Everyone makes mistakes, but some are a bit more worrying than others, especially when those mistakes threaten the secrecy of a multi-million dollar blockbuster movie franchise. As anyone who's ever worked in entertainment knows, contracts can be fierce and there are harsh penalties, both legal and reputation-wise, that make even accidentally leaking upcoming projects a serious offense. Sometimes even huge Hollywood stars make mistakes though, and Mads Mikkelsen almost found himself in a whole heap of trouble with the 21st James Bond film, Casino Royale.

Nowadays, Mikkelsen is a household name, appearing in just about everything from Doctor Strange, to video games like Death Stranding, and even the upcoming Fantastic Beasts 3, where he will be replacing Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald following the latter's resignation from the role, at the request of Warner Bros. Such a reputation didn't appear out of thin air, however, and one of Mikkelsen's biggest breakout roles in the public conscious was in Casino Royale, the reboot of the James Bond franchise that saw Daniel Craig take on the role of 007.

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While Casino Royale is not necessarily the most popular film in the James Bond franchise, it was a real star turn for Mikkelsen, who knocked it out of the park as the first villain for this new Bond continuity. According to the actor, however, he made one major mistake that very well could have cost him the opportunity and only didn't due to some very good luck on his part.

Mads Mikkelsen

During an interview with Vulture, Mikkelsen said of his audition for Casino Royale: "I got the script before I did the casting, and it was the first time I got a script where your name is printed on every page." Those who have worked in any industry with strict NDAs will know that this a very common way of identifying leakers. If an image of a secret script or unannounced project ends up online, the watermarks with the user's name or ID are an easy way to identify and then reprimand/fire those who let the info slip.

Unfortunately for Mikkelsen, as the actor admits, he almost fell afoul of the production by leaking the Casino Royale script accidentally: "I fell asleep on the plane, and I forgot it on the plane." Though the actor attempted to retrieve it, Mikkelsen was unable to. Thankfully for him, nothing ever came of the whole situation, and he still got the role: "I think I was just lucky. I think somebody who cleaned up that plane had no idea what it was and threw it out. But that is obviously a complete disaster if it ends up on the front page. I mean, this is the worst way of blowing it."

Thankfully nothing was leaked, and Mikkelsen was able to knock it out of the park in Casino Royale. Still, the story serves as an important reminder to keep track of your personal effects on planes, especially if they could end up costing you a job.

Casino Royale is now available on Amazon Prime Video.

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Source: Vulture