While opening up about replacing Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts 3, Mads Mikkelsen took the opportunity to share his thoughts on method acting. His view? “It’s b******t’.”
In 2020, it was revealed the Hannibal star would be taking on the role of Gellert Grindelwald in the fantasy film franchise.
Now the film has hit the theatres, a new interview with GQ sees Mikkelsen open up about his portrayal of the notorious wizard.
He told the outlet that he sees himself as ‘an extension of Depp’s character’ rather than a reset, comparing it to taking on the role as Hannibal Lecter after Anthony Hopkins.
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“To copy him would be creative suicide… We had to make it our own,” he said.
In order to do so, Mikkelsen explained how he maintained the smart vanity instilled by Depp, but made his Grindelwald more respectable and empathetic, in part to show what Dumbledore once saw in him.
While the 56-year-old actor puts a lot into his characters, he discussed his distaste for method acting, describing it as ‘'b******t’.
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When the publication brought up the idea of starring alongside a method actor like Daniel Day-Lewis, he joked: “I would have the time of my life, just breaking down the character constantly.”
Putting on a sarcastic voice, he added: “‘I’m having a cigarette? This is from 2020, it’s not from 1870 – can you live with it?’”
Mikkelsen then said: “It’s just pretentious. Daniel Day-Lewis is a great actor. But it’s got nothing to do with this.”
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The star took over the Fantastic Beasts character after Warner Bros. asked Depp to stand down following the loss of his libel lawsuit against The Sun.
Depp had taken the newspaper to court after it published a story calling him a 'wife beater’ following his divorce from Amber Heard.
When he lost the case and was dropped from the franchise, there was an outcry from the fans, including a change.org petition to bring Depp back which received over 268,000 signatures.
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Mikkelsen previously touched on the fact he would be taking on the role under extremely unusual circumstances.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly at the time, he said: "Job-wise, it's obviously super interesting and nice. It's also a shocker that it came after what happened, which is just super sad.
"I wish both of them the best. These are sad circumstances. I hope both of them will be back in the saddle again really soon.”
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Topics: Film and TV, Fantastic Beasts 3, Johnny Depp
Daisy Phillipson