Mads Mikkelsen was initially a gymnast and dancer, only to find future fame as an actor in Danish and English-language cinema. He's arguably one of the finest foreign actors in the current age to have garnered a successful presence in Hollywood, thanks to villainous roles like Le Chiffre (Casino Royale) and a starring role as the cannibalistic psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal.
However, it's his filmography from his native Denmark that highlight the maximum potential of his dramatic prowess. Jagten (The Hunt) and his latest, Druk (Another Round), are some instances in this regard.
10 Valhalla Rising (2009) - 73% (Tie)
Before launching to fame with Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn had directed Danish production,s like the Pusher trilogy and Valhalla Rising. The adventure film is set in the year 1096 AD, with Mikkelsen playing a Norse warrior called One-Eye. Encountering a few Christian Crusaders, One-Eye joins them in the pursuit of the 'Holy Land,' only to end up in an undiscovered North America.
Visually striking and darkly violent, Valhalla Rising is a mature take on its genre, rather than being an outdated swords-and-sandals feature.
9 The Salvation (2014) - 73% (Tie)
Mads Mikkelsen is an artist of many genres. In the Danish films The Salvation, he explores the Western. It's a classic premise based on revenge. Mikkelsen stars as Jon, a Danish settler in America of the 1800s. After a few criminals murder Jon's wife, Jon exacts swift revenge, only to find that one of the criminals is the brother of a chief land baron in his frontier town.
The plot doesn't offer any new updates to the overdone Western pantheon of cinema, but it's Mikkelsen's portrayal of a desperate and shattered man that makes it all the more worth watching.
8 At Eternity's Gate (2018) - 79%
At Eternity's Gate documents the tragic life of Vincent Van Gogh, the painter who gained worldwide popularity only after his forgotten lifetime. Willem Defoe gives it all in portraying the sensitive personality and the mental issues that the artist might have faced (with a story largely sourced from the letters he wrote to his brother Theo).
Mads Mikkelsen has a small supporting role as 'The Priest.' He plays a fictional character who talks to Van Gogh with some empathy, assessing his sanity after a session at the hospital.
7 Pusher (1996) - 83%
Pusher marked Mads Mikkelsen's debut in Danish cinema. The first film in a crime trilogy, Pusher attempts to understand the workings of the criminal underworld in Copenhagen. It revolves around a manic drug-dealer named Frank, while Mikkelsen plays his partner, Tony. Both lose a great deal of money and are given one week to make up for it.
Pusher not only cemented Mikkelsen's acting career, but it also put writer/director Nicolas Winding Refn on the map.
6 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) - 84%
In a franchise that's dominated by prequel and sequel trilogies, Rogue One stands on its own. The film is set before the events of Episode IV and highlights a Resistance force's efforts to infiltrate the evil Galactic Empire's headquarters and steal the blueprints for their ultimate planet-destroying space station-based weapon, the Death Star.
Mads Mikkelsen has a minor yet significant appearance as Galen Erso, a research scientist who's abducted by the Empire's forces to complete the Death Star. The protagonist, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), is his daughter, who vows to seek revenge.
5 Doctor Strange (2016) - 89%
Mads Mikkelsen has made appearances in several franchises, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He played the main antagonist, Kaecillus, in Doctor Strange. He's a master of the Mystic Arts who defies the Ancient One, to form a cult of his own. He serves the entity known as Dormammu in exchange for eternal life.
It's the physicality of the role that drove him to accept the superhero film, as he told in an EW interview, ' I didn’t hesitate. [Director] Scott Derrickson was pitching the story on the phone, and within five minutes he said something about kung fu, and I said, 'Say that again.'"
4 A Royal Affair (2012) - 90%
En kongelig affære aka A Royal Affair is a Danish historical drama set in the court of the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark as the titular affair breeds between his wife and the royal physician. Alicia Vikander and Mads Mikkelsen star as the physician and the queen, respectively.
The film was praised for its historical themes and was seen as a suitable successor to several other costume dramas of the past. A Royal Affair went on to gain nominations for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars and Golden Globes.
3 Another Round (2020) - 92%
Another Round (Druk) finds writer-director Thomas Vinterberg channeling the territories of black comedy, centering around a group of friends who plan to drink a minimal amount of alcohol everyday to improve their everyday functioning in life. Initially, the experiment succeeds, as they try to get away from their mid-life crises, but matters grow worse when the intoxication starts increasing.
Mads Mikkelsen stars as a disgruntled history teacher who seeks to improve his teaching methods and family life with the aforementioned experiment. Not only acting, Mikkelsen also gets to display his agile and energetic dancing skills in the film!
2 The Hunt (2012) - 93%
Mads Mikkelsen's first collaboration with Thomas Vinterberg, The Hunt (Danish: Jagten) is an extremely thought-provoking drama set in a small Danish town during Christmas. Mikkelsen plays a teacher who gets wrongfully accused of molestation by a child. The film chronicles the mass hysteria that ensues, offering perspectives from both the child and the adult. The Hunt doesn't point towards any straightforward answers and it's perhaps this that makes the film all the more realistic.
Mikkelsen's performance is cited as the best of his career, winning him the Best Actor award at Cannes.
1 Casino Royale (2006) - 95%
Casino Royale is the film that rebooted the James Bond franchise to a less gimmicky, high-octane level, paving the way for many more 007 films starring Daniel Craig as the MI6 agent.
Mads Mikkelsen features as the antagonist Le Chiffre, a terrorist financier who engages in high-stakes poker games to make deals. Bond's mission is to infiltrate such a game and bankrupt him. The role introduced Mikkelsen to international audiences, his portrayal of the sly, calculating genius garnering positive reviews.
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