CARRIE FISHER - dies aged 60 - R.I.P.

Carrie Frances Fisher passed away on Tuesday 27th December following complications brought on by a massive heart attack while aboard a flight from London to Los Angeles on Friday 23rd December. She has been hospitalised since arriving in Los Angeles. She was sixty years of age having been born on October 21st 1956. Fisher was an Actress, Producer and Writer whose career spanned five decades across film, television, and writing, and can be described in every sense as a true product of Hollywood. Her father was legendary Singer and Actor Eddie Fisher who was the most successful pop singles artist of the first half of the 1950's. Her mother was the acclaimed Debbie Reynolds who started acting in 1950 on stage and screen and continued with her acting career right up until the time of her tragic passing on the day following the death of her daughter. Fisher and Reynolds were married from 1955 until 1959, and Carrie was a product of that marriage, before Fisher left and married Reynold's best friend Elizabeth Taylor.

Best known for her role as Princess Leia Organa in the original Star Wars films - 'A New Hope' (1977), 'The Empire Strikes Back' (1980) and 'Return of the Jedi' (1983), she reprised her role for 2015's 'The Force Awakens' and her likeness was used digitally for the closing scene of the recent first stand alone Star Wars story 'Rogue One'. She will also appear posthumously in 'Star Wars : Episode VIII' due in late 2018 as General Leia Organa. 'Star Wars' was only hers second big screen role following a part in 1975's 'Shampoo' with Warren Beatty, Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn and this followed on from her small screen debut in 1969, in the made for TV movie 'Debbie Reynolds and the Sound of Children'.

Fisher attended the Beverly Hills High School until fifteen, and then due to conflicting acting demands she gave up her schooling and never graduated.  In 1973 she enrolled in London's Central School of Speech and Drama which she stuck at for eighteen months. In 1978 she enrolled in the Sarah Lawrence College in New York to study the arts but left before graduating because of the demands of 'Star Wars'.

In the decades that followed Fisher was seldom out of work appearing in numerous film and television roles. These included more memorable feature films such as 'The Blues Brothers' (1980) as Jake Blues vengeful ex-lover; Woody Allen's 'Hannah and Her Sisters' (1986); 'The Burb's' (1989) opposite Tom Hanks; 'When Harry Met Sally' (1989) with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan; 'Sibling Rivalry' (1990) with Kirsty Alley; 'Drop Dead Fred' (1991) with Rik Mayall; 'This Is My Life' (1992) with Julie Kavnar; and uncredited roles in 'Hook' and 'Austin Powers : International Man of Mystery'.

In the meantime Fisher had penned her first novel in 1987 - the semi-autobiographical 'Postcards from the Edge' in which she fictionalised and satirised real-life events such as her drug addiction of the late 1970s and her relationship with her mother. The book became a best seller and in 1990 a film version of the book was released that was adapted for the screen by Fisher. The film starred Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Annette Benning, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman and Richard Dreyfus and it picked up numerous award nominations for Streep and MacLaine including Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA nods. She went onto release two further novels by the turn of the century - 'Surrender the Pink' and 'Delusions of Grandma' in 1990 and 1993 respectively.

During this time too Fisher began working on script refinements for numerous films including 'Lethal Weapon 3', 'Outbreak', 'The Wedding Singer', 'The River Wild', 'Sister Act', 'Coyote Ugly', 'Last Action Hero' and 'Stop! Or my Mom will Shoot'. This in turn led to a particularly productive period over a fifteen year stretch from the early '90's onward as a go to script doctor refining the screenplays for other writers. These included the dialogue for the 'Star Wars' prequel films. In 2004 she published a follow-up novel to 'Postcards from the Edge', titled 'The Best Awful There Is' - another semi-autobiographical work this time said to fictionalise the story of her relationship with the gay agent Bryan Lourd, father of her daughter, Billie Lourd. In 2008 she published her own autobiographical humorous book 'Wishful Drinking' which was based on her one woman stage show which ran at LA's Geffen Playhouse from late 2006 into early 2007. The show continued a successful run touring around select theatres, culminating in a run on Broadway from late 2009 through until early 2010. She made the comment in her book "Now I think that this would make for a fantastic obit—so I tell my younger friends that no matter how I go, I want it reported that I drowned in moonlight, strangled by my own bra." - a comment that has been much used in the media since the announcement of her death earlier this week. In 2010 HBO filmed a feature length documentary of the stage show.

