The casting of Mads Mikkelsen's Casino Royale took place on location

In the Entertainment Weekly interview, "Casino Royale" casting director Debbie McWilliams said that originally the studio had another actor in mind to portray The Figure. When they weren't able to lock this actor in for the role, they had to switch gears.

"You always have to keep your eyes open in case you have to replace someone, which has happened many, many times. I had been watching Mads Mikkelsen for a while and I had seen in a few Danish films and I was really impressed with his versatility.I had kept an eye on him even though in my opinion he wasn't quite right for the part because The Cipher of his own name is supposed to be French, but once our French actor wasn't going to be cast, we were in Prague and by pure chance Mads Mikkelsen too, so I grabbed him and let him in."

According to a 2005 interview with IGN, even Mikkelsen didn't know he was the replacement. Despite his last-minute casting, Mikkelsen absolutely nailed the role, bringing an energy to the part that truly made him look like Bond.

I'm sure this sort of thing happens a lot, where actors are unable to play a role and are replaced at the last minute. This raises many questions as to what the movie would be like if the anonymous French actor they wanted to play Le Chiffre had agreed. For me, Mikkelsen as Le Cipher is just as vital to the film as Craig as Bond. It's an interesting thought exercise, but considering how awesome 'Casino Royale' is, I think we should all be grateful that it stumbled upon Mikkelsen.