Doctor Strange actor Mads Mikkelsen interview: ‘You can be a big star and still be insecure’

Hollywood’s go-to villain discusses Marvel’s latest blockbuster, Hollywood divas, and becoming an actor in later life

Mads Mikkelsen at the Doctor Strange UK premiere (Getty)

There’s no denying Doctor Strange has an incredible cast. First and foremost, there’s Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular superhero, the British actor world-renowned for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the BBC’s latest adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels. Then, there’s Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton, as well as Academy Award nominees Chiwetel Ejiofor and Rachel McAdams.

Last, but certainly not least, the Marvel Machine/Disney also clinched Hollywood’s go-to villain, Mads Mikkelsen, best known for playing Le Chiffre in Daniel Craig’s first James Bond film Casino Royale, and the titular character in the presently cancelled Hannibal. Wearing a light-brown leather jacket, the actor meets me at his London hotel room’s door, offering a sturdy handshake and a glass of water. Not often are Hollywood stars so courteous.

This marks my second conversation with Mikkelsen this year, having discussed Men & Chicken with him over the phone in July, months before his Doctor Strange character’s name was revealed to the world. At the time, he called it “the hardest film he’s ever made”, something the 50-year-old elaborates on now Disney’s infamous snipers have left him alone.

“Physically, yes, it was the hardest film I’ve ever worked on,” he begins. “But, the hardest films I work on are those which don’t work. Physically it was tough: demanding having weeks after weeks of fighting. It was 10 to 12 hours a day, which is pushing it a little, even for people who are fit. It was quite demanding.”

Despite this, Mikkelsen is keen to get across just how great being on set was, adding: “Even when you’re hanging upside down, it’s just fun.” That “fun” feeling comes across in Doctor Strange: the film is packed with quips and one-liners. The special effects, meanwhile, are beyond comprehension.

“Obviously, we used our imagination to work out what they would hopefully put on the screen,” he says. “But seeing it in real life was a little more mesmerising. We can always fear the worse on set – like they’ve ran out of money and the magic turns out to be like pulling a little rabbit out of a hat – but this was something extra.”

Mikkelsen plays the film’s villain (of course) named Kaecilius, an ex-apprentice of Swinton’s The Ancient One who turns on sour after discovering his master’s dark secrets. There’s also another evil force at play, one Kaecilius doesn’t understand fully.

“The character is blinded by eternal life.” Could he be described as a puppet? “In many ways, but I’m not sure he’s fully aware of what and who he is worshipping. Even Doctor Strange says “you’re in for a surprise”. Kaecilius has a point, though. His world has collapsed. The Ancient One turns out to be a dictator, one who says “we’re all in the same boat”, but we’re not. She has a million dollars when we only have a thousand. What the f*ck is with that? Share! His means of getting to this beautiful place is a little radical. There’s a lot of sacrificing to get there.”

He’s certainly right about the numerous sacrifices: the film opens with Kaecilius and his followers beheading a librarian, something Mikkelsen believes is reasonable for someone trying to do good. It’s this dualism that attracted the actor to the Marvel project: “It leads to something where we can go ‘yeah, he’s got a f*cking point’. It’s more interesting than just being mad. There’s a higher purpose to the character than just being mad.”

For the actor, choosing to play a character requires a certain calibre of script. Since his performances in both Hannibal and Casino Royal, Hollywood has seemingly anointed Mikkelsen the quintessential European villain, leading to numerous scripts being flung his way, both good and bad.

“Two-dimensional villains are still around but I think people have learnt their lesson and know it’s more interesting to make them three-dimensional. The writers and directors, that’s the goal they’re pursuing, but there are still those villains who are pure evilness and are just laughing when they shoot. They do the pirate laugh [Mikkelsen does a mock Joker-esque laugh].

“Writers need to step into villain’s shoes and make them go on a path where they believe they are doing right. Once you find the key to that, it’s easy to write a good villain. But that goes for a hero, I don’t think they are that different.”

Luckily, the character Kaecilius was fully formed in the script, or – as he calls it – The Bible. Why lucky? Because, unlike with the Danish scripts Mikkelsen’s career was build on, there was little room for change.

