Hannibal Season 3: Interview with Mads Mikkelsen

If you proudly proclaim to be a fan of the thrilling television series, Hannibal, then you would have already caught the Season 3 premiere last week in all of its cannibalistic serial killer escapades. As you might have seen, Season 3 sees Hannibal on the run together with his psychiatrist Bedelia Du Maurier, where he may be sporting a different identity, his appetite remains unchanged.

In the second half of the season though, things get a little more exciting as Jack will seek the help of Will to catch a new threat – a serial killer that’s preying on families, known in the media as the Tooth Fairy, but self-proclaimed as The Great Red Dragon. The hunt may then force Will to turn to his old adversary, Hannibal.

So now that we’ve sufficiently ignited your thirst for the next episode, here’s a delectable plate of Mads Mikkelsen served in a silver ‘interview’ platter just for you. Yum? We hope this will satiate your hunger for a bit at least.

This season we are going to see Hannibal Lecter on top, in Florence, in his dream of a life. And he is going to be in prison for the first time. How was it like to play these two sides?

Mikkelsen: It’s part of Hannibal’s life. I mean Hannibal has no obvious problems going to jail. He has a vast memory palace. He can close his eyes and he’ll be somewhere else. Also it would be a challenge, an interesting challenge. He’s always curious what’s around the corner, eh? So, it’s not the end of the day, if he goes to jail. I mean he does like his freedom of course. He does love being in Paris, in Florence. He’s able to do stuff he hasn’t done for a year. But if that changes he’ll have something up his sleeve. He’s got his memory palace.

We see Hannibal and Bedelia at the beginning of the season, can you talk more about what kind of life they’re forging, and what’s interesting about exploring their dynamic?

Mikkelsen: We touch that past. We get to know a little about how they met and why they have this strange kinky story going on. It’s not a healthy relationship, but it’s in a strange way distant. But, it’s also very intimate, because they are who they are.

You were talking about Hannibal’s memory palace, and it’s one of the many unique abilities that he has. Can you talk about some of the research and preparation you’ve done to become such a renaissance man with so many different skills?

Mikkelsen: He’s very difficult to research on. I mean obviously you’ve got the books, and you’ve got the films, because we are not doing what the other films are doing so we need to be inspired by that. The books can give you an insight. I think that he’s just a man that is embracing the moment. He’s living in the moment. He has no time for bad wine or boring people. You don’t have to research for that. He’s doing what the rest of us should have done our whole life, except for the part on killing I guess. But, embracing life. Every second is an opportunity of beauty, and we will definitely search for it.

You play this character, a serial killer who has some swag and that causes the audience to question whether or not they should like the guy. Do you think about that?

Mikkelsen: Yes, I’m very aware of that. It’s one of my favorite things, not only about the show, but also my favorite films. I had that vivid experience as well the first time I saw Taxi Driver. That film has always been a huge inspiration for me in the sense that I left the theater with the feeling of not liking this guy, but at the same time liking him. It was really complex and frustrating, because I was used to having distinct ideas of bad and good, and that was easy. They give the good guy an Oscar, you know? We have a tendency to want that very strict distinction, but when it gets mudded up, you get confused. We might even see our reflections somewhere. We want to do the good thing, but we don’t always do it, right? Obviously those kinds of characters are very interesting, right?

Season two ended in this big blood bath. Does Hannibal feel guilty or bad about what he did to his friends? Was it a set of circumstances, or is he just a creature of instinct?

Mikkelsen: It could not be any other way. I mean, in Hannibal’s world that was the ending. That was the ending he gave, most of all he gave Will a change to come out and be honest. He chose the other version, so that was the ending. He doesn’t feel guilty. He’s sad that it had to happen, but it had to happen. You know? Its’ a little like god, you know when he puts insects on the human race or flood the whole place. He’s not happy about it, but it had to be done. No, guilt is not a big word in his life. Sorrow, yes.

We have a new character, the Red Dragon this season. What does Hannibal see in him, and why does Hannibal mentor him? Or push him?

Mikkelsen: Well the vanity is always there, right? Some would call it jealousy that there’s a new kid in town getting all the attention. That’s part of it. The most important part is, it’s a way to get to Will. I mean hopefully one day Will will come and visit me in jail and he might be my ticket. I think that’s the engine, and that’s the gasoline for him having an interest in the old man.

What does it feel like to be doing a cult TV series? Being in the middle of what Hannibal means?

Mikkelsen: I guess it’s interesting in the sense that, we don’t feel it all the time. Unless you go on the internet and see how people react to it. Then you feel that it’s a cult show. But we are not aware of it while standing and shooting it, and we shouldn’t be. We should do what we think is right, and then we’ll just have to wait and see how people react to it.

But, when you eventually meet the fans, Fannibals, that’s what they call themselves, it’s quite an impact. Nothing I’ve seen before with anything else I’ve ever done. They have dedication to it, almost a whole life dedication to it that is fantastic and interesting. Without them I guess we wouldn’t have a show. So we’re grateful.

Hannibal Season 3 airs on Fridays at 10pm within 12 hours of the US telecast, first and exclusively on AXN (StarHub TV channel 511). 

Tarandip Kaur

Photos: AXN