Mads Mikkelsen !link!

What makes so compelling? It is the asymmetry. One of his eyes is slightly damaged (a congenital issue), giving his gaze a crooked, unpredictable quality. He is 6 feet tall, lean, with sharp cheekbones and a jaw that looks like it was carved from granite by a sculptor who hated curves.

But it was Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt (2012) that proved is arguably the greatest dramatic actor of his generation. In the film, he plays Lucas, a kindergarten teacher falsely accused of child molestation. It is a masterclass in restraint. Mikkelsen does not play Lucas as a saint or a victim; he plays him as a man slowly drowning in communal hysteria. The scene where he breaks down in the church, turning to look at his accuser with eyes full of betrayal and sorrow, is one of the most harrowing moments in modern cinema. That role won him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival, cementing his reputation as an actor of unparalleled depth. Mads Mikkelsen

Just when Hollywood thought they had him, Mikkelsen returned to Denmark to reunite with Thomas Vinterberg for Another Round (2020). The film, which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, stars Mikkelsen as Martin, a bored high school teacher who tests a theory that maintaining a constant level of alcohol in the blood makes life more exciting. What makes so compelling