Every Mads Mikkelsen Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen rose to international acclaim with his unique blend of intensity and subtlety. Roles like the Bond villain Le Chiffre in "Casino Royale," Kaecilius in "Doctor Strange," his television villain role as the iconic Hannibal Lecter character on NBC's "Hannibal," and his replacing of Johnny Depp as Grindelwald in "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" may have left Mikkelsen somewhat typecast for villainous roles with English-speaking audiences. Back in his home country of Denmark, however, Mikkelsen more often finds himself in the protagonist's shoes, with complex characters that audiences can root for rather than against.

Throughout his career, Mikkelsen has kept a foot in the Danish film industry even as he goes abroad to star in all manner of foreign productions. Some of Denmark's top writers and directors — like Anders Thomas Jensen and Thomas Vinterberg — continue to make use of Mikkelsen's exceptional talents in between his massive Hollywood productions. This list will be covering all of Mads Mikkelsen's significant film roles and ranking them from best to worst based on their aggregate critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Smaller supporting roles have been left off of the list, and a couple of his movies which lack a critic score on Rotten Tomatoes have been left off as well. Now without further ado, let's get to the ranking.

"Chaos Walking" is a fantasy adventure film that fits into the mold of the popular young adult tradition. Adapted from the YA novel "The Knife of Never Letting Go" written by Patrick Ness, "Chaos Walking" follows the pairing of Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley as they attempt to escape from the dangerous forces present in a world where everyone's inner thoughts are externalized for all to hear. Mads Mikkelsen plays the supporting role of the mayor of the womanless society that makes it their mission to hunt down Daisy Ridley's character when she suddenly arrives on the planet.

"Chaos Walking" went through a rather troubled production process, which may be in part responsible for the poor reception the film received. Though the movie was eventually released in 2021, acclaimed screenwriter Charlie Kaufman was initially attached to write the adaptation of the novel all the back in 2012 (per Deadline). After a period of production hell, other screenwriters were brought in, including the novel's original author Patrick Ness, and Kaufman was not credited on the final product. 

The behind-the-scenes troubles for "Chaos Walking" were not confined to the writing department alone. The movie was originally slated to be released in March of 2019, but the heads of Lionsgate pulled the plug on the release after finding the initial cut to be "unreleasable" in its current state (via IndieWire). The final product that was finally released in 2021 was the result of multiple rounds of reshoots, which rarely bodes well for a production.

"Clash of the Titans" is a 2010 remake of the 1981 film of the same name directed by Desmond Davis. The original "Clash of the Titans" was the final film from stop motion special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, who also broke new ground in his field working on films like "The 7^th Voyage of Sinbad" and "Jason and the Argonauts" (per Den of Geek). The 2010 update of "Clash of the Titans" largely left the practical effects the original was known for by the wayside in exchange for a focus on CGI and a 3D presentation, which many critics had complaints about. Rafer Guzman with Newsday was one such critic, writing, "The computer animation looks uninspired ... As for the 3-D visuals, they're oddly glitchy."

The story follows the demigod Perseus — played this time around by Sam Worthington of "Avatar" fame — as he seeks revenge against Hades for the death of his family, which ultimately casts the fate of all humanity into peril. Mads Mikkelsen co-stars as Draco, the leader of the Argive Legion who helps Perseus on his quest and faces off against Medusa. Despite the poor reception that the film received, it was still a major box office success, taking a $125 million budget and bringing in nearly $500 million at the worldwide box office.

There have been many big screen versions of the classic tale of King Arthur over the years, and this 2004 telling was not one of the better received iterations. Clive Owen stars in the titular role of Arthur, and the supporting cast fills out the rest of the key characters with big names like Mads Mikkelsen, Keira Knightley, Hugh Dancy, Ray Stevenson, Joel Edgerton, Stellen Skarsgård, and Ray Winstone. As they told the Paley Center for Media, Mikkelsen and Dancy grew to become close friends on the set of "King Arthur," and the two would wind up starring together on NBC's "Hannibal" nearly a decade later.