In 2000 she payed a former Actress in slasher horror offering 'Scream 3' and then 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back' before Co-Writing the 2001 made for television movie 'These Old Broads' which starred her mother Debbie Reynolds with Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley MacLaine and Joan Collins. This was followed up by a string of 'B-Movies' that included 'Heartbreakers', 'Wonderland', 'Stateside', 'Undiscovered', 'Cougar Club', 'The Women', 'Fanboys', 'White Lightnin'' and horror slasher flick 'Sorority Row'. During this decade there had been numerous television appearances too including the likes of 'Smallville', 'Weeds', '30 Rock', 'Entourage' and twenty-three episodes on 'Family Guy' as the voice of Angela.

Since 2010, aside from the 'Star Wars' instalments as previously mentioned, there have been David Cronenberg's 'Maps to the Stars' in which Fisher cameo's as herself, and single episodes on 'The Bing Bang Theory', 'Legit', two episodes on 'Girlfriends Guide to Divorce' and four episodes on Channel 4's 'Catastrophe'. Fisher died after filming Season 3 had wrapped on 'Catastrophe' which will go to air in 2017. Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds were also the subject of a 2016 documentary film which Premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival - 'Bright Lights : Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds' which goes to air on HBO sometime in 2017.

All up Fisher had 89 Acting credits to her name, eleven as Writer and one as Producer. She was the recipient of one award win and a further nine nominations. She was married to singer/songwriter Paul Simon from 1983 until 1984 although they had been dating since 1977, and continued to do so until 1990 after their divorce. For a brief time she was engaged to Dan Aykroyd in 1980. She had a subsequent relationship with talent agent Bryan Lourd with whom she had a daughter Billie Catherine Lourd born in 1992. She also revealed in her autobiography published this year - 'The Princess Diarist' that back in 1976 she and Harrison Ford enjoyed a short lived affair during the filming of 'Star Wars'.

She publicly discussed her diagnosis of bipolar disorder and her reliance on cocaine and prescription drugs. She is reported to have stated that her drug use was a form of self-medication using pain killers such as Percodan to "dial down" the manic aspect of her bipolar disorder. In 2008 she discussed her electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatments stating that at one point, she was receiving ECT every six weeks to 'blow apart the cement' in her brain. In 2014, she went on record that she was no longer receiving the treatment. Earlier this year Harvard College granted Fisher its Annual Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism, noting that 'her forthright activism and outspokenness about addiction, mental illness, and agnosticism have advanced public discourse on these issues with creativity and empathy'.

Carrie Fisher - prolific Screenwriter, Author and Actress who forever is etched in our memories for playing one of films greatest heroines across one of films greatest epic blockbusting franchises. May you forever rest in peace, and may the force be with you as brightly in the next world as it was in your former one. Thanks for the memories.

Carrie Fisher - Rest In Peace.
1956-2016.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

ROGUE ONE : A STAR WARS STORY - Thursday 15th December 2016.

I saw 'ROGUE ONE : A STAR WARS STORY' on its opening night in Australia, and sat in a near packed theatre, which burst into applause when the end credits rolled - a sure sign of a film's approval and pending success. And so from a galaxy far far away comes the first Star Wars spin off in this highly anticipated, eagerly awaited, much hyped 'Rogue One' offering. Produced by LucasFilm, Distributed by Disney, Directed by Gareth Edwards and costing US$200M, this film stands alone in the Star Wars universe set just before the events that unfolded in the first film in this hugely successful and popular franchise 'A New Hope'. That initial film released in 1977 set in motion a behemoth that would become part of our popular culture, spawning so far seven feature films, this spin-off, numerous animated television series, books, toys and merchandise. The value of the franchise is estimated at somewhere north of US$31B, the films to date have garnered 27 Academy Award nominations and last years 'The Force Awakens' is the third highest grossing film of all time raking in US$2.1B at the global Box Office. Production of 'Star Wars : Episode VIII' is ongoing with Writer/Director Rian Johnson at the helm and due in cinemas in December 2017. It has been reported, but remains unconfirmed, that the title of the next instalment will be 'Star Wars : Forces of Destiny'.

