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'Hannibal' Season 3 Spoilers: Preview Trailer Teases Red Dragon Episodes, Bedilia's Dark Side & More H]
By Jon Niles | May 21, 2015 05:00 PM EDT


In a great new first-look preview clip of the 2015 episodes of Hannibal's third season, fans of the acclaimed NBC horror thriller get a great glimpse at some spoilers. With Dr. Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) and Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson) living together in Europe, where will we see our characters go in terms of story? Plus, a familiar character known as the Red Dragon (Richard Armitage) pops up in this video clip, giving us our first glimpse of the iconic Francis Dolarhyde. Watch this great season 3 preview featuring cast interviews and new footage below!


The last preview of the upcoming season suggested that Hannibal and Bedelia were married, or playing a married couple in their new surroundings, and this week's video reveals the truth. According to the cast interviews, the two are posing as a married couple, which Lecter most likely killed and maybe ate.

"She could be as dark as Hannibal," Anderson said of her character in a new interview with E Online. "But you don't know."

With some shots of Bedelia taking up most of this preview, are we in store for a storyline mostly about this fan-favorite character?

Perhaps the most intriguing video clips in this preview feature our first looks at the Red Dragon killer. We can see that showrunner Bryan Fuller incorporates some computer enhancements for Dolarhyde's "transformation," plus some familiar artwork that we've seen in the films based on this character.

We'd also like to talk about Caroline Dhavernas, the actress that portrays Alana Bloom in the series showing up for some interview clips in the preview. Does this mean Bloom survives from season 2? We can ask the same about Jack Crawford since he too was seemingly on his way out in the season finale last year, yet Laurence Fishburne is in this preview too.

Mads Mikkelsen Scares In Hannibal; David Duchovny Denies Dating Rumors With Gillian Anderson

Shawn Rice
May 21, 2015 Entertainment 0

A dish is always best served on NBC’s Hannibal. Recently, the network offered a new featurette about the upcoming third season of “Hannibal” showcasing not just the early episodes with Bedelia (Gillian Anderson) and Hannibal’s (Mads Mikkelsen) scenes together in Europe, but also offering our first look at some of the latter half of the season with glimpses of Joe Anderson’s Mason Verger and Richard Armitage’s Francis Dolarhyde along with the other surviving cast members.

E!’s exclusive new look at Hannibal Season 3 offers a first taste of the Red Dragon storyline arriving later on in the run, including Armitage in the body-building, tattooed role of “Tooth Fairy” killer Francis Dolarhyde. Additionally, one can also spy our first real look at Caroline Dhavernas back in the role of Dr. Alana Bloom, this time sporting a cane, and therefore unlikely a figment of Will’s imagination.

Most recently adding True Detective star Glenn Fleshler as Cordell, personal physician to Verger, we also know of Hannibal Season 3 that Gillian Anderson has been upgraded to series regular. True Blood vet Rutina Wesley and Nina Arianda will play Red Dragon characters Reba McClane and Molly, respectively, while Raul Esparza will return to the role of Dr. Frederick Chilton.

In Hannibal, gifted criminal profiler Will Graham has a unique way of thinking that allows him to empathize with anyone, including psychopaths. But while helping the FBI pursue a particularly complicated serial killer, he decides he could use some help and enlists the brilliant psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter. The two form a partnership and it seems that there is no villain they can’t catch together, but Lecter harbors a dark secret. His own brilliant mind has gone to the dark side and he has more in common with the criminals they hunt than Will could possibly imagine.

In related news, David Duchovny cleared up rumors that he and his X-Files co-star Gillian Anderson are dating like so many fans want to believe. So, sorry fans of Scully and Mulder.

“The whole thing about Gillian and I dating is so weird. It’s never happened, it’s not going to happen, we’re friends,” the 54-year-old actor told TVLine.

Not only is an off-screen romance a far-fetched hope for the two, Duchovny opened up to People about how marriage isn‘t likely in his near future either.

“I don’t think I want to be married again,” Duchovny said. “I just feel like I’m old!”

