Now that he’s been in Doctor Strange and Rogue One, it’s not like Mads Mikkelsen doesn’t have experience or interest in starring in some big ticket, CG-laden science fiction. But apparently even just auditioning for a role in the recent Fantastic Four reboot was too much for the actor.
Image: Marvel Studios/Disney
Discussing bad auditions with Shortlist recently, Mikkelsen briefly described an embarrassing experience while auditioning for Josh Trank’s disastrous Fantastic Four. And then revealed he actually ended up walking out before the audition could end:
You’ve spoken about auditioning for Fantastic Four and finding it an excruciating process. Can you remember any other particularly bad auditions?
I’ve had tons of them. We’ve all been there. We all show up and it’s a little office room with a desk and some books and they want you to do a scene where you have two lines — maybe not even two lines — maybe just “Bleurgh!” or “Get back!” And you’re hiding behind a palm tree that’s not there. It’s like, “Guys, couldn’t you have picked a different kind of scene to this? This is fucking mad.” You feel like an idiot.
Have you actually walked out of any?
I think I walked out on the Fantastic Four one. I think I actually said, “I can’t do it. It’s not about you, I’m sorry, this is wrong.”
It’s not the first time Mikkelsen has discussed his audition for the film — he recently told Xpose that he was mortified at having to flail his arms around like a rubber man for the role — but it’s the first time he discusses actually calling it quits on the audition before it was over. It’s also an intriguing description… was he being auditioned for Doom or Mr Fantastic? Ultimately, the cast of the Fantastic Four reboot skewed relatively young, even with its take on Doom. Was there a point when we were going to get an older, more traditional take on the team? Either way, it seems like even then Mikkelsen was not keen on the film’s trajectory at all.