Since his breakthrough performance at the age of 30 (after a career as a dancer) in Nicolas Winding Refn's 1996 cult debut Pusher, Mads Mikkelsen has become one of the most in-demand actors of his generation.
His talent and versatility have seen him switch effortlessly between super villain characters (Casino Royale, Hannibal), physically demanding roles (Pusher 2, Valhalla Rising), and gut-wrenching movies like Susanne Bier’s Open Hearts, After the Wedding and Thomas Vinterberg's The Hunt.
So if like us, you are mad about Mads, you're in for a treat with no less than ten movies starring the great Dane available now at SBS On Demand. You're welcome.
A Royal Affair
M
Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic, Denmark, 2012
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Language: Danish, French, German
Director: Nikolaj Arcel
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Trine Dyrholm, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Alicia Vikander
What's it about?A Royal Affair is Nikolaj Arcel's (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) foray into romantic, epic period drama, which will delight even the viewers who are not fans of the genre. This is in no small part due to the great acting and chemistry of its leads: Alicia Vikander (The Light Between Oceans), as a young queen married to an insane king, who falls secretly in love with his physician, Mads Mikkelsen. Together they start a revolution that changes a nation forever.
A Royal Affair: Nicolaj Arcel interview
The Hunt
MA15+
Denmark, Sweden, 2012
Genre: Drama
Language: Danish
Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp
What's it about?
Mads Mikkelsen deservedly won the award for Best Actor in Cannes for his unforgettable performance as a village kindergarten teacher who is wrongly accused of sexually abusing children at the school, after a friend's young daughter falsely claims he exposed himself to her. The accusations see the tight-knit community rally against Lucas, who is forced to face a lonely fight for his life and dignity, as he is ostracised, arrested, and loses nearly all his friends. A chilling reflection on the dangers of mass hysteria, paranoia and ignorance.
[link title="The Hunt: Mads Mikkelsen interview" url="node/1165"]
[link title="Read our ★★★★ ½ review" url="node/5939"]
Exit
MA15+
Sweden, 2006
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Language: Swedish
Director: Peter Lindmark
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Alexander Skarsgård, Samuel Fröler
What's it about?
Scandi-noir fans will enjoy this gripping thriller from Sweden, where Mikkelsen (who happens to speak fluent Swedish) portrays a man who seems to have it all: a loving family, a beautiful house, and a successful finance company, which is about to finalise its most lucrative deal ever. But his life turns into a nightmare when Russian buyers inform shareholders they have crucial information about the company’s unorthodox methods, information that can only come from beyond the grave. Also stars Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood, Tarzan).
Open Hearts
MA15+
Denmark, 2002
Genre: Drama, Romance
Language: Danish
Director: Susanne Bier
Starring: Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Paprika Steen, Mads Mikkelsen
What's it about?
Oscar-winning director Susanne Bier's (In a Better World) intimate and powerful drama, filmed under the Dogma rules, follows the aftermath of a freak accident that leaves a man, Joachim, paralysed, throwing his life and that of his fiancee Cecilie into a spin. The driver of the other car, Marie, and her family don’t get off lightly, either. Her husband Niels (played by Mads Mikkelsen), works in the hospital where he meets Cecilie and falls madly in love with her. While Joachim nurses his anger impotently, Cecilie and Niels have to decide whether to give up everything for this new love.
[link title="Watch The Movie Show's original ★★★★ review" url="node/3168"]
Pusher
MA15+
Denmark, 1996
Genre: Thriller, Crime
Language: Danish, Serbian, Swedish
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Kim Bodnia, Mads Mikkelsen, Zlatko Buric
What's it about?
A furious, hyper-realistic window into the very bottom of the Copenhagen underworld, Nicolas Winding Refn's cult debut tells the gritty, violent and chilling story of petty criminal Frank (Kim Bodnia), a drug pusher who, with his dimwitted skinhead mate Tonny (Mikkelsen), is enjoying a lifestyle of sex and drugs. But one day, a failed drug deal lands him in debt to a ruthless and dangerous Copenhagen drug lord, and Frank grows increasingly desperate, as he only has a few days to raise the money he owes.
Pusher 2
MA15+
Denmark, 2004
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Language: Danish, Serbo-Croatian
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Leif Sylvester, Anne Sørensen
What's it about?
This second part of the Pusher trilogy focuses on Mikkelsen's character Tonny, as he is released from prison and is set on changing his life. But that is easier said than done, as Tonny might be a "free man", but he remains the mercy of his cold-hearted gangster father, known as the Duke. About to be a father himself, Tonny tries to find a path to redemption and repay his debts, but makes mistakes after mistakes, which sees him further suffer the scorn of the Duke.
Flame & Citron
MA15+
Denmark, 2009
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Language: Danish
Director: Ole Christian Madsen
Starring: Thure Lindhardt, Mads Mikkelsen, Stine Stengade
What's it about?
This stylish noir gem, which is not without evoking Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows, gives us a gripping portrait of the Danish resistance during WWII, carried by strong performances by Mads Mikkelsen and Thure Lindhardt (Fast & Furious 6). During the Nazi occupation, Flame and Citron are assassins in the Danish resistance and target important officials of the Third Reich. However, the game changes when the pair discover that their powerful boss may be using them to settle his own personal scores.
The Door
MA15+
Germany, 2009
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Language: German
Director: Anno Saul
Starring: Valeria Eisenbart, Jessica Schwarz, Mads Mikkelsen
What's it about?
Mikkelsen gives a tour de force performance as an artist living in despair and guilt following the death of his young daughter. But a door he discovers provides a passage back in time and the opportunity to change the past and avert the tragedy. Adapted from a novel by Akif Pirrincci, Germany’s answer to Stephen King, The Door establishes a nightmarish scenario where the hope of redemption might only lead to eternal damnation.
Prague
MA15+
Denmark, 2006
Genre: Drama
Language: Danish, Czech
Director: Ole Christian Madsen
Starring: Stine Stengade, Mads Mikkelsen
What's it about?
Mads Mikkelsen and Stine Stengade are both superb as married couple Christoffer and Maja, who go on a trip to Prague to bring back Christoffer's deceased father. With the dead father lurking in the background, secrets gradually emerge threatening to destroy their marriage. A story of an old love, constantly transformed; at once, rooted, fragile, vulnerable, forgotten and rediscovered. Nominated for Best Film at the 2007 Bodil Awards.
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
MA15+
France, 2009
Genre: Drama, Romance
Language: French
Director: Jan Kounen
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Anna Mouglalis, Yelena Morozova
What's it about?
In this sumptuously shot, elegant film set in 1920 Paris, director Jan Kounen explores the myth of fashion icon Coco Chanel – played by actual Chanel muse Anna Mouglalis – and her passionate love affair with composer Igor Stravinsky. After the death of her lover Boy Capel, fashion designer Coco Chanel meets composer Igor Stravinsky, who following the Russian Revolution took refuge in Paris. The attraction between the pair is instant and electric. Coco invites Igor, along with his sick wife and children, to move into her new villa, Bel Respiro, in Garches.
