Hannibal: Mads Mikkelsen talks romance with Hugh Dancy’s Will Graham

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Mads Mikkelsen is making it known that he was very aware of the shipping between his Hannibal Lecter and Hugh Dancy's FBI agent Will Graham on Hannibal. During a talk with "Vulture", the actor got candid about the relationship between the two characters.

During the interview, Mikkelsen was asked if he saw his relationship with Dancy's character as a romance. Mikkelsen's response coincides with a talking point for some fans who believe that there is a bit of romantic tension between the two characters. Mikkelsen says that he didn't see the romance as "necessarily something that would become physical" but that doesn't mean he believes SOMETHING wasn't there and that some of that tension was explored in the filming of a very important scene. (SPOILERS INCOMING…IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN HANNIBAL AND STILL WISH TO, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK).

The important scene in question is a pivotal moment in the show when Will and Hannibal both kill Francis Dolarhyde (Richard Armitage). Mikkelsen reveals that "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." The moment was discussed between the two actors but they ultimately didn't go for it.

"[Showrunner Bryan Fuller] 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 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 Hannibal TV series is based on characters and elements appearing in Thomas Harris' novels "Red Dragon", "Hannibal", and "Hannibal Rising." The main focus is on the relationship between FBI special investigator Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), a forensic psychiatrist destined to become Graham's most cunning enemy and at the same time, the only person who can understand him. The series also stars Caroline Dhavernas, Hettienne Park, Laurence Fishburne, Scott Thompson, Aaron Abrams, and Gillian Anderson.

I can definitely see why fans would pick up on some kind of romantic tension between the two characters. I'm not sure if the writers implied it but the actors seemed to add layers to their very complicated relationship. There's a lot of reading between the lines and a bit of innuendo but that's honestly one of the things that made the show so fascinating. It was a very intriguing character study and Mikkelsen and Dancy played their roles very well. Honestly, in order to get another season of the show, I'd totally ship a Hannibal/Will Graham romance. I NEED at least one more season. The TV landscape could use a bit of Hannibal right now.

Did YOU feel romantic tension between Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham on Hannibal?