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 think that every person has many, many people inside of them. We change our personality depending on who we are talking to or what situation we are in.
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.
Walking down the street in any town or city in the world and having people look at you and start talking to you, convinced that they know you as well or better than they do members of their own family, that's just an odd phenomenon. But I mean, I wouldn't say it was a bad thing. It's an interesting thing.
I have friends who I get along with who I know get very uncomfortable being alone, unless they're with people, talking all the time. Whether it's on the phone, or in person, they're never by themselves. Whereas I could be alone for months.
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.
It's just like with people. You're going to get along better working with them - human or equine - if you ask politely rather than demand that they do things.