Producer Wilson, a self-described poker “addict,” supervised the rehearsals himself. “Most of us could already play poker and, as well as rehearsing the tournament, we played poker for fun,” says Mikkelsen. “In fact we often ended up playing in the corridors of [Prague’s] Barrandov Studios between scenes.”
Playing cards on camera for three weeks apparently only whet the actors’ appetite for the game. One night Mikkelsen and some of his fellow actors ventured out to a casino in Prague – where they promptly ran into Wilson.
Like most gamblers, Le Chiffre has a tell, an involuntary tic that reveals how he feels about his hand, explains Mikkelsen. “He has a scar on his eye, and the vein starts to pump when his heart rate increases, so he casually presses his finger against it to stop, but Bond notices. It has to be as subtle as possible, of course, or he wouldn’t win many poker games. But Le Chiffre manages to turn this flaw to his advantage.”
Movie Database
In Theaters