This 2004 version of "King Arthur" attempts to set itself apart from others by switching up some of the details found in other versions and placing an added emphasis on historical accuracy. The film goes as far as to strip away the more magical and mystical elements of the story in pursuit of realism. This trade-off may have been a bit of a miscalculation as the film was poorly received by critics and audiences alike on Rotten Tomatoes. Critic Tim Brayton came down hard on the film, writing, "It took mere seconds for the 2004 King Arthur to p*** me right the hell off," before concluding that it was the single worst big-screen adaptation of the Arthurian legend.

"Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas" was adapted from a novella written in 1810 by Heinrich von Kleist, which pulled inspiration from real historical events while creating a fictional narrative. The film is set in France in the 1500s, and takes a look at the start of an uprising against feudal lordship. Mads Mikkelsen stars as the titular character of Michael Kohlhaas, a humble, everyday man who is pushed into creating and leading an amateur rebellion after a new Lord of the land steals two of his horses, which jeopardizes Kohlhaas's livelihood as a horse trader. His attempts to resolve the issue peacefully by using the court system only exacerbate his issues and lead to the death of his beloved wife.

The film received a mixed reaction, landing more on the negative side of the spectrum with critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. The poor reception may have come as a surprise after the film received many high honors ahead of its wide release. "Age of Uprising" earned several nominations and wins at France's César Awards — including a Best Actor nomination for Mikkelsen, who performs his role in the French language — and was even nominated for the top prize at the prestigious Cannes film festival, the Palme d'Or. Many critics had mixed feelings about the film, praising its visuals and performances while deriding its pacing and emotional distance. IndieWire called the film "handsome and dull," while The New York Times called it "severely beautiful" while still giving the film an overall negative review, criticizing its pacing and direction.

"The Green Butchers" is the first film so far on the list to come from Mads Mikkelsen's home country of Denmark, and the first to land a fresh rating from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. It is also the first collaboration between star Mads Mikkelsen and writer director Anders Thomas Jensen thus far (their second, chronologically), with many more to come. Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas star as a pair of friends who open up a butcher shop and wind up finding success selling human meat after an accidental death. Lie Kaas pulls double duty by also playing his butcher character's twin brother, who returns into his life after being laid up in a coma for years.

Mikkelsen and Lie Kaas have both starred together in every feature film directed by Anders Thomas Jensen. Supporting actors Nicolas Bro and Ole Thestrup have also appeared in the majority of Jensen's films. This dark comedy was a big hit at the Danish Film Awards in 2004, earning eight nominations in the director, screenplay, production design, cinematography, special effects, and costume design categories, a best actor nomination for Lie Kaas, and a win in the Best Make-Up category.

"Adam's Apples" is the second Anders Thomas Jensen film on this list, and there are three more collaborations between Mads Mikkelsen and Anders Thomas Jensen still to come further down the list. The titular role of Adam is played by Ulrich Thomsen, while Mikkelsen plays the main supporting role of Ivan the priest.

Adam is a Neo-Nazi who is sentenced to community service at Ivan's church, and Ivan is an extremely hopeful and optimistic person — despite his tragic past — who is determined to find the good in him. Adam, on the other hand, has no intention of reforming and sets out to make Ivan's life worse at every turn. This clash of dispositions and ideologies propels all of the drama in "Adam's Apples" while also making room for plenty of pitch black comedy along the way.

"Adam's Apples" won the Best Film prize at the Danish Film Awards in 2006, and also took home the special effects and screenplay awards as well. Mikkelsen and Thomsen were both nominated for their performances, as was Jensen for his work in the director's chair.

"Torremolinos 73" is a Spanish film from 2003. The title refers to the time and place of the film's setting, the year 1973, and municipality of Torremolinos, a coastal resort town in the south of Spain. The story follows an unassuming husband and wife as they wind up getting drawn into the adult film industry, which turns the wife into a star and the husband into an auteur with a shot at a legitimate career. Mads Mikkelsen co-stars as a part of a Danish film crew that heads to Torremolinos to work with the newly discovered filmmaker. Also in the supporting cast is Mikkelsen's frequent Danish co-star Thomas Bo Larsen.

Spanish filmmaker Pablo Berger wrote and directed "Torremolinos 73" as his feature film debut and has gone on to make two additional films, with "Blancanieves" nearly a decade later and "Abracadabra" in 2017. Critics and general audiences on Rotten Tomatoes both found the film worth recommending. The BBC gave the movie a four out of five, writing, "Berger's skillfully told story shifts in tone but always remains affectingly sweet and human."

