Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy wanted to kiss each other during the final scene of 'Hannibal'.
Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy in 'Hannibal'
The two actors starred as Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham respectively in Bryan Fuller's TV adaptation of Thomas Harris' novels, and Mads has revealed they nearly embraced the romantic undertones between the characters in the closing moments of its third season.
He told Vulture: "We actually did a couple of takes of the very last scene where we were looking at each other, and it was a little too obvious — it was almost a kiss.
"Me and Hugh were like, 'Why not? We have a couple of takes. Let’s do one. It might be cool.' "
However, despite the series' die-hard fans - known as 'Fannibals' - wanting to see the characters fully embrace their love for each other, Mads explained that they decided it was "too obvious".
He added: "No, we didn’t. Never went for the kiss. Bryan loved it, but he was like, 'Too much, guys. It’s too obvious.'
"And he was absolutely right. But I think we were just stuck on that. And a lot of the Fannibals wanted it as well.
"It’s been a subject of homoerotic fan art. And for good reason, because they are so united as twins in many ways. But we never wanted it to be a physical thing. It was something much bigger than that."
The 55-year-old star also reiterated his desire to reprise the role in the future, to give the programme the fitting ending they had planned.
He said: "It’s TV, and what we were doing was elaborate. The texts were high-IQ texts. The monologues or the dialogues were always about fine art, music.
"You had to learn Japanese, Hungarian, and words you had simply never heard before. And you had to do it within two hours because everything came so late.
"Having said that, I would love to go back. Everybody wants to go back, and if there’s only one season and we’re sure about that, he can finish it in a proper, surprising, stunning way."
Tagged in Mads Mikkelsen Hugh Dancy