Mikkelsen was born on 22 November 1965 in theØsterbro district ofCopenhagen, Denmark,[1] the son of mother Bente (née Christiansen) Mikkelsen and father Henning Dittmann Mikkelsen,[5] a cab driver.[6] He and his older brother, actorLars Mikkelsen, were raised in theNørrebro district.[7]
In his youth, he trained as a gymnast, wanting to pursue athletics, but then studied dancing at theBalettakademien (ballet academy) inGothenburg where he also became fluent in Swedish.[8] During his dancing career, Mikkelsen met choreographer Hanne Jacobsen, whom he married in 2000. He was a professional dancer for almost a decade until he left it behind to study drama at theÅrhus Theatre School in 1996, embarking on a career in acting.[9][10]
In 2002, Mikkelsen had a starring role as a young doctor who falls in love with the girlfriend of one of his patients inOpen Hearts which earned him both Robert and Bodil nominations in 2003 for best actor. He also won best actor for this performance at theRouen Nordic Film Festival in 2003.[13] In 2003, Mikkelsen had a leading role as a man who leaves his wife and child in the short filmNu.[14] He starred opposite Kaas inThe Green Butchers, playing an orphaned butcher's assistant in a small provincial Danish town, where human meat is a specialty.[15] He won the Fantasporto Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the butcher. Later in 2003, he starred inPablo Berger's Spanish filmTorremolinos 73, about an exasperated encyclopedia salesman who exportspornographic films to Scandinavian countries under the pretense of being an audiovisual encyclopedia of humanreproduction. Although a critical success in Spain, the film was poorly received in Scandinavian countries.[16]
Mikkelsen's breakthrough and his longest running role was as a sensitive policeman inNiels Arden Oplev's Danish television seriesRejseholdet (Unit One) (2000–03), for which he won the 2002 Best Actor Award from TvFestival.dk. The series' 32 episodes stretched over four years. He became more widely known internationally for his role asTristan inJerry Bruckheimer's production of the movieKing Arthur (2004), which was a commercial success despite negative reviews.[19]
In 2006, Mikkelsen starred oppositeStine Stengade andJana Plodková inOle Christian Madsen's award-winning filmPrag (Prague). His role as Christoffer earned him the Zulu Award for Best Actor and Bodil and Robert Festival nominations for Best Actor. Eddie Cockrell ofVariety noted his "rigid countenance" in an "outstanding" performance.[20] The same year, Mikkelsen achieved his first widely acclaimed international success asLe Chiffre in the twenty-firstJames Bond film,Casino Royale. Mikkelsen has said that he so easily won the part that evenDaniel Craig asked him if he had slept with someone to be cast.[21] He said of the casting, "They'd done their homework, seen my stuff, so it was fine, just a bit of anti-climax, because I was so ready to do more for them, but it was … shrugs... you're in."[21] He also stated that because he was already a big film star in Denmark at the time, that the international role did not really change much.[21]Roger Ebert noted the suspense during Mikkelsen's scene with Bond during the extended poker game, in which Le Chiffre weeps blood from his left eye.[22]David Edelstein ofNew York Magazine said "Mikkelsen clicks his rectangular plaques as if he's a new breed of praying mantis. He's bloodcurdling."[23] In 2006, Mikkelsen also took the lead role in the Danish dramaAfter the Wedding, which earned anAcademy Award nomination forBest Foreign Film.[12] Additionally, he won aEuropean Film Award for Best Actor nomination for his performance and in 2007, won thePalm Springs International Film Festival Award for Best Actor.The New York Times remarked that on the Hollywood scene, Mikkelsen has "become a reliable character actor with an intriguing mug" but stated that on the domestic front "he is something else: a star, an axiom, a face of the resurgent Danish cinema."[24]
In 2008, Mikkelsen portrayed Danish resistance fighterJørgen Haagen Schmith oppositeThure Lindhardt and Stine Stengade in Ole Christian Madsen'sFlame & Citron (Flammen & Citronen), a film which is loosely based on actual events involving two of the most active fighters in theHolger Danske resistance group during World War II.[25] Mikkelsen's character nicknamed "Citronen" is named after aCitroën factory in which he works.[26] Michael O' Sullivan ofThe Washington Post likened Mikkelsen and Lindhardt's characters toButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and said that it is "the story of handsome rogues with guns. It's fast-paced, stylish and thrilling."[26] In 2008, Mikkelsen also provided the voice for the character Le Chiffre in theQuantum of Solace video game, and he represented Le Chiffre when he was invited to the launch of Swiss watchmakerSwatch's "007 Villain Collection" inBregenz, Austria.[27] The following year, gaining a reputation as one of Europe's most sensuous male actors, Mikkelsen played a hot-bloodedStravinsky oppositeAnna Mouglalis inJan Kounen's critically acclaimedCoco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky based on the romance between the composer and the fashion designer.Empire magazine described it as a "visually stunning film [which] focuses on Chanel and Stravinsky's illicit relationship in 1920s France."[28]Philip French ofThe Observer described the film as a "beautiful, intelligent, shallow film, like a pane of plate glass that at first glance looks like a deep lake", and remarked that Mikkelsen's Stravinsky matched Mouglalis'sCoco Chanel as a "fellow modernist and equally cool egotist."[29] Mikkelsen then returned to violent action, collaborating once again with Refn, playing a Norse warrior in theCrusades inValhalla Rising (2009) and Draco, a self-sacrificing leader of the king's guard inClash of the Titans (2010).[12]Valhalla Rising was shot entirely inScotland.[30]
