“After every role, I understand myself a bit better,” says Mads Mikkelsen, Danish star in Nicolas Winding Refn’s epic action drama Valhalla Rising. 

Mikkelsen plays the mute warrior One Eye, a strong Viking who throughout a dramatic journey explores his own true nature. Mikkelsen holds a press conference at Göteborg International Film Festival to promote the film, and I get the chance to discuss acting with a true professional.

Our conversation quickly leads to the fascinating psychological aspect of acting. I ask Mikkelsen about his preparation process:

“My technique is in constant progress. But generally, I put myself aside first to identify the essence of my character’s nature. Then, I find that place in myself and break it apart.”

We agree that – like my own acting teacher, Natalia Lazarus, said the first day of class – “to be a good actor, you must first know and be yourself.”

“You had a very wise teacher,” Mikkelsen comments. “Because even though I develop different parts of myself with every role, I am still me. As an actor, you have to be grounded in yourself first.”

Empathy for one’s character is essential, Mikkelsen further points out.

In Valhalla Rising, Mikkelsen is reunited with director Nicolas Winding Refn. The two first worked together in 1996 with the movie Pusher – Refn’s feature film debut as well as Mikkelsen’s career break-through. Mikkelsen smiles and says it was a blast to work on Valhalla Rising.

“It was a little like going back in time and being a teenager again, a rebellious young man.”

Time is up and I can only thank him for being an artistic inspiration.

Solveig Haugen

Correspondent, filmfestivals.com