen says every part informed the other, but his turn as royal physician Johann Struensee proved to be one of the most interesting because he wasn’t just taking on a real-life character, he was reenacting some important — but little-known — chapters in European history.
After helping the Danish king overcome some health issues, the young Struensee fell in love with the queen, as well as the king’s power to change society. He was well-read and socially progressive, and was so eager to change the world, he usurped power from the king. Yet, despite making changes that paved the way for democracy, Struensee’s story wasn’t recorded as heroic. It was barely recorded at all.
“History is written by the victors,” says Mikkelsen. “And such is the case here. It’s too bad we have no survivors who could have given us any anecdotes, but we do have many reports of his actions. He travelled throughout Europe …”
In some places, the doctor was revered and well-regarded as a polite and well-mannered man. In others, he was snubbed. “He broke everything and frequented brothels,” says Mikkelsen, who plowed through all the history he could get his hands on before signing on for the lacy, racy love story.
“The best thing we found were the letters written between the queen and the doctor. They really gave us a feel for the relationship between them. It wasn’t just a relationship about politics. There was a strong love connection between all of them, not just between the doctor and the queen, but between the doctor and the king, too.”
Using the letters as their guide, the actors breathe fresh life into history, and let us get a good look at what Europe looked like before the age of reform — as well as the French Revolution.
Mikkelsen says everything is historically correct save a few details: “We know for a fact (the doctor) was very fat. He was huge. And so, actually, was the queen. It was the time. Wealthy people showed their wealth this way.”
Another creative licence was used to soften the doctor’s eventual demise. “His death is even worse than what the movie shows. They cut off his hands, let him lie there for a while, then went to his neck. But they had to do his neck three times, because the blade kept missing.”
Watching Mikkelsen talk so calmly about the hack whack job proves how matter-of-fact he can be about his career — as well as the moral quandaries that come with playing ambiguous characters.
“I just had to make up my mind about what his purpose was. You know, he’s a man of the Enlightenment, but he’s not one of the big thinkers. He wasn’t writing like the others. He was a doctor, and when he saw people whisper into the king’s ear, he thought maybe he could do the same thing. And once he has a chance to climb the social ladder …”
Mikkelsen smiles the same semievil grin he offered up as the baddie in Casino Royale.
“There is no getting around it: Once you have the ultimate power, you are going to be corrupted. It’s always the way. There is no way around it.”
In order to make the descent interesting for the audience, Mikkelsen says you have to find a recognizable scrap of personality that will make the audience connect — regardless of whether one is playing a Bond villain or Hannibal Lecter.
“Every person’s morality has a different level. As an actor, I am always trying to embrace the morality of the person I give life to. Even psychopaths have their own morality — it just looks different from ours,” he says.
“Hannibal Lecter has his own morals. And he is extremely in tune with them. He is a master of empathy, but he’s turned that into a weapon. So he is very interesting on many levels, because if you violate his moral code, he eats you.”
Mikkelsen laughs, indulging his dry Scandinavian wit.
“I tell you, I wasn’t so sure about doing Hannibal. But two minutes after I was pitched, I asked the producer, ‘ Can you do that on TV?’ And his answer was, ‘Yes.’ Those two minutes turned into two hours …”
Hannibal is slated to air some time in 2013, but Mikkelsen will be doing yet more rounds of press for A Royal Affair — which is currently on the festival circuit — as well as The Hunt, in addition to more feature work.
As long as there is something tough enough to chew on, Mikkelsen will be there. “The beauty of any interesting character, even the worst, is that they truly believe in what they are doing. Even Hitler thought he was right. That’s why people are interesting to me. Everyone has their own moral bar.”