The premise for the 'Rogue One' set up comes from the opening crawl of 'A New Hope' which states amongst other things that ' . . . Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star . . . ' From these brief introductory words, Screenwriters Tony Gilroy and Chris Weitz have moulded this story of the Rebel Alliance against the Empire. As the film opens we see a young Jyn Erso being hurriedly bundled up and packed off by her father Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) to escape from the arriving Imperial Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) and his black armour clad Deathtrooper henchmen. Krennic is demanding that Galen returns to finish the work he started on the Death Star - the Galactic Empire's new super weapon of destruction capable of destroying entire planets. But Galen is reluctant, and in a standoff his wife is killed. Meanwhile young Jyn has fled to the mountains to safety - it is the last time she will see her father for many years. Sometime later, an underground bunker in which Jyn is stowed away is opened by Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) and the young girl is taken away to safety.

We then fast forward fifteen years or so and Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed) an Imperial fighter pilot defects across to the Rebel Alliance and is in possession of a holographic message from Galen Erso which he is to deliver only to Saw Gerrera who resides on the planet Jedha. In the meantime a now adult Jyn (Felicity Jones) is freed from captivity by the Rebellion who have an agenda to use her to track down her father, and then kill him to prevent the Death Star from being completed. Jyn teams up with Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) an Intelligence Officer with the Rebel Alliance and his reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2S0 (Alan Tudyk) and the three travel to Jedha where there is an uprising against Empire forces on the ground there.

Once on Jedha, Jyn and Andor meet up with blind warrior Chirrut Imre (Donnie Yen) who believes in the power of The Force, and his sidekick Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen) a Rebel warrior and mercenary. They in turn lead Jyn to Gerrera who are reunited for the first time in years, and Gerrera is by now holding Rook captive. Rook has handed over the hologram message to Gerrera who in turns shows the message to Jyn. In it Galen expresses his love for his daughter and explains that he was forced against his will to finish his work on the Death Star project. He goes on to explain that he has secretly embedded a vulnerability deep within the reactor programme which is almost undetectable, and which can be used to ultimately destroy the Death Star. The plans are held at a high security data bank deep within an Imperial stronghold on the planet Scarif.

In the meantime, back on the Death Star Krennic is held to task over the completion and readiness of the weapon by Imperial Governor Grand Moff Tarkin (Guy Henry made to look like Peter Cushing). With complete confidence Krennic orders a demonstration of the weapons might and power by targeting the capital city of Jedha, and reducing it and its surrounds to rubble and dust. In the attack the population is wiped out and with it Gerrera too who elects to stay behind. Jyn, Andor, K-2S0, Imre, Malbus and Rook manage to narrowly escape the conflagration. Tarkin congratulations Krennic on his achievements but has his own agenda to take the credit for the weapon and have Krennic discredited for various security breaches that have occurred while under his command.

Jyn, Andor and their newly formed crew track Galen to a research facility, and they head there with the intention that Jyn will rescue her father, whilst Andor has designs on killing him as per the wishes of the Rebellion. When it comes to it however, Andor cannot pull the trigger. At the same time Krennic arrives having learned that someone has leaked intelligence to the Rebels, and he intends to see to it that justice be served. He lines up Galen and his team of engineers and scientists and threatens to kill them all, if the perpetrator does not fess up, at which point Galen steps forward. Krennic orders the shooting of all the engineers and scientists anyway at which point a Rebel airstrike occurs on the facility ultimately resulting in the demise of Galen, and he dies in Jyn's arms. With the research facility destroyed, Jyn, Andor and the crew make a speedy getaway as does Krennic. Jyn now tries to persuade the Rebellion to converge on Scarif to steal the plans for the Death Star, but with no evidence to confirm her fathers story as per the now destroyed hologram message, the leadership of the Rebellion do not agree to her scheme, which they believe is too dangerous.

Frustrated by this inactivity, Andor agrees to accompany Jyn on her mission to Scarif and with her crew and various other Rebel volunteers, they set off. Using Rook as the former Imperial fighter pilot whose security clearances are still intact, their ship passes through the only portal in Scarif's defence system, and come to land in the proximity of the data bank tower. Jyn, Andor and K-2S0 make off to the tower to retrieve the plan schematics, while the others create a diversion to draw attention away from the three.