‘Hannibal’ Season Three Trailer: See Richard Armitage as Francis Dolarhyde

Posted on Thursday, May 21st, 2015 by Russ Fischer

Hannibal returns for a third season beginning on June 4, and with just a couple weeks left before the new season premiere we’ve got a long new Hannibal Season 3 promo that teases a bunch of new developments in the show. This promo features the major cast members explaining some of where the characters are now, and what’s different this year. “Season three is like a blank slate” says Caroline Dhavernas, who plays Alana Bloom.

There’s also the promise of the arrival of a familiar character, Francis Dolarhyde, played by Richard Armitage, who we see in this video.

Note: If you haven’t seen the second season of Hannibal and are planning to, what follows may feature a few spoilers. (But that’s been the case for all of this season’s promos so far.)

After the shocking events of the season finale, Hannibal season three finds Lecter on the run in Europe — accompanied by his psychiatrist Bedelia Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson, “The X-Files”) — sporting a new identity, but servicing the same insatiable appetite. As the lives of Will (Hugh Dancy), Jack (Laurence Fishburne, The Matrix, “CSI”) and Alana (Caroline Dhavernas, “Wonderfalls,” “The Pacific”) converge toward Hannibal again, their deadly dance turns in startling and unexpected ways, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Bryan Fuller, Martha De Laurentiis, Jesse Alexander, Chris Brancato, Sara Colleton, Katie O’Connell, Elisa Roth, Sidonie Dumas and Christophe Riandee serve as executive producers. The series is produced by Gaumont International Television, Dino De Laurentiis Company and Living Dead Guy Productions, and co-commissioned internationally by Sony Pictures Television Networks.

New Hannibal Featurette Shows Richard Armitage as Red Dragon Killer
Also, check out Mason Verger, now played by Joe Anderson.
by: Matt Fowler
May 21, 2015

Warning - A bit spoilery for those who don't want to know certain things about Hannibal: Season 3...
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NBC has released a lengthy behind-the-meal look at Hannibal's upcoming third season, featuring inverviews with stars Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Dancy, Gillian Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, and Caroline Dhavernas.

Plus, this marks viewers' first look at Hobbit star Richard Armitage as famed Red Dragon film/novel serial killer Francis Dolarhyde - aka "The Tooth Fairy."

Also, while we're all still mourning the loss of Michael Pitt as Mason Verger, this video shows glimpse of new actor Joe Anderson (The River) as the now-disfigured madman.

Sink Your Teeth In: Bryan Fuller Tattles about the Tooth Fairy and More!
BY FREDDIE LOUNDS – POSTED ON MAY 24, 2015
POSTED IN: CHESAPEAKE RIPPER, FREDERICK CHILTON, INTERVIEWS, TATTLE CRIME EXCLUSIVES, THE TOOTH FAIRY
Tattlers I am SO pleased to have had an opportunity to speak with Bryan Fuller via conference call, and he was kind enough to let this redheaded reporter ask ALMOST everything she wanted. This is not the complete interview – there will be a follow up in the next few weeks, since Mr. Fuller has requested that I hold my tongue about certain things for a bit – so stay tuned for that!

Before we start I just want to emphasize just how much Bryan adores the Fannibals – we must have spoken about the Fandom and the massive amount of talent and dedication the Fannibals have for twenty minutes, and he simply raved about everyone and the level of interaction. I can’t thank him enough for the time he’s given me, and I hope all of you are really going to enjoy all the surprises to come in Season 3.

This is NOT spoiler free, so turn back now if you don’t want to be spoiled!

Bryan Fox

FREDDIE: Richard Armitage is an amazing actor and he’s definitely a very, very anticipated part of the season: What brought you to his casting choice?