Nicolas Winding Refn returns to the list with "Valhalla Rising." This violent mythological action film was the first time Refn and Mikkelsen had worked together since "Pusher II" five years earlier. Their reunion might not have reached the heights of their previous collaboration — which is still to come higher up on the list — but it was still warmly received by Rotten Tomatoes critics, even if general audiences didn't take to it as kindly.

"Valhalla Rising" is set during Viking times in 1,000 A.D. Mads Mikkelsen stars as a mute slave named One Eye who escapes his captors and sets off on a quest to a distant land that is mysterious and possibly supernatural. In typical Nicolas Winding Refn style, the film is violent and places its focus more on style than literal narrative. The plot is straightforward and light on characterization and dialogue, but the journey is one fraught with danger and discovery.

Anders Thomas Jensen makes another appearance on the list with "Men & Chicken," which is the first movie on the list to earn the coveted Certified Fresh badge on Rotten Tomatoes. The film tells the story of two troubled brothers, played by David Dencik and Mads Mikkelsen, who learn a secret about their father after his passing and come into contact with three additional siblings for the first time. The premise of "Men & Chicken" may sound somewhat familiar, but the execution makes the film an utterly unique experience, with the newfound siblings living in a giant, decrepit mansion, the father's secret being far darker than it first seems, and tons of violence and twisted sexuality mixing things up.

This 2015 film is an odd piece of work that defies categorization. The film blends heavy drama with comedy that can be extremely goofy one moment and extremely dark the next. "Men & Chicken" even veers into some light horror territory when the two main brothers find themselves trapped within the decrepit mansion with their violent new siblings. The entire cast turns in memorable performances, but Mikkelsen especially stands out by playing against type as the deranged brother who is easily manipulated and suffering from unbecoming sexual compulsions.

The boldly titled "Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself" is a drama comedy with romance elements from 2002. The film is set in Glasgow, and follows two brothers who run a bookstore. The titular Wilbur, played by Jamie Sives, has chronic suicidal tendencies, and it's up to his brother Harbour, played by Adrian Rawlins, to try and keep him in check. Shirley Henderson plays a young mother who enters Wilbur's life and gives him a reason to live. Mads Mikkelsen co-stars as Horst, a doctor concerned for Wilbur's well-being.

Despite being set in Scotland and featuring a predominantly English-speaking cast, "Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself" is a bit closer to home as a production for Mikkelsen than it might seem. The film was written and directed by Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig, who got her start by writing and directing Danish television productions before going international. "Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself" was even co-written by Mikkelsen's frequent Danish collaborator Anders Thomas Jensen. As a director, Jensen has made just five feature films (all of which star Mikkelsen), but as a writer, he is far more prolific, with more than 50 screenwriting credits to his name.

"After the Wedding" was the second collaboration between star Mads Mikkelsen and director Susanne Bier, who long ago secured her place as Denmark's top female filmmaker (per Wedio Academy). The film is a true international production, taking place in both Denmark and India and featuring dialogue in Danish, Swedish, Hindi, and English. Mads Mikkelsen stars as a Danish man living abroad in Bombay, India, where he works at an orphanage/school. He makes a trip back to his home country in the hopes of securing additional funding for the orphanage from a wealthy benefactor, but finds himself caught in a manipulative ploy that threatens to unravel his life.

"After the Wedding" is another Mads Mikkelsen film with a screenplay written by the prolific Anders Thomas Jensen and based on a story conceived by Jensen and Bier together. A couple of years later, Susanne Bier would go on to find major international success and acclaim when she won the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award for "Hævnen," also known as "In a Better Place," with another screenplay written by Anders Thomas Jensen. She reached more mainstream acclaim with the Emmy-winning mini-series "The Night Manager," which she followed up with the popular Netflix original movie "Bird Box" and the HBO Max mini-series "The Undoing."

2012's "A Royal Affair" is a romantic costume drama set in 1767. The film was directed by Danish filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel and pulled its story from the novel "Prinsesse af Blodet" by Bodil Steensen-Leth, which was itself based on a real royal affair from the 18^th century (per The Hollywood Reporter). Alicia Vikander plays a British princess who marries the King of Denmark — known as The Mad King — played by Mikkel Boe Følsgaard. Mads Mikkelsen stars as the King's doctor, who the new Queen falls in love with and who gradually sets a revolution of enlightenment in motion throughout the kingdom. Also in the cast is David Dencik, who starred alongside Mikkelsen in "Men & Chicken."

