Mad for Mads

Sadly, I've been busting at the seams trying NOT to use that title....but there's just no other way to say it. Mads Mikkelsen, a great success in his native Denmark, has lived quietly in my own head for some time. But now that he's been paraded in front of the whole world as Bond Bad Guy "Le Chiffre" in Daniel Craig's 007 Casino Royale, and with the upcoming After The Wedding (arriving in theaters the end of this month), Mads will happily become more familiar.
My initial post-Bond audience with Mads was the sweet and simple Open Hearts. The first thought I had about this film was this: here is a film that would NEVER have been made in America. A woman accidentally runs over a man with her car after quarreling with her insolent teenage daughter; said woman is married to a doctor who then takes it upon himself to look after the rehabilitation and care of the young man. Unfortunately he then risks nearly everything by falling into a relationship with the injured man's girlfriend. True, that last part sounds like something us sketchy and morality-challenged Americans would definitely understand, but not suing the shit out of someone who hits us with a car? Someone whose husband is a physician? Ka-ching! No, no, no. Audiences in the red white & blue would never tolerate such a premise. Which ultimately makes this film so appealing; Denmark as a parallel universe.
MM can also be seen in 2004's King Arthur with Clive Owen. A beautifully presented interpretation of 5th century Britain, Mads plays Tristan, an enigmatic but fiercely loyal follower of Arthur who helps guide the knights with the aid of his falcon. His long locks unfortunately sometimes hide his incredible face, but his energy is still palpable, and his swordsmanship is terrific.
I have yet to see the Pusher series, a triad of films begun in 1996 about heroin dealers in Copenhagen, but it has been wildly popular in Denmark and Mads is said to have put in incredible performances in the first two installments.