Mads Mikkelsen talks Fantastic Beasts 3 and his version of Grindelwald

With Johnny Depp no longer playing Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts movies, Hollywood's finest character actor, Mads Mikkelsen has stepped up to the unenviable task of playing the villain. There are a lot of questions regarding the upcoming movie and Total Film, sitting down with Mikkelsen for the new issue of the magazine (headlined by The Suicide Squad), asked what we can expect to see.

"We’ve wrapped it up," Mikkelsen says of Fantastic Beasts 3. "Obviously I have only been part of it for half the time that the rest of the gang has. It was a lovely experience. I think they had a really great script; a great, solid story. So if that is anything to measure on, I think the film will be... you know, as magical as it has to be, with all the wonderful creatures, but also quite beautiful. There are some really interesting, heartbreaking stories in there. And hopefully that will come across. "

Regarding his version of Grindelwald, the actor compares his interpretation to how he played Hannibal following Anthony Hopkins' iconic portrayal of the character. "This is obviously a more direct comparison because it’s the next film," he says. "So we have done a few bridges that will allow us to recognize it, but we’ve also said we have to make it our own. I have been a fan of Johnny Depp since I saw him as a young man, and to try to bring his intensity and his way of doing it into my work is a no-go. I have to find my own, because his is unique, and I just have to let that be, and find a different path."

Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Mikkelsen can next be seen in UK cinemas in Riders of Justice, opening this Summer, and the Oscar-winning movie Another Round, opening on June 25 and available now on VOD in the US. For the full Mikkelsen interview – plus a whole lot more – grab a copy of the new issue of Total Film magazine when it hits shelves (and digital newsstands) on Friday, April 30. Check out the new (super-size fold-out) covers, as revealed by The Suicide Squad director James Gunn…

So excited to be sharing these upcoming @totalfilm newsstand and subscriber covers of #TheSuicideSquad! 🤯 Subscriber copy out today, on newsstands this Friday! pic.twitter.com/N1A1jAKDXeApril 26, 2021

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Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.