The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is at an all-time high in being fan favorites. One MCU movie that was released in 2016 and introduced a new character to the audience was Doctor Strange starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead. It also starred Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen in the film, who played the role of Kaecilius, a master of mystic arts. With a ton of action stuntwork to do on his own, Mikkelsen’s previous experience as a gymnast and dancer helped him ease into that role.

Mads Mikkelsen recently sat down with GQ to break down his filmography. When he reached Doctor Strange, specifically his fight scene with Tilda Swinton, he revealed how he got it done and the inspirations behind it.

Mads Mikkelsen owes his agility and swiftness to his early gymnastics career

Mads Mikkelsen said during the GQ interview, “When you are in an action film, you do wanna do stunts”, explaining how much he enjoyed his scenes in Doctor Strange. He continued, “And I am not the worst in the world to do stunts. I am a former gymnast and a dancer, so I’m pretty good at it”.

Mikkelsen trained as a gymnast during his teenage years and wanted to pursue athletics in his career. However, he soon shifted to dancing at the Balettakademien i.e. Ballet Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden. He pursued dancing professionally for some years, before eventually moving to theater and acting. Mikkelsen studied drama at the Arhus Theatre School.

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Nevertheless, his early years of gymnastics helped him be more agile and swift, something that came in handy in his movie career. Mads Mikkelsen is 6 feet tall, and therefore, is pretty comfortable in performing any kind of scene that requires a lot of physical movement.

He was inspired by some of the legends of entertainment

In Doctor Strange, he was fighting against Tilda Swinton’s character, The Ancient One, from which his character broke away. The fights not only involved fast movement, but a lot of aerobics, and kung fu skills. Mikkelsen admitted that Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon and Buster Keaton in The General were two of his biggest inspirations for him to prepare for the fight.

On the work front, Mikkelsen will next be seen in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the 5th film in the franchise. The eagerly awaited movie will also have Harrison Ford riding a horse again at age 80, something his archaeologist character has always done in previous films. Mikkelsen’s agility and fitness might come in handy for his role in this film as well.

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