Mads Mikkelsen Reveals Why He Always Plays Bad Guys in Movies

Mads Mikkelsen is no stranger to franchises. The actor has had roles in Casino Royale, Doctor Strange, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. With some exceptions, the Danish actor tends to play villains in Hollywood films, and he recently addressed this during a Marrakech Film Festival masterclass (via Deadline). 

“It’s quite simple. It’s the funny accent. It’s as simple as that. It used to be Germans, then it was Brits; then the Russians, and then for some reason they fell in love with the Danish accent. That’s definitely part of it,” Mikkelsen shared when asked about playing so many villains. “Then if the Americans see something they like, they have a tendency to try and copy it, right. But I’ve been lucky enough to do different villains in different universes. There’s a big difference between Marvel and James Bond… but I never think about it too much. In Denmark, we don’t divide it into bad guys and good guys, we tend look at more complex characters.”

Mads Mikkelsen On Joining More Franchises: 

ComicBook.com had the chance to chat with Mikkelsen earlier this year, and we asked if there were any other franchises he’s eager to join. During the interview, the actor also talked about getting the chance to play one of the most notorious types of villains: a nazi in an Indy film. 

“No, not really,” Mikkelsen said when asked if he wants to join any other franchise. “We talked about it. I mean, there are genres I haven’t touched upon and I do love zombie films. I would love to be in a zombie film.” He added, “But not the ones where they’re really fast. They’ve got to be slow … You have to be able to outrun them. I don’t like the other ones.”

“My first Nazi,” Mikkelsen joked when asked about playing the villain in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. “It was due. No, I mean, it’s wrapping up this franchise, it’s wrapping up the beautiful journey of Harrison and Indiana Jones, and the script was just so beautiful and so touching, so that helped a lot. But he could have said, ‘Indiana Jones, Nazi,’ and I would’ve said, ‘Yes.’”

Would you like to see Mikkelsen join more franchises or play more villains? Tell us in the comments!