Mads Mikkelsen has played through everything from Marvel to Star Wars – now he’s taking on Indiana Jones

Few European film stars have had as distinguished a career as Mads Mikkelsen. Since torturing James Bond in Casino Royale, the Danish actor has been infiltrated into every major franchise, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Doctor Strange) to the magical world of Harry Potter (Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore).

He has also already visited the Star Wars galaxy, which is home to Lucasfilm. In Rogue One, he played a scientist who is involved in the construction of the Death Star but ultimately listens to his conscience and helps destroy the superweapon. Seven years later, Mikkelsen returns to Lucasfilm – this time in the role of a pure villain who wants to change the course of history.

Mads Mikkelsen in an interview about Indiana Jones 5: Which historical model is behind Jürgen Voller?

In Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Destiny, Mikkelsen takes on the role of Jürgen Voller, a Nazi scientist who goes into space for the US government after the end of World War II. This conquest is not enough for Voller. He wants to control not only space but also time. But which historical model is behind the figure? I talked about that and more with Mikkelsen in the interview.

Attention, follow spoiler!

Moviepilot: After James Bond, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Marvel, you might think that you’ve played through every franchise. But you haven’t been a guest at Indiana Jones yet. How did you get the role?

Mads Mikkelsen: Basically it was just a phone call. Jim [Mangold], the director, called me and asked if I wanted to play the part. Funny enough, a friend of mine had just told me exactly what you’re implying: “You’ve been in so many franchises but not Indiana Jones. That’s never going to happen.” And a week later the call came.

With such a sequel to an iconic film series, a lot depends on it. The fans have expectations, the studio wants another hit. Do you feel some pressure when you’re new to an established franchise?

With every film there is this pressure because a lot can go wrong. But if you think about it too much, you just hesitate. You’re stuck and can’t move. You have to follow your dream and believe in yourself. Of course, there’s a little more pressure on this project because there are people who have been following the character’s story for 42 years. We have to respect what makes an Indiana Jones film. Still, let’s break the line up a bit and see how far we can stretch it. But the Indiana Jones feeling must not be lost.

When you say that a lot can go wrong with a film – what is there your biggest fear?

I wouldn’t say I had any particular fear when we made the film. I mean, if you’re walking around on set and you’re scared, you should go home. One should have faith in what one is doing. If a soccer player is scared of a penalty, he will never score.

In Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Destiny you play the Nazi villain Jürgen Voller. How did you prepare for the role? Was there a specific inspiration?

When it comes to an Indiana Jones film, the script is the most important piece of research. I refer to that, everything is in there. The historical facts are not that important. Nevertheless, we drew inspiration from the past. With my character, it was Wernher von Braun who was part of Operation Paperclip [bei der nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg deutsche Wissenschaftler von der US-Regierung rekrutiert wurden.
Von Braun entwickelte für das Nazi-Regime zuvor Raketen]. We copied his appearance, this dandy look, and looked into his history. He could just roam freely in America without anyone questioning what he is doing there and what he has done in the past.

Although the film’s story takes place back in time, by the end it’s clear that it’s about the here and now. However, the film used technology that Harrison Ford digitally rejuvenated to bring us the Indiana Jones of a bygone era. Is that a contradiction?

You’ve given this some more thought than I have, I see. I would say that was the only way we were able to do those scenes. Harrison [Ford] will never be 35 again. For a film like this, de-aging technology is a fantastic tool. It would probably be different if there had never been an Indiana Jones film before. Then you could just cast an actor who’s around 30 years old to play the young version of Harrison. Then comes the time warp and Harrison takes over. But since we’ve had several Indiana Jones movies, everyone remembers the Harrison Ford in his 30s. So a young actor was out of the question.

How do you feel about de-aging yourself? would you do that for a movie

As I said, the technology was perfect for this film. But if you ask me if I would be okay with someone doing a full film without me but with my digital likeness – no thanks. It completely misses what interests me about acting. I love being in front of the camera and bringing a character to life. That’s exactly what we’ve done here. Even if you see young Indy, at the end of the day it was still Harrison who shot all the scenes. He was on set. The de-aging came afterwards.

How can I imagine an Indiana Jones set? What do you remember in particular from the shoot?

There are many things I like to remember. One of the greatest things was being able to play with Harrison so much. One day we spent a lot of time in a car for one scene. I was able to watch him very closely at work. Just seeing how subtly he played was great. He doesn’t reach out for the camera. He plays so well that the camera comes to him. This is really great art. In a moment like this, his game seems incredibly real.

I can imagine that the ending of the film will be controversial. What was your reaction when you realized that the film actually goes back in time?

I thought that was brilliant. I can’t imagine that the story of the film would have been any different. This fits Indiana Jones perfectly. The third part was about immortality. So we had some freedom as to what is possible here.

If you could choose any point in the past, where would you go to? And who would you want to meet there?

I’ve always wanted to go to the wedding of Genghis Khan. He has so many people on his conscience. Despite this, a lot of people today still think he’s cool. How can that be? He must have a pretty good PR team. I want to get to know these guys. How did you do that?

Do you think you would survive the trip?

Hopefully. [lacht] I would stand in a corner and just watch.

Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Destiny has been in cinemas since June 29, 2023.