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NeoGAFs Kent Brockman
TASS spoke with Mads Mikkelsen, who plays the mysterious character Cliff, on what it’s like to work with one of the most notorious game developers of our time. Mads is in Moscow for Comic Con Russia.
— What was it like to work with Hideo Kojima as opposed to Hollywood directors?
— Well, he’s very gentle and very open-minded to you. First of all, he has a gigantic story board with every single shot in the scenes. This is his graphic novel, the image of what he wants to do. We were there in a room with green screens dressed in a suit that’s green and a helmet with a camera on – super weird! We’re doing little scenes and we don’t know exactly what the story arch is because it’s going to be in a game and people can change that. But we act out every scene. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one in a green suit, everybody else was, too, so it’s cool.
— In previous interviews, and correct me if I’m wrong, you’ve said you don’t like wasting time on the set and you want a clear understanding from the director of where this is all going. How was it in this respect with Kojima?
— I insist on feeling where his vision is going, and I don’t mean getting clear directions like ‘you go there, sit down, say the line,’ I hate that. But trying to understand his mind and vision is crucial for me to be able to go there and offer some ideas that could fit into his universe. Hideo was very inspiring.
— How mindblowing is the game, and do you know the full plot now that you've finished working on it?
— It’s going to be many hours. I’ve spent two hours with it, and it blew me away. It was insane to watch where this is taking us. Not only was it mindblowing visually, but also the way it was played. It’s kind of out of the box, something we’ve never ever seen before. And I guess that’s what people expect from Hideo Kojima. He is the Godfather of creating new things.
— Tell us about Cliff, your character. What was it like to be him? As far as we understand, he is the antagonist?
— Yeah, but then again – no. We learn more about the characters throughout those hours or days of playing the game. I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say, but… The more you play it, the more the characters will develop, and you will find little bits and pieces that fit the puzzle, so I would definitely not say that he is the antagonist solely.
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