BRYAN: I’d been a fan of Richard’s for a while and have many mutual friends, but I’d never met him, but I knew his representatives very closely and had talked to them the year before about how it would be great to get him on the show because I think he’s so wonderful and would understand the heightened, bizarre tone of the stories that we’re telling and be able to access them emotionally, which any great, trained actor is able to do. It kinda reminded me of working on Star Trek because we always tried to cast experienced, trained actors for the aliens because they were able to have that broad declaration of a style with the language because it was always in some heightened form because it was alien – Klingons have a very specific kind of grandiosity – so to have somebody who can provide authenticity to the extremes is a vital component when we cast.

I’d been talking to Lee Pace, actually, about playing the role of the Red Dragon, because Lee and I go way back, and he was very interested in doing so, so I was always thinking Lee was going to do it, and I was poking pins in the “Halt and Catch Fire” voodoo doll hoping that he would be available, but that show came back – which I’m very happy ultimately that it did for everyone involved in it – but I was also shaking my fist at the same time because I wanted to work with Lee again on the show, but once Lee was unavailable I knew exactly who I was going to go to. I’d been talking to Richard’s reps about him doing the show and if he would be interested and they were always very encouraging, so I got on the phone with Richard. He’s such a thoughtful actor and an interesting man, he has so much respect for all facets of storytelling and really honors and respects his craft, so the conversations were fantastic about his interpretation of Francis, and he actually sent me several of his journals which detailed how he was approaching the character, he was so well read and articulate in terms of his approach of Francis Dolarhyde that I felt safe with the role in his hands, so he came aboard and won everyone over. He was such a wonderful breath of fresh air for the series, because he’s essentially a regular in the last six episodes of this season, he’s in every episode and has as much to do as Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter, so it’s very much the thrumble of these three crazy guys in the last six episodes.

I can’t speak enough on the subject about how adored this man was on the crew, and he’s playing a scary guy, the crew was always really amused at how dedicated and intense he was and then how approachable he was after scenes were completed. He’s somebody who takes his work very seriously and it was just a joy to work with him, I really loved it, it was a wonderful collaboration.

FREDDIE: Dolarhyde’s tattoo looks incredible – can you tell us a bit about the process of designing it and applying it?

BRYAN: We had this wonderful tattoo artist in Los Angeles design the tattoo based on the painting, and it’s pretty cool. It looks great on him, and Richard is a fine physical specimen, so it was a beautiful canvas for that piece. It’s interesting because you print it out and we have to digitally remove seams and do a little bit of cleanup in post on it because with a tattoo that massive you can’t help but see how it’s connected together.

FREDDIE: I noticed that Dolarhyde’s kimono seems to be Blake inspired as well.

BRYAN: Yes, we wanted it to look like he was shedding insect layers, there’s almost this Alexander McQueen inspired dragonfly scaling around the kimono, and it’s a gorgeous fabric that we printed the design on, it lights up when it’s backlit, it’s gorgeous. I actually called wardrobe and said “I need to keep Dolarhyde’s kimono.”

FREDDIE: Do you think people will find Dolarhyde repellant and horrifying or do you think they’ll find sympathy for him given his upbringing and the other challenges he’s faced?

BRYAN: I think it is fascinating because he is a killer of families, yet we don’t meet him that way, we meet him as a man who is clearly struggling with his sanity and his isolation who then finds some sort of connection to humanity, and you want it to take hold, you want him to reform and redeem himself. His is a tragic story.

One of the things that I was really excited about this arc was just telling that tragic romance between Francis and Reba, both of them are just so wonderful. Rutina Wesley is a completely different character than on True Blood and you really get to see what a wonderful actress she is and how broad her talent is. There were times that we were sitting in the editing room going over a scene and both the editor and I had to wipe a tear out of the corner of our eyes because you’re rooting for this man to find some peace because he is so tortured, and yes, he is a terrible killer of families but Richard imbues him with great power and also tremendous vulnerability and it’s incredibly appealing.

FREDDIE: I’m really excited for Rutina, excited for her as an actress and excited for another woman of color to join the cast, which is absolutely fantastic.

BRYAN: Absolutely!

