Mads Mikkelsen Shares His Thoughts on Death Stranding
Death Stranding has officially been out for a few days and so far it’s received a great deal of support from critics and fans alike. Just like Kojima promised, it’s got a star-studded cast and it’s definitely not something that we’ve seen before in the industry. So, as one of the biggest actors working on it, Mads Mikkelsen recently sat down for a bit of a Death Stranding tell all.
In a brand new interview with GQ Mads Mikkelsen talked about the complex character he plays, Cliff Unger, as well as his overall experience working with Kojima on Death Stranding. Without spoiling too much off the get-go, it’s fair to say that he’s a fan of both the game and Kojima. When asked how playing the antagonist in Death Stranding compared to playing a James Bond villain and a Marvel villain, Mikkelsen stated that it was important to see the world from Cliff’s perspective. “First of all, I’m not the villain in this game. I always try to make my villains heroes, to try to see the world from his perspective. That’s important, that you justify him somehow, or at least humanize him to the degree that you can recognize what his motives are. [For Death Stranding], we just approached it as a man in a certain situation. There are different reasons for the way [Cliff] is acting out the way he is. He’s fighting for his life, or his child’s life. And that’s how I approached it from the very beginning.”
Interestingly, Mads Mikkelsen also shared that there was no script for the project when he signed on, only a storyboard of Kojima’s ideas. When asked if the final version of Death Stranding was what he originally expected, Mikkelsen praised both the development and the final version. He stated, “No. And yes. The inspiration from the storyboard is absolutely there. But having the characters come to life, and my colleagues’ acting, some people that I know that are not actors, but are strong characters I know… it’s incredible to watch. It’s much more than I anticipated, to be honest with you.” He continued, “I was just flabbergasted for those two hours I played. You wanted to just sit there forever and see what’s behind that next mountain. You just get really hooked on it. The whole thing is just insane. I have nothing to compare it to in the gaming world, but I am in the movie world, and the graphic novel world. And this is one of the closest things I’ve ever seen to a graphic book coming to life.”
Obviously there’s a whole bunch more that he talked about with GQ, so if you’re curious what else he had to say about the game and its development you can check it out here. If you’ve played the game already, what are your thoughts about the game overall and about Mads Mikkelsen’s character? Let us know in the comments below and don’t forget to keep it locked for updates!