141 replies to this topic

[stamper]

This guy looks evil. EVIL. I'm sure he is in real life.

Bring on the back to the roots of Bond !

[Agent Spriggan Ominae]

A Danish actor, huh?

Bond just lost the muslim demographic.

No! He is playing a villain who will meet a terrible fate. They'll cheer when he gets blown away.

[Timothy]

Actually I don't want to judge him before having seen him in CR but I must admit I am quite disappointed.

Didn't have someone in my mind (except of alltime dreams like Reno or Hopkins) but my image of LeChiffre was different.

To me, he just looks boring - the man from next door maybe. Especially for the card game scene I wanted someone with distinctive elements. To be honest: To me he seems to have some similarities with Kristatos, Trevelyan and Graves - to me this is terrible. I wanted something of Largo, Kronsteen, Sanchez, Zorin, Carver.

Of course we have seen how actors can change and actually do (Craig) but when I saw him at the PK I was immediately supporting him - had a good feeling which I don't have with Mikkelsen.

First disappointment for me and I always prayed for an awesome villain. Let's hope he will be very very different in the movie...

[Bond_Bishop]

Mads Mikkelsen will be a fine Le Chiffre. Not my ideal Le Chiffre though but he is a great actor and has the right villain look.

[Judo chop]

I haven't seen King Arthur. What's the general consensus on Mads in it? Will it be worth my time enduring another epic yawner to get a look at him?

[mtonline]

Peter Lorre is Le Chiffre to me

M_T

[Stephenson]

On the surface - IMO - he seems a cross between a henchman and a Euro villain of the Alan Rickman/Jeremy Irons school.

Wonder if they'll pad him out or disfigure him a bit to try fit the novel image some more?

I was just about to post something similar. No offence to Mads, but I see absolutely nothing inspired in his casting. Can we actually have a spy/action film in which the bad guy is not a suave, thirty to forty something? Wasn't this just done in that lame Harrison Ford movie?

This is not exactly what I would call risky or inspired casting. And I doubt Eon will do anything overly interestng with the character to make him more orignial. Like many here, I was hoping that Casino Royale would feature my generation's Goldfinger.

[Bondesque]

Agreed Stephenson, he will be competant but probably not an icon like Golfinger. The series really needs an iconic villian.

[Hitchcock Bond]

Like some others I think I would have preferred someone closer to the physical type of Le Chiffre. Jurgen Tarrach was certainly that (a kind of cross between two of my all-time favourite screen villains: Peter Lorre and Walter Sleazak). However, he may have come across in a similar manner as Robbie Coltrane's Zukovsky (I understand Tarrach is a comedy actor). Mikkelson certainly has the look of a great screen villain, although I am not familiar with his work to really assess how he will work out, but I suspect he could be really good.

[Seannery]

On the surface - IMO - he seems a cross between a henchman and a Euro villain of the Alan Rickman/Jeremy Irons school.

Wonder if they'll pad him out or disfigure him a bit to try fit the novel image some more?

I was just about to post something similar. No offence to Mads, but I see absolutely nothing inspired in his casting. Can we actually have a spy/action film in which the bad guy is not a suave, thirty to forty something? Wasn't this just done in that lame Harrison Ford movie?

This is not exactly what I would call risky or inspired casting. And I doubt Eon will do anything overly interestng with the character to make him more orignial. Like many here, I was hoping that Casino Royale would feature my generation's Goldfinger.

Hmmmmmm.......I don't see that. Firstly CR is already risky enough with a new type Bond--they need not go nutty with the villian. And we don't know yet how Le Chiffre is written and how Mads will play him--it could easily NOT be predictable. And to disfigure him or whatever seems besides the point--it's how the interior of the character is portrayed that counts.

[stamper]

How many of you think there will be a scene in the movie, when some stupid takes some drugs and ODs on it in Le Chiffre Casino or dance club, and is trown out to die in the back alley upon orders by Le Chiffre, to show how ruthless he is ?

I'm saying that because this scene is in nearly all the recent movies dealing about drugs.

[fatima]

He looks like a bog-standard Euro-villian from a Steven Seagal movie. Totally uninspired, absolutely nothing like Fleming's LeChiffre.

Will there actually be anything of Fleming's novel in Casino Royal? What happened to all that stuff about it being a faithful adaptation of the book?

Have we all been suckered by the usual EON hype?

[tdalton]

Have we all been suckered by the usual EON hype?

Yes, I believe that we have.

As far as the actor cast to play Le Chiffre, he looks nothing like Fleming's Le Chiffre, and I find this to be totally uninspired casting. Once again, EON had a chance to bring a great Bond villain to the screen and they totally messed it up. They should just change the name of the character because this is NOT "Le Chiffre".

[Seannery]

Eon has never slavishly followed the novels and that is one of the reasons Bond has lasted so long. The books and films are different animals with different strengths.

[tdalton]

Eon has never slavishly followed the novels and that is one of the reasons Bond has lasted so long. The books and films are different animals with different strengths.

