Mads Mikkelsen, Ralph Fiennes & Jessica Chastain Rumored For John Le Carré's 'Our Kind Of Traitor'

News

by Kevin Jagernauth
November 9, 2012 5:04 PM
3 Comments

In case you weren't aware, Mads Mikkelsen is having a moment. The actor earned raves and a Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his leading turn in Thomas Vinterberg's "The Hunt," and this weekend sees him give another strong performance in "A Royal Affair." And if that's not enough, he's going to be hitting arguably his biggest exposure outside of "Casino Royale" by taking a leading role in the buzzed about "Hannibal" on NBC. So, no surprise that he has his choice of projects.

The Wrap reports that he's eyeing Justin Kurzel's (of the acclaimed and disturbing Aussie serial killer flick "Snowtown") upcoming adaptation of John Le Carré's "Our Kind Of Traitor." First announced in the spring, and tenatively scheduled to shoot this fall, that clearly didn't happen, but the material is promising. Hossein Amini ("Drive," "Snow White and the Huntsman") has penned the tale that follows an English couple who get mixed up with a Russian businessman who turns out to be an oligarch, and one of the world's biggest money launderers. They get caught up in his plans to defect and are soon positioned between the Russian Mafia and the British Secret Service, neither of whom they can trust.

With a story that sprawls through London, Paris, Moscow and Tangiers, it's both easy to see why it's attractive, but also why A-list talent is needed. Movies like this are hard to finance, but if Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain get involved, that helps. Both of them are being mentioned as possibilities but no formal offer has been made. So, to summarize: these three people might be in "Our Kind Of Traitor," which would be awesome. Or they might not. But let's hope the former scenario plays out.

News

More: Mads Mikkelsen, Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Our Kind Of Traitor

3 Comments

| Reply
Charles | November 23, 2012 7:06 PMReply

A chance to work with Ralph Fiennes would be great. Chastain's neither here nor there. Mikkelsen does get the lead role in this. Must be his angle for taking this part. I hope he isn't forced to have a bad eye in this one or a love interest that's more than 20 years younger than him like Vikander and Evan Rachel Wood. These things scream Hollywoodized to me.
Charles | November 10, 2012 11:50 AMReply

Le Chiffre the Bond baddie was a money launderer. Nigel in The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman is a Russian bad guy. Seems like Mikkelsens moment would be better spent in a different film than a rehash of the same type of parts he always does. Is this all a Cannes award winning actor is offered? Typepcast roles?
LTavares2012 | November 18, 2012 12:29 PM

I agree. Mikkelsen is a superb actor and he proved it in films like The Hunt, A Royal Affair and lately in Move On. He is so talented that he even gives dignity to those action Hollywood movies he is invited to do. I`d like so much to see him working with Fiennes and specially Chastain but doing a different character. Mads is a very challenging actor.