"A Royal Affair" was a bit of a breakout role for Vikander, who would go on to star in huge movies like "Ex Machina" and "The Danish Girl" just a couple of years later. The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar at the 2013 Academy Awards, an honor which ultimately went to Michael Haneke's "Amour."

"Another Round" is a Danish film that made waves around the world when it won the Best International Feature Film Oscar at the 2021 Academy Awards. Thomas Vinterberg was also nominated for the Best Director Oscar, an honor which ultimately when to Chloé Zhao for "Nomadland." "Another Round" was a major creative reunion for co-writer Tobias Lindholm, co-writer and director Thomas Vinterberg, star Mads Mikkelsen, and co-stars Thomas Bo Larsen, Lars Ranthe, and Susse Wold, along with much of the production crew. Together, this team made the highly acclaimed "The Hunt" eight years earlier.

In "Another Round," Mikkelsen headlines an ensemble cast of high school teachers who intellectually theorize that life would be better if they spent every waking moment with their blood alcohol level at 0.05%. When they decide to put that theory to the test, the results are unexpected, and demonstrate the dangers of alcoholism while also showcasing a general love for life that makes for a viewing experience which is uplifting at times while heartrending at others.

This award-winning drama with comedic elements takes careful aim at the subject of alcoholism with incisive social commentary. The film holds a specific focus on the ways that alcohol can both improve one's life and damage it. "Another Round" paints nothing in black and white, allowing its themes to gestate in a well-explored gray area. The film's finale gives Mikkelsen the chance to showcase his remarkable dancing abilities, which he had honed earlier in his life as a professional dancer for about nine years with a further background in gymnastics from the time he was a child (per The New York Times).

Before they made "Another Round" together, the creative team — stars Mads Mikkelsen and Thomas Bo Larsen, co-writer Tobias Lindholm and  co-writer/director Thomas Vinterberg — made the internationally acclaimed drama "The Hunt." The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film prize at both the BAFTAs and the Academy Awards. At the prestigious Cannes film festival, Mikkelsen and Vinterberg both took home awards for their work on the film, and the movie was nominated for the top prize, the Palme d'Or. Mikkelsen stars as Lucas, a kindergarten teacher who is wrongly accused of being a pedophile after one of his students makes an innocent mistake. What follows is a profoundly emotional ordeal wherein Lucas' friends and the entire community around him turn against the innocent man who is unable to clear his name.

Thomas Vinterberg's roots as one of the co-founders of the Dogme 95 "vow of cinematic chastity" alongside Lars Von Trier are plain to see in the commitment to authenticity and dramatic complexity found within "The Hunt." Mikkelsen's performance drew much acclaim from Rotten Tomatoes critics, such as Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post, who wrote, "Mads Mikkelsen delivers an astonishingly restrained and expressive central performance."

"Riders of Justice" sees Mikkelsen again reuniting with writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen. Based on the title and the poster, "Riders of Justice" might look from the outside like the type of the derivative action movies that go straight to Redbox, but this is one book that absolutely cannot be judged by its cover. Mikkelsen stars as a soldier deployed overseas who is called home after his wife is one of many people killed in what appears to be a train accident. While processing his grief and trying to care for his daughter as a newly single parent, Mikkelsen catches wind of a theory that her death may not have been the result of an accident at all, but rather a deliberate assassination carried out by a biker gang known as the Riders of Justice.

Like every Anders Thomas Jensen-directed movie, Nikolaj Lie Kaas co-stars alongside Mads Mikkelsen, and the core ensemble cast also makes use of Nicolas Bro, who previously starred with Mikkelsen and Lie Kaas in most of Jensen's previous films. "Riders of Justice" features a couple of effective action sequences alongside some potent emotional drama and Jensen's trademark black comedy, plus it has something interesting to say about the nature of revenge. This is Mikkelsen's highest-rated film to receive the Certified Fresh badge on Rotten Tomatoes. However, he has one more film that — while it's less widely-seen — boasts an even higher critic score.