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
In a way, editing is not unlike the movies. The best books, just like the best movies, are a collaboration. They're only as good as the compromise made between the artists involved.
When I land in a country and they ask for 'occupation,' I always just put 'artist.' I think that covers all of it.
My job as an artist, as I see it, is to understand and in some cases to take on various ways of thinking about people and the world that are different from my own, sometimes radically different.
You don't have to make something that people call art. Living is an artistic activity, there is an art to getting through the day.
To be an artist, you don't have to compose music or paint or be in the movies or write books. It's just a way of living. It has to do with paying attention, remembering, filtering what you see and answering back, participating in life.
I mean, I've been around a long time compared to a lot of other actors. I mean, I've been working on and off for 20 odd years.
I like naturally occurring film grain, and what happens to film when it's under- and over-exposed.
It's hard to be objective about it, ... But it's one of the movies I most like. It's the most complete. It really works. I know that it's probably the best movie-making experience and final result in terms of a creative, well thought out movie that's well written and well acted.
there he is, I'm watching him, there he goes.
You get all these things, there are all these letters and gifts, sometimes strange ones; most of the time it can be really nice. But at the same time, it's overwhelming. Because I know I'm going to have to look through it. Most of it is filling the corners of my house and I can't respond to it all right away.
I've been told that I've arrived many times over the years so I take it with a grain of salt. It's a relatively new situation obviously, but if it all went up in smoke tomorrow, I wouldn't really care that much. There are a lot of things that interest me. As for my fortunes, it's really a crap shoot.
The way we present ourselves is a veneer, and beneath that, there are a lot more unpleasant things. Other directors might have missed a lot of the subtleties of this story and made a meal out of the violence.
Any ordeal that you can survive as a human being is an improvement in your character,and usually an improvement in your life.
I have never been in a natural place and felt that was a waste of time. I never have. And it's a relief. If I'm walking around a desert or whatever, every second is worthwhile.