The cast and crew of “Hannibal” were very aware of the fan desire to see Mads Mikkelsen’s Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Hugh Dancy’s Will Graham kiss during the short-lived drama series.
Now, the 55-year-old Danish star of “Another Round” is dishing about the cult-favourite series to Vulture, teasing an almost-romance between the two leads. Mikkelsen says both he and Dancy wanted to have their characters kiss in the season 3 finale, which ultimately became the series finale when the show wasn’t renewed by NBC.
RELATED: Mads Mikkelsen On Being Rihanna’s ‘B**ch’, Filling In For Johnny Depp And More
“We actually did a couple of takes of the very last scene where we were looking at each other, and it was a little too obvious — it was almost a kiss,” he teases. “Me and Hugh were like, ‘Why not? We have a couple of takes. Let’s do one. It might be cool.'”
Despite the actors’ desire, the moment never happened in front of the cameras.
“We never went for the kiss. Bryan [Fuller, showrunner] loved it, but he was like, ‘Too much, guys. It’s too obvious.’ And he was absolutely right,” Mikkelsen adds.
“I think we were just stuck on that. And a lot of the Fannibals wanted it as well,” he continues, acknowledging the series’ fervent fan base. “It’s been a subject of homoerotic fan art. And for good reason, because they are so united as twins in many ways. But we never wanted it to be a physical thing. It was something much bigger than that.”
RELATED: Mads Mikkelsen Joins Phoebe Waller-Bridge And Harrison Ford In ‘Indiana Jones 5’
Though fans may have missed out on a “Hannibal” kiss, Mikkelsen has several high-profile projects coming up, including the sci-fi movie “Chaos Walking”, which opens digitally in Canada on Friday, as well as the upcoming “Riders Of Justice”, “Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them 3”, and his just-announced role in the new “Indiana Jones” movie.