Meanwhile the non-agreeable leadership of the Rebellion have caught wind that Jyn and Andor have taken a team to Scarif and are proceeding with their plan anyway. Subsequently they agree to join the fight and mount a fleet to go to their aid. Krennic has also arrived on Scarif and orders the retrieval of every last piece of communication ever sent, written or recorded by Galen in an attempt to clear his name and reinstate his reputation with Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones). As a number of Rebel forces breach the access portal to Scarif, so a ground and air attack ensues leaving Jyn and Andor to access the data bank high up within the fortified and heavily secured tower.

Ultimately Jyn secures the necessary schematics but K-2SO is killed by Stormtroopers and Andor is shot and injured by Krennic. She needs to access the communication tower at the highest point to be able to send the schematics to the waiting Rebel Command Ship, but the access portal needs to be open for the signal to transmit the plans successfully. With an air battle raging all around the tower, Krennic appears before Jyn can transmit the plans. Krennic declares her mission a failure and the Empire victorious and as he motions to shoot her, he is in fact shot and disabled by Andor who re-emerges just in time for the plans to be transmitted as the Rebel forces destroy the planetary shield allowing access through the portal.

On the Death Star Tarkin orders the destruction of Scarif now that its defences have been breached and the base compromised. With it Krennic is killed as are all of those left remaining. An Imperial Force led by Darth Vader gain access to the Rebel Command Ship to retrieve the stolen plans. As Darth Vader wipes out everything in his path using his trusty light sabre and the powers of his mind, a Rebel foot soldier makes a quick getaway with the plans saved to a memory card and thrusts them into the hands of Princess Leia (Ingvild Deila made to look like Carrie Fisher) who states that these plans will give the Rebellion much needed hope for the future.

I was very pleasantly surprised by 'Rogue One'. The film has all the touchstones of the 'Star Wars' mythology that we have come to know and love. Director Gareth Edwards has remained true to the basic premise of the films that have been its forebearers by retaining the look and feel of a Star Wars film but it also has the strength in the story, the performances, the VFX and the continuity to stand proudly on its own two feet. Felicity Jones is particularly good in her role as Jyn Erso and gives a convincing performance that is as good as any you'll likely to see this year in a film of this kind, and the support cast are strong too and believable. Since the film Premiered in Hollywood on 10th December, there has been overwhelming support for the film and audiences have responded very positively, setting high expectations for a very strong Box Office return. So far it has returned US$291M during its opening weekend globally, with the film yet to open in China in South Korea. A second spin off film charting the early life of Hans Solo is slated for a mid-2018 release, with a third understood to surround Boba Fett scheduled for sometime in 2020. See it on the big screen while you can - you won't be disappointed.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 15th December 2016.

Awards Season is upon us, and with it the AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) Awards were held at Sydney's Star Casino on Wednesday 7th December. Attended by a who's who of Australian and overseas film and television talent including Mel Gibson, George Miller, Geoffrey Rush, Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen it is fair to say that the glitterati, the glamourati, and the paparazzi were out in force.

'Hacksaw Ridge' swept the board picking up nine award wins in the following categories : Best Film, Best Direction (Mel Gibson), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Simon Duggan), Best Editing (John Gilbert), Best Sound, Best Production Design (Barry Robison), Best Lead Actor (Andrew Garfield) and Best Supporting Actor (Hugo Weaving). 'The Daughter' fared well too, picking up three award wins for Best Lead Actress (Odessa Young), Best Supporting Actress (Miranda Otto) and Best Adapted Screenplay. 'Tanna' picked up the award for Best Original Music Score, and 'Girl Asleep' for Best Costume Design. Best Feature Length Documentary went to 'Chasing Asylum' (Eva Orner).

This week then there is just one new release coming to a cinema near you, and it's expected to be BIG! Which would explain why no other movies wanted to go up against it in the week ahead. This is the first of three spin-off stand-alone films from a place far far away whose journey first began almost forty years ago and has grown into a worldwide phenomenon that sees no signs of letting up. From early reaction to this films Premier release last week, it seems that the force is strong with this one!

