If we were in any doubt of the value of such abstract concepts as name, honour and reputation, Mikkelsen's raw performance in The Hunt reveals what happens when a man is left without them. His nobility in the face of this Kafka-esque experience is inspiring, moving and, frankly, astonishing, coming from the same man who gave Mr Bond a good seeing-to.

A danish police woman, intuitively impressive cop, tough as bricks in a world populated by doubting men, compromised personal life - sound familiar? ...

Following her role as Queen Caroline Mathilde in Nikolaj Arcel's acclaimed Danish costume drama A Royal Affair, Alicia Vikander is expected to become Sweden's next big international star. She will soon be seen as Kitty, in Joe Wright's adaptation of Anna Karenina, and as one of the leads in the big-budget fantasy film, The Seventh Son. She discusses her career so far.

"It was confusing," is how Casino Royale's scarred villain Le Chiffre, aka Danish star Mads Mikkelsen, remembers the day he was cast to play James Bon...

Danish cinema doesn't often do costume dramas but the magnificent A Royal Affair - the true story of Queen Caroline's illicit romance with her husband's enlightened German physician, Johann Struensee - could change that. Its writer-director, Nicolaj Arcel (co-writer of the Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movie), talks about breaking new ground, politics, women in history, and David Fincher.