Mads Mikkelsen on His New Movie “Arctic”

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: I mean your co-star are the elements. Describe what it’s like actually playing that kind of a role with no co-stars practically.

MADS MIKKELSEN: Well, one of the things I fell in love with was the fact that we didn’t know anything about his background and his past. I was a little afraid that it will fall into the trap of you’re going down memory lane and have some flashbacks. And we really wanted it to be you and me, anyone stranded on the ice did know nothing about the guy. So I wanted to identify with this character.

AMANPOUR: But is it weird to — or intimidating or in any way sort of massively stretching just to be an actor with nature as your co-star?

MIKKELSEN: Yes, it’s brutal. One of the biggest tools as an actor is obviously words, language and then we took that away from me. And — but eventually, there is a second person popping up in the film and that was like the — that was the happiest day in my career. Finally, I had someone to bounce the ball up against.

AMANPOUR: Of course, one of the articles says, “Yet there was a sense of rapt desperation which consumes the viewer.” Your face and your gestures had to do everything because you basically utter very few words.

MIKKELSEN: Yes. That’s what we’re dealing with. I mean I’m a huge fan of the old silent movies. I’m a huge fan of Buster Keaton. I think it’s amazing what he can do with an expression, with the tiniest little smile in his face. It’s just opening up the sky. And I think that goes with the tools we were dealing with and we had to stick with them.

AMANPOUR: The director Joe Penna, I mean he — this is his first major film, right? I mean he was before a bit of a YouTube star. And you can see how he’s filmed in a really gritty, realistic, no-frills way? What was it like working with him?

MIKKELSEN: It was a blast. I mean it’s not the first time I worked with first time directors. I think there is some virgin snow about it. They seem to be extremely radical and this is their film, their dream. And they’re ready to go all the way to fulfill what they want. So I think the script was very radical and the way that he insisted on making it this way was also very radical. And I’m a big fan of that.