MAD ABOUT MIKKELSEN

Formerly a gymnast and dancer, Mads Mikkelsen rose to fame as an actor and despite his penchant for portraying bone-chilling villains, he's found his way into our hearts

- CEZAR GREIF

SKOVSHOVED IS A QUAINT LITTLE TOWN on the North Sea shore. Some call it the Beverly Hills of Denmark, and a few ambassadors live here, but it looks nothing like its more famous American cousin, with quiet streets lined with colourful little Nordic houses. It’s nearby a large harbour where some very nice sailboats are moored. It’s also where people practise this very Danish national pastime: skinny dipping in extremely cold water, no matter the season. More importantly, it’s where the biggest star in Denmark lives ‒ a valid reason to fly to Copenhagen to be in his company.

“Mads Mikkelsen is here,” the hotel receptionist informs us. They aren’t lying ‒ right by the receptionist desk stands a man in his mid50s wearing a track suit. “There’s always a last-minute basketball game to join somewhere,” says the man famous for whacking James Bond’s crown jewels when explaining his sartorial choice. Sport, after all, is the star’s main hobby when he’s not working.

For some mysterious reason, up until now, Hollywood has decided Mikkelsen should mostly play bad guys, but it’s doubtful it’ll be able to keep typecasting someone with this much talent for very long. Even if he does play the villain in the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Mikkelsen has a range of diverse projects on the horizon. He is kind enough to discuss his double career with us.

I think we did the photoshoot near the neighbourhood you grew up in, right? It’s not that far.

It’s near the neighbourhood I live in now. The neighbourhood I grew up in is in the middle of Copenhagen, it’s like an old-school working class area. Then I made some money and I moved out.