FREDDIE: I’ve always viewed Reba as the “Woman Clothed in the Sun” to Francis’ “Great Red Dragon”, I’ve always seen them as having this beautiful kind of balance, that she definitely affects his “Becoming” because I feel like, and maybe you can confirm this, that there’s this torturous agony for Francis, this struggle between his human side and the Dragon, and Reba really cements that human side of him.

BRYAN: Oh yes, absolutely, she represents humanity, and there’s something about the mythology of that particular painting because the Woman Clothed in the Sun is the bearer of new life and the bearer of opportunity, so the Red Dragon in the mythology of Revelations is there to destroy her because she could change everything, and there he is standing over her and there’s hesitation because he sees what she could be bearing and how she could change the world and himself by just allowing her to give birth to that light and that new hope, and that is absolutely the struggle of their relationship, he sees her as something that threatens the Dragon but could liberate himself.

FREDDIE: What kind of challenges did Reba, as a blind character, present in casting regarding authenticity and representation?

BRYAN: You want to be able to be authentic in the role and in the casting, but you also have to make sure that whoever you cast is going to interpret the character as you see them, so we did do an initial search for blind actresses but there wasn’t anyone who was leaping out at us. So I called up Grace Wu, who’s the head of casting at NBC, and asked her “Who are you excited about? I’m open to whoever, I’m open to a great actress.” and she said “What do you think about Rutina Wesley?” and I was like “Done. I love her. Let’s cast her.” We called Rutina to see if she was interested, and I got on the phone with Rutina and talked with her about the role, and she’s yet another favorite person who came in and was such a delight and brought a different energy to the show which is what we look at with all of the guest cast, we want them to bring in a different flavor. Reba is such a huge emotional tent pole for the story we’re telling, and Rutina came in knowing this person had to have some inner light that drew Dolarhyde to her and you really see that in her performance.

FREDDIE: Confirm it for me – the Marlows were Dolarhyde’s first kill, right?

BRYAN: The answer is yes, but we don’t explore it – that was absolutely the intention of that first episode, but because of where we were with our characters and the very unique dynamics to this series: There are expansions on Will Graham’s story and Hannibal’s story and Jack Crawford’s approach into this world, the dynamics of what is happening in the asylum, in the present, all kind of elbowed the Marlow’s story off the platter in the show itself.

FREDDIE: There is a distinct lack of myself and Dr. Frederick Chilton in the promos!

BRYAN: You will be seeing both Freds – Freddie and Frederick Chilton – in the series. I love Raúl and I love love love Lara Jean and I wish we could do more with both of those characters, they’re absolutely in the season and they have a lot of fun things to do, but the story is always focused on Will and Hannibal and their relationship and that’s the core concept of the season and the series.

FREDDIE: It IS called “Hannibal” after all.

BRYAN: It is called Hannibal! But I frequently think that it would be so hilarious to spin off these characters – see Freddie Lounds in her life at Tattle Crime, see Dr. Chilton and all of his scheming- yet he’s so likable. That’s the thing I like about Raúl’s performances, Chilton started off as such a… a douchebag.

F and B: *both laughing*

BRYAN: For lack of a better derogatory statement, but I think Raúl plays him very smart and savvy and yet flawed. Raúl’s so likable that Chilton has become one of my favorite characters to write for.

FREDDIE: In season three we’re really going back to the roots of Hannibal’s story, we get to see Chiyo – I’m very excited for Tao Okamoto.

BRYAN: She’s REALLY cool in the role, and what a neat lady.

FREDDIE: Did we really see a kiss between Chiyo and Will?

BRYAN: Oh yeah.

FREDDIE: Oh goodness. Well that’s confirms that! But with going to those roots, how essential is Mischa to Lecter’s story and development as a character, is the element of Hannibal cannibalizing Mischa being included?

BRYAN: Yes, yes. Mischa is that thing that will forever haunt Hannibal for reasons that we will better understand this season, but it’s also seeing how he has, at various stages of his life, sought out a Mischa surrogate, whether it’s in Miriam Lass or Abigail Hobbs or Chiyo, there’s always been this attraction and fostering instinct for young, strong, interesting women in his life and that is all formed by his relationship with Mischa. I think we better understand that this season and we provide an emotional context to that, that Hannibal is a character who allows himself personal connections, and they are meaningful, so him looking to replay the Mischa dynamic in various ways is part of what haunts him.

