Death Stranding Mocap Actor Praises Mad Mikkelsen’s “110%” Performance

Hideo Kojima has always had something of an obsession with Hollywood, and nowhere is that as apparent as his latest game, Death Stranding, as it featured multiple film and TV actors. One such actor was the Danish actor who is quickly rising as one of the greatest actors of our time, the amazing Mads Mikkelsen. Despite having less screen time as some of the other actors, Mikkelsen probably makes the most impact with his performance. And even other more experienced mocap actors were impressed.

Speaking to VG24/7, motion capture actor Noshir Dalal, who has worked across multiple major titles, said that Mikkelsen really brought it. He asked a lot of questions and wanted to be very aware of everything that was happening with the capture to give the best performance, and tell the best story, possible. Dalal was exceptionally impressed with Mikkelsen.

“That guy was working his butt off,” he said. “And in a situation like that, because I see motion capture – Motion capture for me is, the storytelling medium it’s most like is theatre. It’s basically really high-tech, expensive theatre. And so, no matter who’s in the volume with me, it’s an ensemble process. And so, my job there is to take care of Mads, right? He’s the point of focus there, and so doing whatever I can do to try to make sure he can focus on what he has to do, and we are in cover.

“And it was really fun to watch Mads’ process, because he really gave it 110%. He wanted to know, you know, every moment, like, what exactly was going on and tell the best story possible. I learned a lot just watching him, it was really cool.”

Mikkelsen is definitely an actor who has been on the rise for several years, gaining prominence for his starring role in the Hannibal TV adaptation. Say what you will about Kojima, but he’s got quite the eye for talent. He’ll also be talking about the design philosophy of Death Stranding at this year’s GDC, we’ll keep you updated if any new information comes from it.