When you have sat through this weeks latest release film as Previewed below, or any others out on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed between these Blog Post pages, remember that we invite your own feedback, review, critique and observations of your moving going experience by leaving a Comment below this, or any other Post. As always, we'd love to receive your valid, wholesome, relevant thoughts. Meanwhile, enjoy your next cinema visit.

'ROGUE ONE : A STAR WARS STORY' (Rated M) - and so from a galaxy far far away comes the first Star Wars spin off in this highly anticipated, eagerly awaited, much hyped 'Rogue One' offering. Produced by LucasFilm, Distributed by Disney, Directed by Gareth Edwards and costing US$200M, this film stands alone in the Star Wars universe set just before the events that unfolded in the first film in this hugely successful and popular franchise 'A New Hope'. That initial film released in 1977 set in motion a behemoth that would become part of our popular culture, spawning so far seven feature films, this spin-off, numerous animated television series, books, toys and merchandise. The value of the franchise is estimated at somewhere north of US$31B, the films to date have garnered 27 Academy Award nominations and last years 'The Force Awakens' is the third highest grossing film of all time raking in US$2.1B at the global Box Office. Production of 'Star Wars : Episode VIII' is ongoing with Writer/Director Rian Johnson at the helm and due in cinemas in December 2017. It has been reported, but remains unconfirmed, that the title of the next instalment will be 'Star Wars : Forces of Destiny'.

The premise for the 'Rogue One' set up comes from the opening crawl of 'A New Hope' which states amongst other things that ' . . . Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star . . . ' From these brief introductory words, Screenwriters Tony Gilroy and Chris Weitz have moulded this story of the Rebel Alliance who recruit Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) to join a mission to steal the design schemes for the Galactic Empire's new superweapon, 'The Death Star' - the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction. The band of unlikely heroes thrown together for this include Forest Whittaker as Saw Gerrera, a veteran of The Clone Wars; Diego Luna as Cassian Andor; Mads Mikkelsen as Galen Erso, father to Jyn; Riz Ahmed as Bodhi Rook; Donnie Yen as warrior Chirrut Imre; Alan Tudyk as droid K-2SO; Jiang Wen as freelance assassin Baze Malbus; and Ben Mendelsohn as Orson Krennic the Director of Advanced Weapons Research for the Imperial Military; with James Earl Jones reprising his voice work for Darth Vader. Since the film Premiered in Hollywood on 10th December, there has been overwhelming support for the film and audiences have responded very positively, setting high expectations for a very strong Box Office return. A second spin off film charting the early life of Hans Solo is slated for a mid-2018 release, with a third understood to surround Boba Fett scheduled for sometime in 2020.

That's it for this week, pending a mega-haul of new movies being released in time to capitalise upon the Christmas and New Year holiday film going season. If you catch 'Rogue One : A Star Wars Story' remember to share your thoughts with us here afterwards. In the meantime, I'll see you in the week ahead, at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 20th-26th November 2016.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Mads Mikkelsen does on 22nd November - check out my tribute to this Birthday Lad turning 51, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 20th November

• Bo Derek - Born 1956, turns 60 - Actress
• Andrea Riseborough - Born 1981, turns 35 - Actress  

Monday 21st November

• Goldie Hawn - Born 1945, turns 71 - Actress | Producer  

Tuesday 22nd November

• Jamie Lee Curtis - Born 1958, turns 58 - Actress | Director
• Scarlett Johansson - Born 1984, turns 32 - Actress | Producer | Singer
• Terry Gilliam - Born 1940, turns 76 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor | Animator
• Tom Conti - Born 1941, turns 75 - Actor
• Mads Mikkelsen - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor
• Mark Ruffalo - Born 1967, turns 49 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director  

Wednesday 23rd November

• Franco Nero - Born 1941, turns 75 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Vincent Cassel - Born 1966, turns 50 - Actor | Producer
• Miley Cyrus - Born 1992, turns 24 - Singer | Songwriter | Actress | Producer  

Thursday 24th November

• Katherine Heigel - Born 1978, turns 38 - Actress | Producer
• Billy Connolly - Born 1942, turns 74 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer | Songwriter
• Stephen Merchant - Born 1974, turns 42 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
• Colin Hanks - Born 1977, turns 39 - Actor | Producer | Director  

Friday 25th November

• Dougray Scott - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actor | Producer
• Joel Kinnaman - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actor
• Christina Applegate - Born 1971, turns 45 - Actress | Producer | Singer  