“We have the input we have as actors, our mere presence jumping into the shoes of the character,” he says. “Changing the dialogue, changing plot details is an easier process in a smaller Danish film than on a major American film. To make major changes, that’s often when I play the lead and that becomes a necessity to make the role stronger. The supporting actors are there to serve a purpose.”

There have been few times where Mikkelsen has been able to play the lead in Hollywood films, yet the opposite is true about films from his home country. Look at acclaimed Danish drama The Hunt, for instance, a nominee for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2014. Mikkelsen played the film’s lead, Lucas, a role for which he won Cannes Film Festival’s award for best actor.

Mikkelsen (Getty)

The Hunt marks just one example: his first leading role was in 2001’s Shake It All About in which Mikkelsen played one-half of a gay couple. Mikkelsen’s next leading role came in the sequel to Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher, helping further establish the pair as some of Denmark’s most talented filmmakers.

“I prefer being the lead,” Mikkelsen muses. “In general, there’s a process there that is inspiring. The film is serving you, it comes to you, it serves your story more than a character serving the film. There’s a difference in what you can get away with. The camera comes to you as the main character. That’s not often the case as a supporting one.”

Despite preferring to be centre stage, there’s no arrogance to Mikkelsen, perhaps because acting is only something he stumbled into after turning 30. Before then, he was a gymnast, then a dancer.

“I have no idea why I became a dancer, it just happened. I was asked as a gymnast to be in a show, do some flips and things. We learnt a few little moves. All of a sudden we were almost half dancing in a show. Obviously, the union of dancers hated us because we were not professional. And then the choreographer asked if I wanted to learn the craft because, in her eyes, I had talent.

“I had absolutely nothing else to do in my life so I said ‘yeah, why not. There’s not a lot of boys around here but a lot of girls.’ It fits well into my imagination of how I should live my life. That just happened and I loved it. It was super fun, super physical. Gradually, I understood I was more in love with the dramatic side of dancing than the aesthetic side. Then I went into the drama side.”

Soon into his dancing career, Mikkelsen decided upon going to drama school, having his big break while still studying all thanks to the aforementioned Drive director, Nicolas Winding Refn. “He wanted no actors in his film, just real people, real authentic dialogue. Lots of improvisation. He j hated acting, simply. There were a few of the casters who thought they may need actors because some of the characters were so big. He was like ‘f*ck no’.”

However, despite Refn wanting “real people”, one of the casting actors managed to persuade the director to look to drama schools for actors. “I had very heavy street language, very fast, which created some difficulties in drama school, but they said let’s have a look. He loved what I did. It was improvisation, it was extremely pornographic sh*t my character was saying. He just loved it so he gave me the job. Then he cast a lead, and there were two actors all of a sudden. Then a third. That expanded his mind, that he could actually find actors that are able to bring his vision to life.”

From that point, the pair’s respective careers would expand exponentially, leading both to Hollywood where, despite the rumours, Mikkelsen found most actors egos were in check.

“They’re actors, first of all, and they’re all there to translate the director's vision into a film. Big star or not, that really goes out the window. And good for that, because you can’t go around being intimidating each other because of each others skills, talent, fame. That’s simply not going to work on set, and then we don’t achieve anything. That would be the same if you’re playing soccer and you meet Messi and go ‘Oh God, it’s Messi, I can’t take the ball from him’. It’s my f*cking job to take the ball from him. The intimidation can come before and after, but not in the midst.”

He clarifies that there was nothing of the like on the set of Doctor Strange, but there is some truth to the rumours. “It happens once in a while where people do love to be intimidating and love to have that hierarchy. It doesn’t happen as much as one would expect from the rumours. Sets are not full of divas running around, asking for yellow M&Ms.”

It’s perhaps the first time Mikkelsen begins to watch exactly what he’s saying, knowing how publications can often take words out of context. After clarifying you get divas in every profession, he adds: “You hear urban myths but I haven’t really bumped into it. A lot of it comes from insecurity. You can be a big star and still be insecure. In order to be a big star and not be insecure, you need to make sure they’re more insecure than you. That’s one of the tricks. The more they feel at home and safe, the nicer people are.”

Doctor Strange is in cinemas now