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What do you think is the dark “thing” directors see in you when they cast you as the antagonist? link98
That is assuming they see a dark thing, right? There have been quite a lot of those nasty ones. I honestly don’t know, because I think I’m quite nice.
Your performance often explores complex, morally ambiguous characters, from Christian in The Square to Dracula. What draws you to these roles, and how do you approach finding humanity in such layered, sometimes dark, figures? WeirdDug
I’m drawn because there’s often more to play with. You can get out all your Legos and have fun. It’s quite fulfilling. Dracula’s not so nice, but he’s so over the top and actually quite sympathetic. Then the next bit of the question comes into play: where do I find the humanity? I always look for something I can relate to – the inferiority complexes, the insecurity – and that becomes the humanity.
How did you find using the crossbow for William Tell? VerulamiumParkRanger
I didn’t take anyone’s eye out. It took a lot of practice. We needed to make it believable because he’s supposed to be a master archer. The weird thing about filming with a crossbow is that, with a gun you can just use a blank; you can’t fake a crossbow. You’re walking around with a live weapon. It’s definitely one of the most intricate skills I’ve learned for a part. That, and the whole blood-sucking business for Dracula. I don’t even know what they use as prop blood. It’s this very sweet, sticky syrup and it’s not pleasant. Especially when you are really having a lot of it.
My all-time favourite performance of the Count! Would you play him again (please)? luckyjim26
When they approached me, I thought: does the world really need another Dracula? But Mark [Gatiss] and Steven [Moffat] had done some really cool things with the character. They wrote it as if it came to an end. If we were to do a second series, how do we bring him back? We established that he could actually stand in the sun. I think the idea would be to open the second series with him on a beach in Mexico, with one of those tinfoil screens around his neck, working on his tan.
Do you act differently in Danish and English? Bleistiftspitzer3
I think I do. I think I have more of a – this is assuming I have a sense of humour – more of a sense of humour in English than I do in Danish. It’s weird. I have this one-man play called The Evil, a monologue that I have done a trillion times in both English and Danish. It started in Swedish and has been translated, so the words are the same. I’ve always had the feeling that the Danish is the guitar version; the English is the piano version. They’re the same piece of music, but sound very different. English is not my first language, but, weirdly, sometimes I feel more free in it.
I’ve heard a story of you getting confused for Pierce Brosnan. Does this happen often and would you make a good Bond? TopTramp
When I came out of drama school, I think there was one review in a newspaper in Denmark where the critic sort of said I reminded them of a young Brosnan. But that’s about it. And no. I’m almost 60. I would make a crap Bond.
Do people approach you in the street and call you that nickname from Bad Sisters? mikebhoy
People say: “Oh, it’s the prick.” It happened two weeks ago in New Zealand. It happened last summer in Copenhagen at a music festival. Someone came running after me and said: “Hey, you’re the prick, aren’t you?” Thanks, Sharon Horgan. I have a hard time saying yes to that question. Maybe I should say: “No, I’m Dracula”, bring out the fangs and scare them off instead.
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What was it like working with Mick Jagger and Donald Sutherland on The Burnt Orange Heresy? Bicuser
It was incredible. Jagger is the closest you come to a living legend. They were both so bloody sweet. What really struck me about Jagger was how humble he was. He’s the fish out of the water as an actor, and was always asking: “What can I bring to this to make this better?” He knew everybody in the room had more film experience and was very sweet about it. He was only on set five or six days. But when he came on set, it was like he brought this love.
You remind me very much of the amazing actor James Mason. You have a terrific look for an investigator type and I could see you in a trenchcoat, chasing bad guys, like in the film noir of the 40s and 50s. Do you long for the long-gone eras before all this superhero nonsense? TheWickedLady and Kal_85
When The Burnt Orange Heresy came out, I was texting Jagger because he couldn’t come to the premieres as he was recording in Paris. I don’t read reviews, so I got this text from him saying: “The Washington Post says you sound like a beguiling young James Mason.” I was like: “Jesus, is this really happening?” I wouldn’t mind playing a detective like Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon. That would be a really great universe to get into. I almost did a superhero role at one point, but Covid came along, everything fell apart, and they had to find someone else. There’s nothing that I would say no to as an idea or premise. I might say no to something if I read it and I thought: this is not for me. Apart from porn. I wouldn’t say yes to porn.
