When Anders Thomas Jensen calls, Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas just know to say yes. Having known each other for more than 25 years, the Danish friends and collaborators expect they will get a creative spark from each other no matter what crazy story writer/director Jensen has cooked up.
As Mikkelsen puts it: “If the pitch is insane, I won’t turn it down, I’ll say, ‘Show it to me’.” Kaas adds: “In Anders Thomas’s films, you have to make bold moves. There aren’t many directors like that.”
Their latest collaboration, Jensen’s sixth feature film and the sixth reunion for the trio, is The Last Viking, a dark comedy-drama that world premieres in Venice in an out-of-competition slot before heading to Toronto to screen as part of Centrepiece.
The story follows Anker (Kaas), newly released from prison after serving time for a bank robbery gone wrong. His brother Manfred (Mikkelsen), the only person who knows where the loot is buried, is now suffering from mental problems that have caused him to lose memories of their childhood and, of course, where he buried the cash. Their reunion includes twists and turns both absurdly funny and tragic.
By now, the two stars know how to juggle the comedic and dramatic themes that Jensen likes to stir together – it’s found in each of his first five features: Flickering Lights (2000), The Green Butchers (2003), Adam’s Apples (2005), Men & Chicken (2015) and Riders Of Justice (2020).
“Nikolaj and I understand the tone,” remarks Mikkelsen. “We know that Anders Thomas is dealing with the big issues of life and death, family, friendship. In order to say something about that, he wraps it in complete insanity. There is heart in his films. Comedy wouldn’t be that funny unless there was the poetry too.”
According to Jensen, those more poetic ideas for The Last Viking began with looking at his own surroundings: “My kids, my family, my friends, and the way there’s a lot of focus on identity. The core of this story is the two brothers and one of them changing identity.”
To add to the comedy, the writer/director had the idea of Manfred thinking he was a very famous late musician (no spoilers, but Jensen does note it’s “the band of my lifetime”) and teaming him up with other psychiatric patients who think they’re part of the same band. “That brought more comedic elements into the story and I started to build around that,” he says.
Some might have expected Mikkelsen, a former Bond villain, to play the tough bank robber, but instead he takes on the role of the bumbling brother. The trio say they all love to play around with expectations of casting.
“I remember back to The Green Butchers, and we didn’t know each other that well — Anders Thomas sent us each the script and said, ‘Which part do you want to play?’” recalls Kaas. “It was all up in the air.”
Jensen adds: “In Riders Of Justice, you had a bad motherfucker [played by Mikkelsen] and an introvert [Kaas]; with this one, it’s the opposite. I love playing with that.”
Getting serious
Screen International sat down with the trio as they enjoyed some downtime together poolside at the Zentropa villa in Cannes, where it was easy to see evidence of their three-decade friendship: plenty of laughter and ribbing one another. But when it comes to the work, all three are deadly serious.
“We have a huge respect for each other, and that’s important,” says Kaas. “When we’re working, we know what the temperature of the room is. We have that a long time before we start shooting.”
Jensen showed them early drafts of The Last Viking (which had the working title Back To Reality), seeking their feedback. “We were going to places with structure and characters we hadn’t been before,” he explains.
Mikkelsen and Kaas will give Jensen feedback in the writing and prep stages, and they will do a detailed read-through but try not to lose their instincts with too many rehearsals. While the actors say Jensen is very open to their ideas on set, the team likes to stick to the script once cameras are rolling. And, adds Mikkelsen: “None of us are big fans of 50 takes. We all know when it’s there.”
In pre-production, Mikkelsen was very involved in developing Manfred’s look, including his character’s deeply unfashionable hairstyle. “We tend to go a little crazy with my hair in Anders Thomas’s films and I thought it brought a naivety to Manfred,” he laughs. The perm treatment, adds Mikkelsen, “smelled like a sewer”.
The Last Viking shot for seven weeks – two in Funen, Denmark, and five in a forest near Tollered, western Sweden, where they built the brothers’ childhood home (site of their reunion) and, says Jensen, created a “summer camp” vibe.
Sisse Graum Jorgensen and Sidsel Hybschmann produce for Zentropa Entertainments, in co-production with Zentropa Sweden and Film i Väst, with support from The Danish Film Institute, FilmFyn, Eurimages, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, The Swedish Film Institute and Creative Europe Media Programme, in collaboration with TV2 and Nordisk Film Distribution. TrustNordisk handles sales and has already closed deals in multiple territories.
So what’s the real secret to this trio’s 25-years-and-counting collaboration? In Jensen’s words: “We can laugh at ourselves and be rough and rude to each other. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.”
Mikkelsen has another take on their shared, skewed universe: “We’re all in love with characters that have a mirror inflection of themselves that is completely off. It’s fun to see people in deep water.”
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