Top 10 Best Danish Actors of All Time

Mads Mikkelsen didn't start in front of a camera but as a dancer and gymnast, and you can see it in his acting: he has a physical presence you can't ignore. In Nicolas Winding Refn's Pusher (1996) he immediately made his mark as a small-time drug dealer in trouble. In The Hunt (2012), as a kindergarten teacher falsely accused, he leaves viewers with a knot in their stomach; it won him Best Actor at Cannes. Internationally he became world-famous as the poker-playing villain Le Chiffre in Casino Royale (2006), and then took on the impossible task of playing Hannibal Lecter his own way: colder, more elegant and almost supernatural. With the Oscar-winning Another Round (2020) he showed he's still the absolute king of Danish cinema.

For eight seasons he was Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones, turning a character who began as an arrogant villain into a tragic hero, a major achievement in such a complex series. Long before his US breakthrough he was already a phenomenon in Denmark. In the thriller Nightwatch (1994) he played a night watchman at a morgue who gets entangled in a murder case, one of the films that ushered in the modern Danish film industry. His trademark? Charm with a dark edge.

Lars Mikkelsen is Mads' older brother, but he stands firmly on his own feet. His voice is his secret: low, precise and chillingly calm. In House of Cards he played Russian president Petrov, a man who can freeze a room with one look. As villain Charles Augustus Magnussen in Sherlock he was perhaps Benedict Cumberbatch's most memorable opponent. In top series like Borgen and The Killing he's the steady factor that lifts the level, and he later played Grand Admiral Thrawn in the Star Wars universe.

Without Ulrich Thomsen, Danish film history would look very different. He starred in the Dogme classic The Celebration (Festen, 1998), and his speech at his father's birthday party is a moment every film lover remembers. The calm with which he reveals the most terrible secrets is masterful. He made excursions to Hollywood in films like The International, but his heart lies with weightier Danish work, as films like Brothers and The Commune show.

Jesper Christensen has something inscrutable about him, the kind of actor who stays with you without ever needing to shout. Bond fans know him as the mysterious Mr. White in the Daniel Craig era, the man in the shadows who always seems to know more. At home he showed a completely different side in The Bench (Bænken, 2000), playing a homeless alcoholic with a humanity that never becomes sentimental. Equally believable in a sharp suit and in rags. Pure class.

Denmark discovered Pilou Asbæk as Kasper Juul in the political hit series Borgen, the spin doctor always three steps ahead. When the world discovered him, he chose completely different roles: as Euron Greyjoy in Game of Thrones he was a source of pure chaos and pirate violence. The contrast between the controlled political operator and the unhinged pirate shows how wide his range is.

Søren Malling is a fixture of Danish television. Watch The Killing, Borgen or A Hijacking, and you see Malling. He's not a man of big spectacle but of unshakable credibility; you simply always believe him. His role as the CEO negotiating with pirates in A Hijacking (2012) is one of the strongest performances of recent years, playing the mounting desperation so well you almost feel the pressure in the boardroom yourself.

Roland Møller has a face marked by life, perfect for roles where authority and vulnerability meet. In Land of Mine (2015) he plays a Danish sergeant who forces German POWs to clear mines after the war. His hatred of the enemy slowly clashes with his own conscience, and Møller portrays that inner struggle brilliantly. Hollywood saw his potential too, leading to roles in action films like Atomic Blonde and Skyscraper.

Less known outside Denmark, but at home Morten Grunwald is folklore. As Benny in the Olsen Gang films he made millions of Danes laugh for decades, the enthusiastic member of the thieving trio whose plans always went wrong. When he died in 2018, the country mourned the loss of an old friend.

Ove Sprogøe is to the Danes what Louis de Funès is to the French. With over 150 films to his name, he's a national monument. As Egon Olsen, the eternal leader with the brilliant-but-doomed plans, he became the face of a generation. He could do more than comedy, with a serious stage career, but he'll always be remembered for the bowler hat and cigar. When he died in 2004, an era came to an end.