The Cannes Film Festival has invited actor Mads Mikkelsen to join the Official Competition Jury, headed by Australian director George Miller. He will select the Cannes d'Or winner along with French director Arnaud Desplechin, American actress Kirsten Dunst, who received the Best Actress award for her role in Lars von Trier's "Melancholia" in 2011, Italian actress and director Valeria Golino, Hungarian director László Nemes, who won the Grand Jury Prise for "Son of Saul" last year, French actress and singer Vanessa Paradis, Iranian producer Katayoon Shahabi and Canadian actor Donald Sutherland.
Mads Mikkelsen won the Best Actor award in Cannes for his role in Thomas Vinterberg's "The Hunt" in 2012. He was also in Cannes with Jan Kounen's "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky" in 2009 and Kristian Levring's "The Salvation" in 2014. Mikkelsen got his breakthrough with "Pusher" (1996), the debut feature of Nicolas Winding Refn, who is competing for this year's the Palme d'Or with "The Neon Demon." Refn was in the Competition Jury in 2014.
Knighted by French Ambassador
Mads Mikkelsen and Thomas Vinterberg were appointed Knight of the “Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Ambassador François Zimeray at a ceremony at the French Embassy in Copenhagen on Wednesday night. Here, Mikkelsen highlighted his connection to the Cannes festival:
“My love for France goes way back. Cannes 2012 was a turning point in my career. My return to Cannes as member of the jury next month will be a new chapter in my love story with France," he said.