Yesterday, the 11th of January 2015, Netflix released the trailer for season 3 of its hit-show House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey & Robin Wright. Beware of slight spoilers in the trailer, and in this post.
During the trailer you see someone resembling, in my opinion, Russian President Vladimir Putin – my initial thought was that it was Lars Mikkelsen, brother of Mads Mikkelsen (known as Le Chiffre in Casino Royal, and as Hannibal Lector in the NBC-show Hannibal). Lars Mikkelsen has starred in many Danish shows and films, and got his ‘big breakthrough’ in 2013’s Sherlock Series 3 as the antagonist, Charles Augustus Magnussen.
Today, Lars Mikkelsen confirms that he stars in the show – and that he will star in a number of episodes. Mikkelsen is humble, and appreciative about this role. He shared this information with Danish network DR (Short for Danmarks Radio).
Though I initially thought he looked like Vladimir Putin, I doubt they’ll dare cast him specifically as the Russian President by name. I speculate that they’ll simply make him the fictitous leader of Russia.
In the trailer you see him sitting next to Spacey’s character, supposedly rejecting a handshake (0:15) – standing in front of the seated Spacey, with the Russian flag in the background (0:18) – kissing Robin Wright’s character (0:21) – and at, supposedly, a press conference with his back towards the camera (0:30).
For more on House of Cards, Netflix, and casting news – stay tuned.
– I’m Jeffrey Rex