Mads Mikkelsen Talks About Replacing Johnny Depp In Secrets Of Dumbledore
Actor Mads Mikkelsen has further discussed the major Fantastic Beasts casting change that saw the actor step in to replace Johnny Depp as the evil wizard Grindelwald after the embattled Depp dropped out.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Mikkelsen recalled that it was «quite chaotic» when it was all going down. Depp dropped out of the third movie, The Secrets of Dumbledore, amid his messy and controversial legal battle with Amber Heard. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling defended Depp but the decision was ultimately made to recast the role, and Mikkelsen landed the part.
In taking over for Depp, Mikkelsen said he made sure to not «copy» what Depp was doing with the character but instead put his own spin on it while retaining some elements of the original.
«You don't want to copy anything [Depp was] doing--that would be creative suicide,» Mikkelsen said. «Even if [a role has] been done to perfection, you want to make it your own. But you still have to build some sort of bridge between what came before.»
Depp was reportedly paid an eight-figure sum for the one scene he filmed for The Secrets of Dumbledore before he dropped out.
Mikkelsen's version of Grindelwald looks physically different from Depp's, with Depp's platinum hair and albino right eye dialed back. Director David Yates said he asked Mikkelsen to «explore a version of Grindelwald that suited his strengths as an actor.» This, in turn, meant that it would be a departure from how Depp played the role.
Mikkelsen also confirms that The Secrets of Dumbledore deliberately avoids any story sequences that attempt to explain why a different actor is now playing Grindelwald. «Everybody knows why [the actors changed]. The entire world knows why. It would almost be like an
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