FREDDIE: That’s fantastic. I read the article in SciFi Now where Mads talks about Mischa is a part of it but she isn’t the reason he does what he does, and that goes back to what, for me at least, is the most important aspect of Hannibal Lecter – “Nothing happened, I happened.”

BRYAN: Exactly.

FREDDIE: I love that, that’s being honored and is something you all have in mind.

FREDDIE: Talk to me about Margot’s upcoming love scene. How challenging was it to bring a lesbian sex scene to network TV?

BRYAN: Not at all!

F: Ooooh!!!

BRYAN: We actually got a note from standards and practices, after we submitted the episode, on behalf of Jameson who’s our standards and practices executive, that said essentially on behalf of the Standards and Practices team at NBC, we applaud you for this sex scene being so incredibly beautiful, sexual and sensual and also within the parameters of broadcast, and the only notes were like “Darken sideboob”, and I think we see a nipple in that one shot, but there were only two points in the love scene that they commented on, and it was really about giving a little more shadow to cover sideboob and remove the nipple. Never have I had a standards and practices executive and department be so willing to work with us creatively to get as much as we can on the show for adult content. NBC has been spectacular.

FREDDIE: That’s fantastic to hear. How important IS the romantic aspect of the show?

BRYAN: Hannibal IS a romance, this is a romantic horror story, and even though it’s not a sexual relationship, Hannibal and Will Graham are having a romance, and I always feel that romance has been integral to the DNA of the series since the inception. There’s been an influx of romantic story lines in this season , particularly with Francis Dolarhyde and Reba McClane, which we get to see sexually and sensually and psychologically, and what these two people mean to each other, and their sex scene is beautiful and healthy (given the circumstances) and celebratory of two people divided coming together in a unique connection that makes you feel for both of those people, it is a celebration of what sex is supposed to be, which is a merging of two into one, or however many, if you’re a three, but it’s about connection and it’s about intimacy and the visual side of the storytelling really enhances that.

And then we see a more domesticated relationship between Will and Molly, and the thing that I love about their dynamic, particularly in working with Nina Arianda, who brings such a natural, grounded quality to the character, is that we see in the scenes between them why Will is so drawn to her – because she makes him laugh. We see Will Graham laughing and giggling because this woman brings him that light, and we invest in that relationship because we see Will Graham in a way we’ve never seen him before, we see him with a wedding band on his hand and smiling and laughing and chuckling, it’s all so sweet and sad.

FREDDIE: Will Graham doesn’t smile, he’s a psychopath!

BRYAN: *Laughing.* Right? Well, not with Molly.

FREDDIE: On a scale of one to ten, how horrifying is the wheelchair scene?

BRYAN: It’s not so much the wheelchair scene but the things that happen while in the wheelchair.

FREDDIE: …Like …the lips?

BRYAN: Ahha… that’s the one….

FREDDIE: *grimaces* All right, all right, last but not least… How is he choosing them?

BRYAN: *whispers something into Freddie’s ear and then puts a finger to his lips*



There you have it, Tattlers! A HUGE thank you to Bryan Fuller for taking time out for me and my readers, and I hope this made you hungrier for Season 3!

Wo gucke ich nun zuerst hin?

Helen Shang@helenshang

I flipped open my latest @EW (hunky @prattprattpratt cover) and guess what greeted me on the first page. #HANNIBAL

Bryan Fuller's Enthusiasmus ist richtig ansteckend.

Return of the Dragon: Mads Mikkelsen on “HANNIBAL” Season Three!


