In case you weren't aware, Mads Mikkelsen is having a moment. The actor earned raves and a Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his leading turn in Thomas Vinterberg's "The Hunt," and this weekend sees him give another strong performance in "A Royal Affair." And if that's not enough, he's going to be hitting arguably his biggest exposure outside of "Casino Royale" by taking a leading role in the buzzed about "Hannibal" on NBC. So, no surprise that he has his choice of projects.
The Wrap reports that he's eyeing Justin Kurzel's (of the acclaimed and disturbing Aussie serial killer flick "Snowtown") upcoming adaptation of John Le Carré's "Our Kind Of Traitor." First announced in the spring, and tenatively scheduled to shoot this fall, that clearly didn't happen, but the material is promising. Hossein Amini ("Drive," "Snow White and the Huntsman") has penned the tale that follows an English couple who get mixed up with a Russian businessman who turns out to be an oligarch, and one of the world's biggest money launderers. They get caught up in his plans to defect and are soon positioned between the Russian Mafia and the British Secret Service, neither of whom they can trust.
With a story that sprawls through London, Paris, Moscow and Tangiers, it's both easy to see why it's attractive, but also why A-list talent is needed. Movies like this are hard to finance, but if Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain get involved, that helps. Both of them are being mentioned as possibilities but no formal offer has been made. So, to summarize: these three people might be in "Our Kind Of Traitor," which would be awesome. Or they might not. But let's hope the former scenario plays out.