Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. /ˈviːɡoʊ ˈmɔːrtənsən/is an American actor. He made his film debut in Peter Weir's 1985 thriller Witness, and subsequently appeared in many notable films of subsequent years, including The Indian Runner, Carlito's Way, Crimson Tide, Daylight, The Portrait of a Lady, G.I. Jane, A Perfect Murder, A Walk on the Moon, and 28 Days...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth20 October 1958
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
It's always interesting to play a character that obviously has a secret.
Even the implication that The Lord of the Rings is a mythic story about Western, white supremacy - regardless of the political leanings of anyone who tries to make that case - is a load of self-justifying, destructive horseshit.
It's true that I have a wide range of interests. I like to write and paint and make music and go walking on my own and garden. In fact, gardening is probably what I enjoy doing more than anything else.
You have a moral obligation to finish the job you said you would do.
I'm sort of contrary and stubborn sometimes. When everybody says, 'You have to read this book! You have to read this book!' I'm like 'Oh, I'll get around to it.'
As [John] Tolkien himself said, the story [Lord of the Ring ] is not allegorical. He said so when people tried to make analogies to World War II and the fight against Hitler and his fascist coalition.
If there's one thing I've learned from traveling, it's that it is definitely more important how you are than where you are. You can say, 'Oh, I hate X city, I hate that country, or I prefer this city,' but it's a little bit up to you to find some kind of happiness.
I like stories that leave you wanting more, leave you wondering, but don't tell you everything.
Be kind. It's worthwhile to make an effort to learn about other people and figure out what you might have in common with them.
Joseph Campbell said the privilege of a lifetime is being yourself. That's his feeling. And I guess it's mine too.
Each time I make a movie, it's like a paid scholarship to a different university course.
More often than not, the experience of shooting the movie has been disappointing and the end product has been a mere shadow of what I hoped it would be. But immersing myself in the story - that's what I like best of all.
It's hard not to get depressed when you pay attention to the world and how strangely and corrupt the people in it sometimes behave.
Photography, painting or poetry - those are just extensions of me, how I perceive things; they are my way of communicating.