Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen is the recipient of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award of the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF), the organizers said on Friday, adding that the award is given for outstanding contribution to the art of film. Mikkelsen will also hold a Masterclass which the festival audience will be able to watch online, via on-demand.sff.ba.

Mads Mikkelsen was born in 1965 in Denmark, where he got his education at Aarhus Theatre Drama School. The Copenhagen-born actor began his professional career as a gymnast and dancer, and has worked steadily in theatre, television and film to become the top male star in Denmark and Scandinavia. Mikkelsen made his film debut in 1996, with a lead performance in director Nicolas Winding Refn’s international crime drama success “Pusher”, part one of a trilogy.

He reprised his role as a low-life pusher/junkie in the much-anticipated sequel, “With Blood On My Hands: Pusher 2”. This performance garnered him a “Best Actor” Robert statue from the Film Academy of Denmark and a “Best Actor” Bodil Award from Denmark’s National Association of Film Critics, the SFF statement said.

The statement further states that the actor is especially known from the series “Hannibal” (2013-2015), that was developed by Bryan Fuller for NBC. In the series, Mikkelsen play the accomplished psychologist and sociopathic serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who is based on the character from Thomas Harris’ classic novels. Mikkelsen’s work was especially acknowledged when he was pointed out as member of the prestigious Jury at the Cannes Film Festival 2016.

In 2016 he starred in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and in the Marvel film “Dr. Strange”. In 2017 he shot the thriller “Arctic” where he plays the lead role. The film premiered at Cannes Film Festival in May 2018. Mikkelsen starred in the graphic novel adaptation “Polar”, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, that was released in 2019 by Netflix. Recently Mads Mikkelsen starred in “Another Round” by Thomas Vinterberg, which is among this year’s Cannes Film Festival selection. The American science fiction film “Chaos Walking” with Mikkelsen in one of the leading roles is set to premiere in 2021.

his year's SFF Masterclass Programme is organized in cooperation with Variety and will be available worldwide via the Variety Streaming Room.

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Sarajevo Film Festival Masterclass Programme is organized in cooperation with Variety and will be available worldwide via the Variety Streaming Room.