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
I've been naked physically in movies - but it's a whole other thing to be naked emotionally in a way that's not just a distraction or a character.
I think you have to be flexible above all as an actor; different characters have different demands, actors that you work with are different in their approach, or how you get along or don't get along with them.
I think it's my job to like any character I play - to understand and appreciate a character, to look at the world as much as possible from their point of view. I don't look at it just technically: learn the lines, figure out what gestures I want to bring and play, and that's it. I like to learn as much as I can about the person, and see what happens.
I played Lucifer once, which is sort of a difficult character to research. I thought to myself, "We all have the potential to be selfish, to be cruel - at least to think evil thoughts, even if we don't ever act out on them. Even if we don't ever think we behave badly, we probably do more than we realize."
Adult characters are all the things they've encountered over time. But kids haven't accumulated all the life experience, all the regrets. They tend to be more in the moment, more willing to play, to be joyful.
Usually the characters I play are men of few words, who communicate in non-verbal ways.
I try to research or make up for myself what happened in any character's life. From when he was born until the first page of the script. I fill in the blanks.
With any character I have played, there's infinite possibilities for how they might behave, depending on who they are talking to or how they react to things.
This basic thing I always do: 'What happened between the character's birth, and page one of the script?' Anything that's not in the story, I'll fill in the blanks.
It's always interesting to play a character that obviously has a secret.
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.
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 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.
What keeps the film from being by-the-numbers has a lot to do with David. A lot of directors would have made an exploitation movie.