Re-Casting The Lord Of The Rings Movies If They Came Out Today
12. Theoden - Mads Mikkelsen
Rounding out the list of Scandinavian actors in Viking inspired roles is Mads Mikkelsen as King Théoden.
The former Hannibal actor and all round slightly scary Dane would be great as a rougher, more warlike Théoden. Considering Tolkien took the name from the story of Beowulf, this would be a great choice to take the character back to those roots.
Just make sure he doesn't eat people.
Mads has already been in several Medieval and swashbuckling dramas, like the historic King Arthur and the excellent Valhalla Rising, so the role should prove no trouble to this versatile and alluring actor.
It would be interesting to see Théoden as more of a Jarl than a King, slightly unstable after his possession by Saruman and itching for revenge. It would also lend a bit of contrast between Gondor and Rohan, and would be a great way to introduce more in-depth spin offs about the differences and tensions between the two. After all, "When was Gondor when the Westfold fell?"
As an added bonus, Mads is multilingual, and should have no trouble getting his mouth around all that weird Elvish. Can't be much harder to learn than all that Death Star mumbo jumbo.