With Bryan Fuller taking his shot at editing FANGORIA #343, the wait for HANNIBAL to return has become an even more difficult endeavor for fright fans. However, Fuller was able to sneak FANGORIA onto the set of HANNIBAL last month, and we were able to catch up with the brilliant cast of the surreal series. Our second chat was with man behind HANNIBAL’s titular terror, actor Mads Mikkelsen, who offered up a tantalizing taste of what’s on Dr. Lecter’s plate this season…

FANGORIA: What’s the most exciting aspect of returning to HANNIBAL for season three?

MADS MIKKELSEN: The excitement for any TV show coming back to something is always that we do not exactly know what it is. There’s always been a tendency to stir things up in the third season of a TV show; to try to create something new based on what we have. The first two seasons are always going hand in hand. Everybody knows that the third one is probably going to be slightly different. It has been the case on this one. Its exciting to see your friends and your colleagues and then just see what Bryan Fuller has stirred up, which is complete madness this time.

FANGORIA: What exactly was different this time?

MIKKELSEN: We have not had a lot of intimate conversations; it’s been a little more outgoing. Maybe a little more liberated. There are some crazy characters, and some crazy things are happening, so that’s been a change.

FANGORIA: Can you tell us something about Hannibal’s relationship to Will, because it seems to be different than in previous seasons?

MIKKELSEN: Will is always a tricky thing, because in many ways that was the ultimate ending of our relationship in the second season. To try to figure out how can they go on from there has been a challenge of course, but in Will’s world, it’s double sided, right?

FANGORIA: We’ve never seen Hannibal in a leather jacket on a motorcycle before on the series. How has he changed as a character in season three?

MIKKELSEN: Yeah, Hannibal. It’s a little tricky. I mean, we are luring you guys into believing that is the whole third season. It’s a little part of his life where he’s wearing that. He’s pretty good at being undercover in the sense of taking other people’s identities and that is somebody else’s identity he’s wearing at that point.

It was fun to do, definitely. People who were on the show for the first time and was only for that scene had no idea what was going on, because I was basically not the Hannibal they knew, right? So it was fun.

FANGORIA: As an actor is that fun to portray different sides of this Hannibal character?

MIKKELSEN: It’s always fun when we play multifaceted characters and I think he is one of the most multifaceted characters I’ve ever done because it is very, very hard to predict when he’s honest and dishonest while he’s doing the various things he is doing. So he is one of the most fun characters to give life to.

FANGORIA: What’s your favorite thing about playing Hannibal?

MIKKELSEN: Many things. I mean, as I just mentioned, the character himself is very hard to predict, which is fun for an actor as well as my wonderful colleagues, who I’ve worked with for over three years now. Bryan Fuller constantly surprises us with ideas that makes us happy, and I’m grateful that he is a writer and not roaming the streets with his crazy ideas. He’s the engine and the gasoline on the show.

FANGORIA: Three years ago, was it hard to take this role?

MIKKELSEN: Yeah, absolutely. It’s not a secret that you are walking in some giant shoes since a couple of people have done it to perfection. We also knew that we were doing something quite different. We also knew that we would get hell on earth for it from some and other people would embrace it. But, I think we have proven that we have our own right to be doing what we are doing. It took a little while for some of the critics, but quite a few of them have surrendered, and that makes us really proud.

FANGORIA: Is there something about Hannibal that you would love to have in real life, as in his behavior or skills?

MIKKELSEN: Well the ability to embrace life as he does is quite fascinating, and unfortunately, embrace death as well.

FANGORIA: Do you ever read the script and feel like anything is too much?

MIKKELSEN: No. I never feel like it’s too much in the sense of like crossing a border where we offend people. That does not exist in my world. I mean, the more we can cross [that border], the better the show is. It can be wrong. Certain things can be like, “I don’t think that feels right for the show, or feels right for that specific situation,” but never too much. No.

FANGORIA: By the time we get to the Red Dragon storyline, are we going to see a more sinister aspect of Hannibal come out? Sort of like a caged animal?

MIKKELSEN: If you strip him down to his basics, Hannibal would still be very sophisticated. Obviously you will see that when he fights, he can turn around on a plate. But, he’s a very sophisticated man, and he loves that.

