'I'm working with a living legend': Mads Mikkelsen is thrilled to have collaborated with Martin Scorsese on What Happens at Night

Mads Mikkelsen was honoured to work with a "living legend" in the form of Martin Scorsese on What Happens at Night.

The 60-year-old actor is starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence in the legendary filmmaker's upcoming Gothic psychological horror movie and loved getting to work with his "hero" behind the camera.

Mikkelsen told Collider: "When you're working with your friends, we're just doing this stuff. Whether we're going to be someone in 20 years or not, time will tell.

"I'm working with a living legend. This is the guy whose films I watched when I was a little kid and a young man, and they changed my perspective of how it was to make films before I wanted to be an actor.

"For me, (Scorsese) is the one. You should never meet your heroes, but that's a lie in this case. He's so funny, so energetic, and so much on the ball. I just feel blessed that he called me up."

The Casino Royale actor explained how he had to remove his "fanboy hat" when working alongside Scorsese on What Happens at Night, which is set to be released in 2027.

Mikkelsen said: "I can do my thing. I'm pretty good at forgetting what I'm standing in the midst of because we have to. Sometimes we wear a fanboy hat when we're on a big set, and we meet some of our heroes.

"But that fanboy hat doesn't really work. You have to throw it away. You're hired for a reason. I'm pretty good at that.

"I would say Martin also makes it very easy because it is a cliché to say, but he is so down-to-earth and so funny and sweet to be around. He makes it very easy."

Meanwhile, the Danish actor collaborates with director Anders Thomas Jensen for the sixth time on The Last Viking and he admires the filmmaker's "unique" way of doing things.

Mikkelsen said: "What I love about his way of doing films is that it is unique. There's no one like him. You can definitely see that there's a little Coen brothers there and there's a little Tarantino violence there, but at the end of the day, it is his unique universe and his unique tonality of a film.

"It rings a bell with me. He's always telling stories about some of the big topics in life, like life and death, and good and bad."

The Hannibal star continued: "But he would also strangle himself if he did one-to-one. He would find it so pretentious to say it's that straightforward, so he wraps it inside some insanity and complete mayhem of characters.

"In there is a core story that is very poetic, and I think is a unique way of making films. We're just lucky and happy that he's Danish."