After a wrongful arrest, Will’s behind bars and Hannibal’s working with the FBI. What can we expect next?
Mads: It’s a big moment for him. He’s been fraternising with the FBI for a while, but he’s never been at the heart of their investigations and its exciting. It’s not only about the work, it’s also about the chance to be Will.
Talking of Will, Hannibal has a quite complicated relationship with him…
Mads: Yes, it’s basically a ‘bromance’ as Bryan would say, and I think that’s what makes it fun to watch – their relationship is almost romantic… although of course there’s not a lot of kissing.
What else can you tell us about the new season? The opening episode features a terrific fight between you and Laurence Fishburne [Jack Crawford]…
Mads: That was a fantastic day. We spent 16 hours kicking the shit out of each other. It was amazing. Laurence is not only big, he’s fast. We felt so young when we were doing that – then very old the next day.
Why do you think it’s become such a cult hit?
Mads: It works because this is our own little world and it sort of has to be. Otherwise I’d have been caught long ago – “who’s that exotic guy with the funny accent collecting art, cooking crazy meals and wearing three piece suits? Could this possibly be the killer?”
Have you ever found yourself thinking, “That’s just gross?”
Mads: No, not at all. I generally find these things really funny. The thing that does disturb me is on an emotional level when I’m doing terrible things to a person who has all this trust in me.
You’re based in Denmark – is it difficult being away from your wife and children?
Mads: Yes – It’s something I need to figure out how to approach in the future because filming this second series took longer than anticipated. We’ve been in Toronto for over seven months. But I can’t really move my family over and say, “Hey, drop all your friends and come and watch dad get home at four in the morning!”