'Rogue One' And 'Doctor Strange' Actor Mads Mikkelsen Lampoons Swedish Film Industry For Its Forced Political Agenda
Mads Mikkelsen known for his roles in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Doctor Strange lampooned the Swedish film industry for its forced political agenda.
As noted by Sweden’s FriaTider and translated via DeepL, Sweden’s Film Industry was run by “radical feminist Anna Serner” and had instituted a “so-called diversity requirement, which meant that films that lacked left-wing ideological elements were consistently denied funding.”
The outlet added, “The requirement had led to almost all films produced in Sweden becoming cultural Marxist.”
Mikkelsen, who is Danish, appeared to criticize this policy and indeed the Swedish film industry at-large in an interview with Svenska Dagbladet.
He said, “I guess you don’t get any film support if you don’t follow the orders of those in power. It's risky because you want to create stories that are fun, interesting and challenging.”
In contrast, he compared it to Denmark’s film industry, who he described as “the naughty little brother” where Sweden is “the good big brother where you have to follow the system.”
Mikkelsen is not the only one to make such comments. Actor Clifton Duncan made pointed comments about Hollywood and the western film industry at-large back in October.
Duncan reacted to a clip of a recent live stream that Zachary Levi conducted on Instagram.
In the clip, Levi states, “To Whoopi Goldberg, and to Sunny, and all the folks at The View, I don’t think it’s accurate to say that somehow Hollywood is both liberal and a conservative town.”
“To Whoopi’s point, back in the day there might have been a bit more of a balance,” he noted. “And there have always been more, let’s say, conservative leaning stars that have been able to say those things. But you really have to be at a certain level of your career to get away with it. Number one. And number two, that was also back then. And I think naming just Jon Voight and Dennis Quaid, and really you only named Jon Voight, Whoopi. Somebody else had to help you with Dennis Quaid.”
He continued, “Of the thousands of actors in Hollywood that you could only name two, I think, actually speaks to that. And what that means there is plenty. And by the way they have sent me lots of messages. Plenty of people in my industry, in Hollywood that are terrified to publicly say that they would vote for Donald Trump or be conservative in any way.”
“That’s why you don’t see them,” he stated. “That’s why they’re not very prevalent or prominent because they know there’s ramifications for this kind of s**t.”
After lamenting the state of Hollywood following the pandemic and the strikes, Levi stated, “My cry to all of you out there, you closeted conservatives, closeted Trump voters. Y’all, it’s now or never. You know what I mean? Do whatever you feel like you need to do. If you need to come out publicly and say it if you feel like you still can’t then don’t. I would never pressure you to do that, but know that if you what you are afraid of is the backlash of an industry that is not going to exist very soon then don’t let that hold you back.”
Duncan responded to these remarks writing on X, “EVERYTHING Zachary Levi says in this video is 100% accurate.”
He then shared, “I don’t identify as Conservative and haven’t endorsed Trump—and I’ve just been informed by a friend that I’m being actively blacklisted by the theatre industry…at a time when they claim to want to uplift ‘black voices’ and promote a ‘positive culture of inclusivity.'”
“I’ve said this again and again: There are PLENTY of non-leftists in entertainment, but they say nothing,” he continued. “They sit backstage and on sets and in rehearsal studios and in dressing rooms day after day after day, listening as their colleagues relentlessly demonize and dehumanize any person or idea that isn’t ‘far-left coded.'”
“They know that ANY pushback against the routinely inaccurate and frankly ASININE remarks made whenever discussions turn to politics (as they often do) can have severe social and professional consequences,” he noted. “This kind of entrenched bigotry ensures that an already-crippled industry will soon completely cease to be relevant in an age where people have endless entertainment choices.”
“Worst of all, at a time where Americans are struggling and feel more divided than ever, instead of lightening our citizens’ spiritual and emotional burdens and bringing them together through our work, the entertainment industry will continue to act as a vehicle for division, driving yet more social disintegration and cultural malaise. There is nothing ‘Progressive’ about that,” Duncan concluded.
What do you make of Mikkelsen’s comments about the Swedish film industry?