Mads Mikkelsen: “Showdown is a small word for what’s happening between Hannibal and Francis Dolarhyde”

Photo credit: AXN Asia

It’s less than 24 hours until Hannibal S3’s premiere and the excitement for the show based on Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter novels and characters is at its height. I was fortunate to have been granted an interview session with Mads Mikkelsen, who plays Dr Lecter himself, and talk about the series. As anyone can guess, I couldn’t not ask him about Francis Dolarhyde, a.k.a. The Tooth Fairy. But first let me explain why I felt the need to ask him that.

Pretty much everything you want to know about Richard Armitage’s Francis Dolarhyde has been covered everywhere. I can’t even begin to explain to you just how epic this role is – The Tooth Fairy is THAT iconic – and the fact that Richard Armitage gets to play this character is an honor to both actor and character. (And before anyone accuses me of idolizing a serial killer – no, I do not admire Dolarhyde for being a killer. I admire the character because he is a complex individual that requires deft handling by an accomplished actor on screen. Let’s just get that straight.) So far, we’ve heard plenty Richard’s involvement in the show, but they are mostly from Hannibal showrunner Bryan Fuller and, in a couple of occasion, from himself. (Most recently, Fangoria has an interview with Richard Armitage on Francis Dolarhyde.)

When the opportunity came up for me to interview Mads Mikkelsen (who is also one of my favorite actors) I couldn’t not ask him about working with Richard. I wanted to know, from a fellow actor’s point of view, what Francis Dolarhyde’s appearance in this series will mean for Hannibal Lecter’s character. In other versions, Dolarhyde’s case was what made Will Graham consult with Dr Lecter again, and Dolarhyde was said to idolize Lecter, but I wanted to know if the TV show is going that way or taking a different path.

The Mad Shall Inherit

n the craziness that’s my job lately, I almost forgot to write about my wonderful experience last March interviewing a great filmmaker from Australia whose movie is out in cinemas this summer, George Miller.

It began with an offer for a phone interview earlier this year. The studio emailed us and asked if we were interested in talking to George Miller about Mad Max: Fury Road. After we said yes and filled out the appropriate paperwork (WB likes to make us fill out forms and stuff) we waited for almost two months to hear about the confirmation. It was in end of February/early March that we heard back from them, who said that yes, we got a slot with Mr. Miller at the end of March (27th to be exact) at 8 AM.

8 AM, Sydney time. I had to wake up at 2 AM in order to get ready for the interview at 4 AM my time because we’re 4 hours behind Sydney. But other than this time zone shenanigan, I was fine waking up at 2 and I was strangely excited about the interview.