In 2011, he playedComte de Rochefort in another box-office success,The Three Musketeers, which earned poor reviews from critics.[31] In 2012, he starred inThe Hunt, for which he won theBest Actor Award at theCannes Film Festival.[2] He played a schoolteacher wrongly accused ofchild molestation, earning nominations for theEuropean Film Award for Best Actor and theLondon Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the Year for his performance. The same year he starred in theOscar-nominated historical dramaA Royal Affair taking the role of the 18th century physicianJohann Friedrich Struensee who had an affair withQueen Caroline Mathilda while treating the mentally ill Danish monarch,Christian VII. The movie was one of the highest budget Danish films of all time largely due to its extravagant costumes and was well received by critics.[32] Mikkelsen said of his role, "I was surprised how emotional I got reading this, especially for a period drama. And it was full of dilemma – he's full of love for both the king and the queen, but then he remains political, starts spinning his tunnel vision, and all of a sudden he's doing the exact same things he hated all the other courtiers for doing, and I thought that was interesting, and very human."[21] In 2012, he was also awarded the Danish American Society's Person of the Year.[33]
Mikkelsen playedHannibal Lecter inNBC's TV seriesHannibal (2013–15), alongsideHugh Dancy as Special AgentWill Graham.[34] The series has been a critical success, with Mikkelsen's performance as Lecter earning praise.[35] Mikkelsen was initially dubious about accepting the role, as he believed thatAnthony Hopkins' portrayal of Lecter was "done to perfection".[36] He said of his character, "He's not a classicpsychopath or a classicserial killer. I believe that he's as close toSatan as can be – thefallen angel. He sees the beauty in death. And every day is a new day, full of opportunities."[36]
Mikkelsen reunited withThomas Vinterberg for the Danish comedy dramaAnother Round, which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and earned Mikkelsen a BAFTA Nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role.[50][51]
He is also set to star inAmma Asante's Cold War thrillerBillion Dollar Spy.[55]
In May 2022, it was announced he would be reprising his role of Duncan Vizla in a new film titledThe Black Kaiser, withJonas Åkerlund returning to direct the film, which Mikkelsen had co-written.[56] That same year, it was announced he would star inNikolaj Arcel's new filmThe Promised Land which started shooting in September 2022.[57][58]
He will reunite withHannibal creatorBryan Fuller on his directorial debutDust Bunny, with shooting to commence in 2023.[59][60]
In late summer 2024, filming began on the Danish film The Last Viking, directed byAnders Thomas Jensen, with whom Mikkelsen has frequently collaborated. The actor plays the role of Manfred, the brother of the main character, portrayed byNikolaj Lie Kaas.[61]
In May 2025,Variety reported that Mikkelsen would voice the character Severin, the father of Kai, in the animated film North, based onHans Christian Andersen’sThe Snow Queen. North is directed by fantasy filmmaker Bente Lone. Around the same time, it was announced that Mikkelsen would star in the prison drama Last Meals, which centers on a former White House chef who prepares final meals for death row inmates, and a prisoner (played byBoyd Holbrook) who decides to go on a hunger strike. Filming for Last Meals is set to begin in Ireland in 2025, with a script by Justin Piasecki (Relay) and direction byRamin Bahrani.[62]
It was also announced that Mikkelsen would appear in the directorial debut of Lee Smith, the Oscar-winning editor ofDunkirk and Inception. The Arctic action thriller Sirius is inspired by the Danish special forces unit known as theSirius Patrol, tasked with guarding the 8,700-mile frozen and perilous coastline ofGreenland.[63]
In 2000, Mikkelsen married choreographer Hanne Jacobsen, whom he had been with since 1987. They have two children and two grandchildren.[64][65][66]
Mikkelsen has lived inCopenhagen all his life, except when living inToronto while filmingHannibal.[67] He is based in Denmark and has a residence on the Spanish island ofMallorca, which he first visited in the late 1990s.[68]
At the 2023 Bambi Awards in Munich, Mikkelsen dedicated his Bambi Award in the Category "Actor International" to his granddaughter Maria. The Bambi has the same name as his daughter's favourite film - "and she has just given me a granddaughter," he said.[69]
^Transcript of Part 1 of"Mads Mikkeson".Mein Leben / My Life (TV documentary series).Arte. 2006.Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved26 November 2020.2:22 Mads and Lars (brother) are in Nørrebro, Copenhagen ... 3:06 [Mikkelsen]: My brother and I know this place like the back of our hands. Nørrebro was a typical working-class neighborhood. Documentary in German, transcript in English.
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