Henry Cavill's work on Netflix's The Witcher is fantastic, but the series' supporting cast
members are memorable too.
Chief among them: Lars Mikkelsen, who plays the conflicted illusionist Stregobor.
Here's why this guy looks so familiar.
Though he's currently earning rave reviews for portraying a conniving dark wizard with
a piercing intellect, The Witcher is hardly Lars Mikkelsen's first go at breaking bad
on the small screen.
As it happens, the actor has had a pretty great run playing scheming intellectual sorts
in movies and TV shows over the years.
As such, we'd wager that many of you who are certain you've seen Stregobor's face before
just might be familiar with the genius-level blackmailing baddie Charles Augustus Magnussen
one of the most devious villains to ever face off against Holmes and Watson in the BBC's
pitch-perfect Sir Arthur Conan Doyle adaptation Sherlock.
"You just know things.
How does that work?"
"I just love your little soldier face.
I want to punch it.
Bring it over here a minute."
Mikkelsen appeared in the episode "His Last Vow," which found Holmes and Watson on the
hunt for a collection of deeply personal letters which were being used as blackmail against
Lady Elizabeth Smallwood.
Their search set Holmes and Watson on a collision course with Mikkelsen's duplicitous media
mogul a course that ends with Magnussen ultimately outwitting Holmes, thus leaving the legendary
sleuth no course of action but to shoot Magnussen in the head in hopes of saving the lives and
futures of all those who matter to him.
House of Cards showrunner Beau Willimon was quick to seize on Mikkelsen's knack for playing
brainy, brutal bad guys when the series was casting a key supporting role in Netflix's
breakout drama series.
If you count yourself as a fan of House of Cards, then we're pretty sure a big, fat light
bulb just went off in your head, because Mikkelsen's turn as the series' calculating, shamelessly
manipulative Russian leader Viktor Petrov remains one of the high points on a show that
saw dramatic peaks and valleys over its tumultuous six-season run.
Of all the memorable supporting players who came and went over the course of the series'
73 episodes, Mikkelsen's potent, 13-episode arc as Petrov is the one that continues to
stand tallest, if only because the character's presence was so frequently felt even when
he wasn't onscreen.
"If people don't like the job you're doing, they vote you out of office.
If they don't like the job I'm doing, they topple statues.
Blood is spilled.
Chaos takes over."
It's hard to imagine that Netflix brass wasn't keenly aware of Mikkelsen's powerful screen
presence on House of Cards, and it seems possible that the actor's ability to hold his own against
some serious dramatic heavy hitters on that series helped secure his casting on The Witcher.
If you've never taken a moment to check in with either House of Cards or Sherlock, it's
entirely possible you don't recognize Mikkelsen's face at all.
But even if that is the case, the actor's voice might ring a bell.
You might recognize his performance from a certain galaxy far, far away, specifically
the Star Wars franchise's compelling animated series Star Wars Rebels.
Rebels follows the adventures of a starship crew who bravely stand up to the Galactic
Empire, which is busy traversing the galaxy stamping out the remnants of the Jedi Order.
Joining a star-studded cast of talent including the likes of David Oyelowo, Clancy Brown,
and more, Mikkelsen lent his voice to the show by stepping into the boots of the feared
Imperial leader Grand Admiral Thrawn, who frequently tormented the ragtag group of rebels
throughout the series.
Mikkelsen has a number of projects in the works; to name just a couple, he'll be featured
in the upcoming crime drama The Knife Thrower, and on the Danish small screen serial Grow,
which is currently shooting.
In the meantime, though, he's enjoying the raised profile that comes with his supporting
role on The Witcher.
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