Mads Mikkelsen talks filming Polar half-naked in the cold

Mads Mikkelsen revealed some chilling details about his upcoming film Polar, including filming scenes half-naked in freezing weather.

BUILD Series is one of the most intimate fan events that one can attend in New York City as a fan. The event takes place in a small venue where a host interviews guests who range from celebrities like Sebastian Stan to Hugh Dancy, followed by a Q&A portion where attendees can ask their questions. A highlight of the series is just how intimate it can feel between fans and the actors they adore, so if you’re lucky enough to snag a ticket sometime, I highly recommend it.

On January 14, Mads Mikkelsen and Jonas Åkerlund attended the BUILD Series to promote their new movie, Polar. The film comes out on Netflix on January 25 and stars Mikkelsen as well as Vanessa Hudgens while Åkerlund directed the film. Its story is based on the graphic novel of the same name. Polar is not to be confused with Arctic, a completely different movie with a similarly chilly name that also stars Mads Mikkelsen.

While Mads Mikkelsen is known for roles in Doctor Strange and Rogue One, he’s still beloved by fans for his role as Hannibal Lecter on the now-canceled NBC series, Hannibal. To this day, the show has a very strong fandom, with fans of the series calling themselves Fannibals and identifying themselves by wearing flower crowns at various events.

During Mikkelsen’s appearance at the BUILD series, there were plenty of flower-crown Fannibals in the audience. Mikkelsen was sweet enough to take group photos and individual selfies with his fans, something that feels rare today when it comes to celebrities.

Mikkelsen’s appearance wasn’t just about taking selfies (as much as we’d love that). He also provided insight into his upcoming film, Polar, and what the process of making the film was like.

When asked why he wanted to take on the role of the Black Kaiser in the film, Mikkelsen shared:

"The money! No, no I was a big fan of the graphic novels as we call them over there in Europe. I’m a massive graphic novel fan in general. I thought the simplicity of this black and red and white colors and the brutality was grotesque. It was a lot of things, and then I met up with this guy and his idea was completely outrageous crazy. And, I thought that yeah, this is a good match. Let’s rock n roll."

When asked about all of the over-the-top characters and roles Mikkelsen has played, Mikkelsen noted that he’s taken on a lot of roles where he had to be in extreme temperatures, and how acting things out isn’t always easy.

“When I’m standing there in -15 with no clothes on, I’m not a fan,” Mikkelsen said.

Åkerlund also noted that the film has two different narrative stories within it. Mads Mikkelsen plays Duncan Vizla, who once was the world’s top assassin, known as The Black Kaiser. In the film, Duncan’s past feels like a storyline with the volume turned up to 11. The narrative contrasts with the world Duncan is living in now, which is much more muted and slow-paced. In the film, Duncan’s old world catches up with him and the clash is definitely worth seeing on-screen.

Mikkelsen was also asked about the fact that he’s often cast as a villain, to which the actor pointed out that his roles in films in Denmark have been quite different. He shared:

"I have been lucky that people have seen me with different eyes…A lot of the work, body of work, I’ve done back in Europe or Denmark has been quite different from the work I’ve been doing in America."

During the interview, it was pointed out that Johnny Knoxville has a role in Polar, so fans of comedy definitely can get excited. Åkerlund shared his pitch to get Knoxville to take the role, saying he told the actor “I’m going to kill you in the first five minutes of the movie, but it would be awesome if you wanna do it.”

Mikkelsen said the hardest thing about playing Duncan was that “it’s very difficult to do stunts half-naked with no shoes when it’s minus 20 and everything is concrete… It’s just uphill you know.”

When a fan asked who would win in a fight, Black Kaiser or Hannibal, Mikkelsen said that in a purely physical fight that the Black Kaiser would win, but if it was a fight where brains came into play, Hannibal would be the champion easily.

Polar looks like a chilling, action-packed film Fannibals and new fans of Mikkelsen alike won’t want to miss. Be sure to catch it in theaters when it premieres on January 25.