The reason? He feels there’s more focus on him the actor, than on UNICEF, the organization.

It was on January 16, that the 47-year old actor was caught at a Stockholm nightspot using cocaine. After the matter became public, the UNICEF reviewed his role as an ambassador. Ingeborg Ekblom Information Officer at UNICEF Sweden, said at the time:

“We disapprove that he has taken drugs and we intend to forward this opinion to him.” There were rumors that UNICEF was planning on firing Persbrandt, instead he quit on his own. Says his agent Peter Jansson: “Mikael is both proud and happy about this possibility to work for UNICEF. His travels (among them to Haiti last year) and his meetings with vulnerable children remain unforgettable memories for him.” Ekblom stated that Persbrandt has been of great help to UNICEF and that he has been greatly appreciated.

Persbrandt is known to an international audience thanks to his role in Susanne Bier’s “In a Better World”, which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film in February of this year.

On the Oscar: Congrats to director Susanne Bier, Denmark