Iolanthe's Quotable Viggo
10 February 2013 17:09:39The world didn't end on 22 December 2012 (I'm sure you noticed), but one thing that kept endlessly popping up in the media's fascination with possible apocalypse was The Road. It got mentioned almost as much as when the film actually came out. Mainly as everyone's favourite film guide on how to behave if the world ends not with a bang, but a whimper. Who knew the Mayans would be boosting an overlooked masterclass in acting, total commitment and dedicated production, by running out of calendar days? So this week and next week I'll be looking back down The Road. The film, and Viggo, more than deserves it.
Before accepting the role, he was coming out of two solid years of non-stop intense work and had sworn to take a rest. He had arranged a series of exhibitions of his photography, but as soon as Hillcoat got him to read the script of The Road, he understood that he could not refuse the role.
Premier Magazine
By Gérard Delorme
June 2008
Translated by Chrissiejane
"We took a shot with Viggo as opposed to bigger box-office stars. In large part, he's the right choice because, as good as he is, he's still untapped."
John Hillcoat
The Road Is the Most Important Movie of the Year
By Tom Chiarella
Esquire Magazine
12 May 2009
"With Viggo, there's something slightly elusive about him, and he has quite a wide range, and yet, also, there's this real physicality about him. And there's this tenderness. And his face also reminded me of Grapes of Wrath, the Dorothea Lange photos of the Great Depression, Midwest people struggling with the collapse of the environment and the economy."
On The Road with Viggo and Kodi:
By Jay Stone
Canada.com
18 November 2009
"I got the role and was in the middle of shooting "Appaloosa" and at the same time, somehow promoting on evenings and weekends "Eastern Promises" and then surprisingly being nominated for awards and also having to travel to places. The day before we started shooting, I was at the Oscars, you know? Which is why I had that beard. It was kind of stressful. But that stress put me at a fragile place to begin with which probably helped me, just take that leap that I was going to have to take one way or another."
It's really about the here and now
By Gina Piccalo
Access Atlanta
26 November 2009
Mortensen felt drained after reading both the book and script in the same day. "Yeah, I was worthless that day," admitted Mortensen. "I was at my mother's house, actually, visiting her and she said, 'So, what do you want to do for dinner?' 'Dinner?' I said, 'How can I eat now?'"
Viggo Mortensen Talks About 'The Road'
Rebecca Murray
About.com
23 November 2009
What did you learn from your discussion with the book's author, Cormac McCarthy?
I talked to him one long time before shooting on the phone. We basically talked about his kid and my kid and being dads. I had tons of notes and questions to ask him. I was ready to pick his brain. At the end of the conversation, he asked me, "Do you have any specific questions about the book?" I had 50,000 post-it notes in the book and not one but two pens in case it ran out of ink. I mean I was ready. But I said "Nah, I don't really" because I realized the conversation we had was all I need to get going. His book and his words are so heartfelt and so free of any gimmickry. He just transcends cultures and languages.
Viggo on The Road
By Cindy Pearlman
Chicago Sun Times
22 November 2009
While he was on a tour doing publicity for another movie, Mortensen would sneak off and talk to homeless people, whose survival-oriented existence paralleled that of his character. "Every major city around the world, there are people that live outside, and they have the same concerns as our characters," he said. "How am I going to get food? How am I going to stay dry? How am I going to keep people from stealing my stuff or hurting me? You can't get any more basic than that."
Viggo Mortensen: 'Road' Warrior
Mortensen talks about playing a father in the post-apocalyptic 'The Road.'
By Sam Adams
18 November 2009
"What I've seen with Viggo is that he is able to use the environment more so than any other actor I've worked with before to put him where he needs to be emotionally?.And maybe it's pouring down rain, and he'll walk away from umbrellas, raincoats. He'll walk away from any tent that's being offered or any blanket to be intentionally cold and wet, and it seems to take him to a place that's quite remarkable."
Simmons (producer)
Interview with Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Contender
Emmanuellevy.com
3 September 2009
"Viggo emptied himself out, always. He'd be exhausted at the end of a hard day. He gives everything."
Javier Aguirresarobe
Diary of The Road's Shooting
By Javier Aguirresarobe - translated by Ollie, Remolina, Rio, Sage and Zooey
Esquire (Spain)
January 2010
"He is able to reflect struggle without even speaking, and I knew we needed someone who would not hold back."
John Hillcoat
No Country for Any man
Telegraph Magazine
January 2010
"I felt like I had a burden that I had not had before on an emotional level, this turbulence under the surface, of how I was going to make this believable."
Viggo Mortensen
The Road's Viggo Mortensen survives post-apocalyptic tale
By Elisa Osegueda
Fandango.com
29 November 2009
"It was a hell of a thing for him to undertake, because there's nowhere to hide."
Hillcoat talking about Viggo
John Hillcoat Hits The Road
By Edward Douglas
Comingsoon.net
19 November 2009
"It's true that when you're traveling through these suffering landscapes, these devastating landscapes, it's so real, and it was definitely cold, and we were definitely wet. Everything was so real visually and physically for us that we could not be anywhere else other than at that level. We had to reach that somehow in terms of our emotions and our relationship. It had to be credible, and I think it was a great help to us."
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Hits The Road
By Roger Durling
Santa Barbara Independent
22 November 2009
"When I looked at the movie for the first time, we were sitting next to each other in Venice, I was shocked sometimes. It's beyond the makeup; there's something in our faces that's more lean, more suffering, beyond what I thought was happening. And I think that has to do with committing mentally and emotionally to the material."
Viggo Mortensen sets the record straight about his acting career, 'The Road' and 'The Hobbit'
By Carla Hay
Examiner.com
25November 2009
Thank you Viggo Mortensen for accepting the lead role. I have trust that you will dominate the atomic wasteland of your surroundings.
Movieweb.com
B Alan Orange
22 January 2008
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© Viggo-Works/Iolanthe. Images © Macall Polay/2929/Dimension Films.