But, I think that this was an instance where following the novel wouldn't have detracted one bit from what they're trying to do with the film. If it were going to detract from the film by having an older Le Chiffre, then going younger would be fine, but (and I hope that this isn't a spoiler, but if it is, feel free to delete) from everything that I've heard so far in the CBn reports and threads, etc. on this site, having an Anthony Hopkins or a Jack Nicholson type actor for the role would not detract the least bit from what they are trying to do.

[Seannery]

Eon has never slavishly followed the novels and that is one of the reasons Bond has lasted so long. The books and films are different animals with different strengths.

But, I think that this was an instance where following the novel wouldn't have detracted one bit from what they're trying to do with the film. If it were going to detract from the film by having an older Le Chiffre, then going younger would be fine, but (and I hope that this isn't a spoiler, but if it is, feel free to delete) from everything that I've heard so far in the CBn reports and threads, etc. on this site, having an Anthony Hopkins or a Jack Nicholson type actor for the role would not detract the least bit from what they are trying to do.

Maybe not but there is no intrinsic need to follow the novel's description of Le Chiffre. I can see CR working well your way or Eon's way. Eon going this direction isn't a death knell for the film.

[dinovelvet]

Have we all been suckered by the usual EON hype?

Yes, I believe that we have.

As far as the actor cast to play Le Chiffre, he looks nothing like Fleming's Le Chiffre, and I find this to be totally uninspired casting. Once again, EON had a chance to bring a great Bond villain to the screen and they totally messed it up. They should just change the name of the character because this is NOT "Le Chiffre".

EON have almost never adhered to the novels' descriptions of villains. Right from the start, they changed Dr.No's race from Chinese to caucasian, ditto with Red Grant, who was Irish in the book. Largo from TB also bears little resemblance to the literary version (as I recall he was more of a playboy stud type on the page), same with Drax, Scaramanga, Blofeld(s) etc. Most fans will still agree that they were great screen villains anyway. Yeah Mads isn't what I was expecting either, but we don't know what he'll look like as Le Chiffre, maybe they will sleaze him up a bit. I dunno, Bond gets dismissed as being not good looking enough, and now Le Chiffre is too good looking? Real catty bunch in here!

[Kara Milovy]

Peter Lorre is Le Chiffre to me

M_T

It's so hard casting dead people, though. The make-up alone...!

[crheath]

Peter Lorre is Le Chiffre to me

M_T

Last I checked he was unavailable...

[TaoMike]

Peter Lorre is Le Chiffre to me

M_T

Last I checked he was unavailable...

Actually, his schedule is completely open... <g>

[db077]

Greetings!
I'm new here and found this board because I am a Mads Mikkelsen fan.
I'm very excited he got this part. He will be a great Bond baddie.
If you've never seen him act, you are missing out.
He totally becomes the character. You will not be disappointed.

While I've not read any Bond books, I've always been a fan of the movies. My first one was 'Live and Let Die' and I've seen every one since, and actually i've probably seen all of them before that by now, too!
I am really looking forward to this one now.

Here are just a few of his roles:

(Click thumbnails for larger view)

[Carver]

Welcome to CBn db077 . Those are pretty good pics of Mikkelsen, especially the top middle one, it's winning me over already. I really like his eyes, so cold and calculating... I reckon he probably could make an interesting Le Chiffre.

[dinovelvet]

Welcome to CBn db077 . Those are pretty good pics of Mikkelsen, especially the top middle one, it's winning me over already. I really like his eyes, so cold and calculating... I reckon he probably could make an interesting Le Chiffre.

Yeah that middle pic is very Bond villainish. Cold, hard eyes that you definitely don't want staring at you on the poker table...or staring at you with a carpet beater in one hand

[db077]

Thanks for the welcome!
The pic you are referring to is from the movie 'I am Dina'. I would have to say that was one of Mads' best performances to date. It was a relatively secondary character, but extremely memorable and yeah, he was very cold and calculating. It was also one of his few English speaking films. He does have a lovely accent, too!

[zencat]

I've said it before and I'll say it again; I love the Defamer!

http://www.defamer.c...hase-155390.php

[rubixcub]

I have a feeling we're going to lose the marvelous "my dear boy" speech from the book. Damn shame.

Dave

[stamper]

Actually I changed opinion, he looks like a vilain henchman. Not the main villain.
Bond should be back fighting older men than him, it's his freudian quest (cf 007 mag analysis of Goldfinger), especially if they go back to the beginning. AH, well...

[spynovelfan]

EON have almost never adhered to the novels' descriptions of villains. Right from the start, they changed Dr.No's race from Chinese to caucasian...

He was played by a Caucasian, but he was still meant to be be "the unwanted child of a German missionary and a Chinese girl of good family", as per Fleming's novel.

[Alvin Stardust]

Well I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Wouldn't have been my choice, but not sure who would have been...

[medrecess]

This guy is like sean bean.WOW.I think they wanted someone young ,imposing and energetic to match bond in every aspect.I think this would work.