Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen will be a guest at this year’s 28th Sarajevo Film Festival. On August 14th, Sarajevo Film Festival will screen THE HUNT- in which Mikkelsen plays the main role – at the Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema. Mikkelsen will be presented with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo for his contribution to the art of film before the screening. The Danish actor originally received this recognition at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival (2020), but could not attend in person on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mads Mikkelsen was born in 1965 in Denmark. He was educated at the Aarhus Theatre Drama School. The Copenhagen-born actor began his professional career as a gymnast and dancer, and has worked steadily in theatre, television and film to become the top male star in Denmark and Scandinavia. Mikkelsen made his film debut in 1996, with a lead performance in director Nicolas Winding Refn’s international crime drama success PUSHER, part one of a trilogy. He reprised his role as a low-life pusher/junkie in the much-anticipated sequel, WITH BLOOD ON MY HANDS: PUSHER 2. This performance garnered him a “Best Actor” Robert statue from the Film Academy of Denmark and a “Best Actor” Bodil Award from Denmark’s National Association of Film Critics.
In 2006, Mikkelsen starred as the villain, Le Chiffre, in the 2006 James Bond film, CASINO ROYALE. The film was received positively by critics and earned over $594 million worldwide, claiming the title of the highest-grossing James Bond film. Also that year, Mikkelsen played the lead role in the Academy Award-nominated film AFTER THE WEDDING, directed by Academy Award-winning director Susanne Bier. In 2009, he reunited with Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn for VALHALLA RISING. The film premiered at the 66th Venice International Film Festival. In 2010, he starred as Draco in the 3D fantasy adventure film, CLASH OF THE TITANS. The film was directed by Louis Leterrier and distributed by Warner Brothers. In 2011, Mikkelsen starred as Rochefort in the 3D adaptation of THE THREE MUSKETEERS, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Mikkelsen also starred in the Academy Award-nominated film, A ROYAL AFFAIR, in the role of Johann Friedrich Struensee, the German physician who became a confidant to the mentally ill King Christian VII and had an affair with his wife, Queen Caroline Mathilde. The historical film, written and directed by Nikolaj Arcel, premiered in competition at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012 and at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. At the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, Mads Mikkelsen received the Best Actor Award for his role in THE HUNT by Thomas Vinterberg. Mikkelsen plays a kindergarten teacher in a small Danish village that is falsely accused of child abuse. Following a premiere at Cannes, the film screened at the 2012 Telluride Film Festival, the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, and was released by Magnolia Pictures in Spring 2013.
Mikkelsen also co-starred in THE NECESSARY DEATH OF CHARLIE COUNTRYMAN in the role of Nigel, a violent crime boss. Directed by Fredrik Bond, the film premiered in January 2013 at Sundance Film Festival and was screened in competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2013.
Mads Mikkelsen is especially known for the series HANNIBAL (2013-2015), which was developed by Bryan Fuller for NBC. In the series Mikkelsen plays the accomplished psychologist and sociopathic serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who is based on the character from Thomas Harris’ classic novels. Mikkelsen’s work received special acknowledgement when he was appointed as a member of the prestigious Jury at the Cannes Film Festival 2016. In 2016 he starred in ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY and in the Marvel film DR. STRANGE. In 2017 he shot the thriller ARCTIC where he plays the lead role. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2018. Mikkelsen starred in the graphic novel adaptation POLAR, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, which was released in 2019 by Netflix.
More recently, Mads Mikkelsen starred in ANOTHER ROUND by Thomas Vinterberg, which won an Oscar® for the best International Feature Film 2021.
