He started out playing a pusher-junkie in the 1996 trilogy Pusher and went on to make Flickering Lights, Shake It All About and the police series Unit 1.Īs he gained success, he was cast internationally in films such as Spain's Torremolinos 73 and the 2004 U.S. Mikkelsen has been a rising star in Danish film since the mid-1990s. In the 1967 spy film spoof Casino Royale, the role was played by Orson Welles.ĭirector Martin Campbell confirmed Mikkelsen, 40, had the role at a press conference in Praque, according to Reuters. Fleming is believed to have based the character on British occultist Aleister Crowley. Le Chiffre is an evil genius known as the Number or the Cipher and has the usual Bond villain's penchant for torture. In the book version of Casino Royale, the first in Ian Fleming's long-running series, Bond and Le Chiffre match wits while playing high-stakes baccarat. The production moves to the Bahamas later this week. Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen has joined the cast of the next James Bond film, Casino Royale, as the villain Le Chiffre.īond is being played by British actor Daniel Craig, but the female lead in the film, now being shot in Prague, has yet to be cast.

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