It's been almost five years since Hannibal ended, but thankfully, lead actor Mads Mikkelsen is still plying his craft in other movies and TV shows. When Mikkelsen signed on to play Dr. Hannibal Lecter in NBC's Hannibal TV series, he took on much more than a simple acting role. Hannibal is a character beloved by millions, both for his inclusion in five theatrical films, and the series of Thomas Harris novels those films are based on.
Hannibal is one of the most sophisticated, charming villains in horror history, especially when he's not locked up in a prison facility of some kind. Of course, that charm belies a terrifying desire to murder people and turn their body parts into delicious gourmet meals. Hannibal is a strange character, because as evil as he no doubt is, if he develops actual affection for someone, such as Clarice Starling or Will Graham, it really does seem like he might let that person go unharmed, provided they didn't attempt to stop his criminal activities.
Even with the iconic portrayal of Hannibal by Anthony Hopkins forever casting a long shadow, most fans would agree that Mikkelsen succeeded in making a version of Hannibal to call his own, and in the judgment of some, actually surpassed Hopkins as the definitive onscreen rendition of Harris' character. Since Hannibal was canceled in 2015 though, Mikkelsen has kept busy, and here's everything he's done.
Hannibal: What Mads Mikkelsen Has Done Since The Show Ended
It's likely most moviegoers ended up seeing Mads Mikkelsen's first post-Hannibal project, as he portrayed Kaecilius in Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange, a villainous former student of the Ancient One that had been corrupted by Dormammu's influence. Later that same year, in 2016, Mikkelsen played Galen Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an Imperial scientist and the estranged father to protagonist Jyn Erso. In 2018, Danish actor Mikkelsen returned to the Scandinavian film scene, playing the lead in the survival thriller Arctic, a man who's forced to battle the elements for survival after a plane crash leaves him stranded.
In a far cry from Hannibal Lecter, 2018 also saw Mikkelsen play a priest in At Eternity's Gate, a biopic about the final years of artist Vincent van Gogh (Willem Dafoe). In 2019, Mikkelsen starred in the Netflix original film Polar, playing a hitman on the verge of retirement that ends up being targeted by his own employer. Also in 2019, Mikkelsen appeared as Clifford Unger in both visual and voiceover form in the hit video game Death Stranding, opposite The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus. Next up, Mikkelsen is set to star in the Danish drama Another Round, and opposite Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley in the long-delayed Chaos Walking.