Saturday 26th November

• Tina Turner - Born 1939, turns 77 - Singer | Actress
• Mark L. Lester - Born 1946, turns 70 - Director | Producer | Writer

Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen was born in Osterbro, Copenhagen, Denmark to mother Bente Christiansen, a nurse, and father Henning Mikkelsen, a bank clerk and Trade Union official. He has an older brother, Lars, also an Actor. He was raised in Norrebro in Copenhagen. In his younger years he had aspirations on becoming a gymnast and pursuing athletics professionally. He then studied dancing at the ballet academy in Gothenburg, and worked as a professional dancer for almost a decade before turning his attention to studying drama at the Arhus Drama School in 1996 so kick starting his career in acting.

He made his acting debut in the 43 minute short film 'Blomsterfangen' and the 16 minute short 'Cafe Hector', both in 1996 before his full length feature film debut in Nicolas Winding Refn Danish crime drama that was also the Director's debut feature - 'Pusher' which was the launchpad for Refn, Mikkelsen, and other starring Actors. That was also 1996 and the film was hailed a critical and commercial success. 'Wildside' Written and Co-starring fellow countryman Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was released in 1998 with 'Angel of the Night' and then 'Bleeder' for Nicolas Winding Refn in 1999.

The new decade kicked off with 'Flickering Lights' before a couple of comedies with 'Monas verde' and 'Shake It' in 2001; 'I Am Dina' in 2002 with Gerard Depardieu and Christopher Ecclestone; 'The Green Butchers' and 'Torremolinos 73' in 2003. It was perhaps Antoine Fuqua's telling of 'King Arthur' in 2004 that helped propel Mikkelsen on to the international scene with its huge ensemble cast and winning action, adventure and drama storyline. That same year he returned as Tonny in Nicolas Winding Refn's sequel to his first film with 'Blood on My Hands : Pusher II' for which the Actor picked up three Best Actor award wins.

'After the Wedding' which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, 'Prague' and 'Exit' with Alexander Skarsgard followed in 2006, before his noted role as arch villain Le Chiffre in the 21st Bond outing 'Casino Royale' with the new James Bond, Daniel Craig later that year. In the meantime there had been the long running Police crime drama series 'Unit 1' in which Mikkelsen played a leading role over 32 episodes spanning four noted seasons from 2000 through until 2004, and then 'Julie' across five episodes of this short-lived family comedy series in 2005. This was followed up by 'Flame and Citron', and then his turn as Igor Stravinsky in the period romantic drama 'Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky' in 2009, before another offering with Nicolas Winding Refn at the helm of 'Valhalla Rising' and then 'The Door' that same year.

2010 saw the Louis Leterrier retelling of 'The Clash of the Titans' with an all star cast, before another fantasy period piece with Paul W.S. Anderson's 'The Three Musketeers' and 'A Royal Affair' with Alicia Vikander in 2012. 'The Hunt' followed to much critical acclaim, with 'Move On', 'Charlie Countryman' and 'Age of Uprising : The Legend of Michale Kohlhaas' coming next with Danish Western 'Salvation', 'Men & Chicken' and the recent turn as villain Kaecilius in the still on general release latest Marvel offering 'Doctor Strange' which has so far taken over US$500M at the global Box Office.

Meanwhile there has been 39 episodes across three seasons of the acclaimed NBC series 'Hannibal' with Mikkelsen playing the famed Dr. Hannibal Lecter based on the Thomas Harris character. Despite its critical success the series has been pulled after just three seasons due to declining viewership. Next up is 'Rogue One : A Star Wars Story' due in December this year for Director Gareth Edwards featuring an all star cast and Mikkelsen playing Galen Erso.

All up Mikkelsen has 47 acting credits to his name accumulating a haul so far of 25 award wins and another 33 nominations. He married his long term girlfriend Hanne Jacobsen in 2000 with whom he has a daughter Viola, and a son Carl.

Mads Mikkelsen - he of the chiseled Danish features and high cheek bones who cried tears of blood for Bond, James Bond and is the go to guy for Director Nicolas Winding Refn; keeps us entertained across just about all genres; and gives us his all with a gritty realism and grounded performances. Happy Birthday to you Mads, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-