FANGORIA: Are we going to learn anything about Hannibal’s past this season?

MIKKELSEN: Well I can’t really relive what’s happened in his life, but we will touch his childhood. We will go back to figure out why he’s haunted, and we will get some answers. But as often with this universe, we don’t get all the answers. Is it a lie? Is it the truth? But we will definitely touch it.

I don’t think it will explain why he is who he is, though. Without that childhood, he would have been the same, if you ask me. I think that’s one of the things we are trying to achieve: not to have a narrow explanation of why. If there is no explanation we certainly cannot accept that evilness can be around us.

FANGORIA: How do you think that Hannibal sees himself: a villain or a hero?

MIKKELSEN: I think he sees himself as a life consumer, and a man who embraces life. He doesn’t use the terms villain or hero. He does talk a lot about God; I think he’s slightly jealous of god. I think he has a battle going on there, and I think that if there is a God, he’s trying to annoy him as much as he can. I think that is his little thing. He doesn’t see himself as above life, but he does like to play god. I think he finds that interesting.

FANGORIA: How does Hannibal’s relationship with Du Maurier evolve this season?

MIKKELSEN: Oh yeah, well, it’s not a healthy one. Let’s put it that way. She is also quite twisted person, and we will definitely touch the background story of what kind of history they have together. But it’s been real fun to work with her for that long.

You should see the way that Gillian is giving life to her character while she has this ice queen touch about her. Obviously we’ve seen Hannibal have that as well. But you have also see a very emotional Hannibal in certain situations. She is as well. There’s a distance between them that’s kind of warm, kind of strange and interesting. I call it a slightly sick brother-sister relationship with some sexual undertones.

FANGORIA: What is it about the show that you think people embrace?

MIKKELSEN: It has to be the combination of everything. I mean, some people are just into horror and for that reason ,they will watch it. It’s fundamentally interesting and thrilling stories, but beyond that, I think there’s an artistic approach to the whole thing that appeals to other people. Some people are being pushed away by it.

FANGORIA: Do you have a favorite TV show? Do you have time to watch?

MIKKELSEN: I don’t have a lot of time, but I do tend to always go back to THE WALKING DEAD. I just have a thing for zombies. I’m always cheering for the zombies, we all are. I like zombies.

FANGORIA: You have worked in TV as well as in art house cinema. What do you like about each of those dynamics?

MIKKELSEN: I think it is very art house what we are doing on HANNIBAL. I mean for me, there’s not a big difference. HANNIBAL is a very long art house movie in the way we approach it and the time we have to do it. The whole TV world right now is far more art house than some art house films are. They’re more brave and more radical than a lot of films. If we look at the numbers and the ratings of HANNIBAL, I believe that is art house ratings.

FANGORIA: In the kitchen scene at the end of season 2, when Hannibal throws himself over the counter, we heard that was you actually doing that stunt…

MIKKELSEN: For 50 years, I’ve been able to jump. I got the chance to here, and I always do my own stunts.

FANGORIA: Do you have any this season?

MIKKELSEN: I have quite a few. I have some encounters with old familiar faces, and it’s gonna be quite brutal. As long as I’m fit enough, one of the things I enjoy about being an actor is to do the stunts. I’m an old gymnast, an old dancer, and I hate seeing somebody else do my part. If it looks good enough, they’ll let me do it.

FANGORIA: Was there ever a talk of getting Nicolas Winding Refn involved in the show? He would be a perfect fit for the aesthetics.

MIKKELSEN: I think they have talked about it. I think he’s been way too busy. I think he would like it. Normally I guess that Nicolas wants to start his own things and be complete in charge, and not necessarily take over something that’s already running. But I think actually he would enjoy this one.

HANNIBAL returns on Thursday, June 4th at 10 p.m. EST on NBC. HANNIBAL creator/writer Bryan Fuller will be serving as FANGORIA’s first Special Guest Editor for Issue #343; you can subscribe to FANGORIA here. Keep an eye out for more HANNIBAL coverage here at FANGORIA.com!