The Surprising Reason Mads Mikkelsen Called Harrison Ford A 'Monster'

Actor Mads Mikkelsen is opening up about his new roles in “Indiana Jones 5” and “Fantastic Beasts.”

Although the final film in the “Fantastic Beasts” trilogy, “Secrets of Dumbledore” is now out, plenty of fans are looking ahead to his role in the still-untitled fifth movie in the “Indiana Jones” franchise. Although the film has since wrapped, many production details are still under wraps.

One thing fans definitely know for sure is that the movie will continue to star Harrison Ford in the titular role. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mads opened up about what it was like working with Harrison Ford on set.

Ford, who is almost 80, suffered a shoulder injury while rehearsing a fight scene over the summer which forced him to postpone shooting. He was not able to return to filming until late October. Fortunately, Ford suffered no further injuries and was able to finish shooting earlier this year.

Mikkelsen said that he was impressed with Ford, noting, “It was the first time I met him and he’s an insanely powerful person. Not just an actor, but physically.”

He explained, “I remember the first day we were shooting, it was a night shoot, then we stopped at 5 a.m. — and then he got on his mountain bike and went biking for 50 kilometers [31 miles]. Harrison is a monster of a man, a very nice monster.”

Although he wasn’t able to provide any hints as to the plot of the movie, he did say that this recent film feels like a return to its early days.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” is still considered to be the best “Indiana Jones” film to many fans, and Mads revealed that it’s one of his favorite films as well.

“It just oozed that golden period of serials from the 1940s — and that’s in the fifth film as well,” he explained. “They’re going heavily back to the first and second film and getting that original feel, the original Indy, something dense and epic.”

“Ford v Ferrari” director James Mangold has taken over directing responsibilities from Steven Spielberg, who still remains heavily involved in the film as an executive producer. “It felt like a Spielberg film,” Mads said. “Though it’s obviously James making it with the same vision.”

Although he can’t say too much about his role in “Indiana Jones,” Mads is finally opening up about what it was like to replace Johnny Depp as Grindelwald in the final film in the trilogy.

Mads didn’t want to rehash the legal trial between Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard, but he did disclose some details about how he got the part. After Warner Bros. was left “scrambling” to recast his role after Heard called Depp a “wife-beater,” they decided to reach out to Mads to see if he’d be interested in the part. However, they only gave him two days to decide if he wanted to take on the role.

Mads recalled that “it was quite chaotic” and explained that he had watched the first two films and got a chance to read the script for the third movie. He said the script told “a great story” but he was careful not to imitate Depp’s performance.

“You don’t want to copy anything [Depp was] doing — that would be creative suicide,” he explained. “Even if [a role has] been done to perfection, you want to make it your own. But you still have to build some sort of bridge between what came before.”

Director David Yates approved the casting and had nothing but positive things to say about Mads.

“Mads has an extraordinary range, he can be terrifying as well as vulnerable, and he’s sexy,” he said. “I wanted Mads to explore a version of Grindelwald that suited his strengths as an actor — and that inevitably meant a departure from what Johnny brought to the role.”

They also made a conscious decision not to address Grindelwald’s sudden change in appearance during the film. “That was very deliberate,” Mads explained. “Everybody knows why [the actors changed]. The entire world knows why. It would almost be like an Easter egg to reality to point out we swapped actors. Hopefully, we drag them in with the first scene and from there they accept this world.”

Mads also admitted that he never talked to Johnny Depp or J.K. Rowling about his appearance in the film, even though Rowling served as the film’s co-screenwriter and producer. If he was allowed to ask Rowling one question, he said he’d want to ask her exactly why Grindelwald hates muggles so much.

“I’d like him not just to be instantly demagogic,” Mads said. He created his own backstory for Grindelwald instead, saying, “My reason is that something happened to his entire family when he was a child that explains the hate he carries around. It’s a fantastic, detailed, complex universe [Rowling] created, and I’d love to hear her thoughts on it. I hope I will do more than this one [film].”

“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” is in theaters now.