Which actor played Charles Augustus Magnussen in BBC’s Sherlock?

Lars Mikkelsen played Charles Augustus Magnussen in BBC’s Sherlock. Magnussen is the principal antagonist of “His Last Vow,” the final episode of series 3, and is portrayed as a powerful media proprietor who collects compromising information.

The character is adapted from Charles Augustus Milverton, the blackmailer in Arthur Conan Doyle’s story “The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton.” The television version updates the role into a modern information broker whose influence comes from knowledge and surveillance.

Mikkelsen is a Danish actor, and the role became one of his best-known English-language television appearances. The character is sometimes confused with Culverton Smith, played by Toby Jones in series 4, but Magnussen belongs to series 3.