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Iolanthe's Quotable Viggo
21 October 2018 11:12:32 Found By: Iolanthe
This week I thought we’d take a look back to On The Road and Viggo’s memorable cameo as Old Bull Lee, based on writer William Burroughs. Although a small part, Viggo brought all his usual thorough research to the role, channeling Burroughs crazy energy and ‘sepulchral growl’, much to the delight of the film critics.
Viggo Back "On The Road," But With an Upgrade on the Shopping Cart.
Headline announcing Viggo’s participation in ‘On the Road’
Bryan Alexander
NBCWashington.com
5 August 2010
Mortensen’s performance has the genuine, and ferocious, frisson of inhabitation that the biopic demands: alternately gun-crazy, butt naked and sharply observant.
Sophie Mayer
BFI
12 October 2012
When Walter Salles offered me the role of Old Bull Lee, I was finishing shooting A Dangerous Method with David Cronenberg, and I told him, "I don't think I can prepare myself for the role in time." But I had also gained weight for the other film and Walter told me, "I think you can. It's one version; you can look any way you want. I want you in the film for your ideas and for the way you approach your work." And I'm glad I did it.
Viggo Mortensen: "I think I've learned from my mistakes"
By Gloria Scola - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Tiempo
30 April 2013
“Burroughs was admired by other writers for his unique learning, knowledge of drugs and anarchist thinking. I remain fascinated by his sensitivity and the new forms of syntax and grammar that he experimented with. To get closer to the character, I studied the way he pronounced certain words, the rhythm, the voice affected by drugs and age."
Viggo Mortensen: "Do I look sexy?"
By Simona Coppa - translated by Ollie
Grazia
9 October 2012
In a brilliant cameo, Mortensen gets Burroughs's flat, wry voice exactly right as he denounces Moriarty as psychotic, exposes how the English translation of Voyage au bout de la nuit bowdlerises Céline's original, and hilariously demonstrates his version of Wilhelm Reich's ludicrous, once fashionable orgone boxes for the control of psychic energy.
Philip French
The Observer
14 October 2012
What did you think of the Beat Generation before the film? Had you already read the book?
"Yes, in the '70s, when I was 17-18 years old and living in America, on the border with Canada. On the Road was an initiation book for many adolescents of my generation, even for me.
Viggo Mortensen: "Do I look sexy?"
By Simona Coppa - translated by Ollie
Grazia
9 October 2012
“Salles could have made the classic iconographic film, a harmless postcard. Instead, he chose to represent even the darkest side of the journey, the drugs, car racing at full speed, the smoking, the sleepless nights. The director brings to the screen the desire to break the mold and the rules, to go beyond the limit that has inspired generations of young rebels, but also highlights the painful consequences."
Viggo Mortensen: "Do I look sexy?"
By Simona Coppa - translated by Ollie
Grazia
9 October 2012
For many people, this novel was deemed unfit for filming. Did you ever have similar qualms?
I never thought this novel unfit for filming, yet it was obviously no easy task. But after reading the script, my concerns were easily resolved. The movie takes over the novel's best elements, stays true to the characters and besides focuses on the women, which for me is a true improvement compared to the original.
"Nostalgia strikes me as being dangerous"
By Dieter Oßwald - translated by Athelin
Frankfurter Neue Presse
1 October 2012
Viggo Mortensen, priceless in Old Bull Lee / William Burroughs, highly intelligent and completely smoky.
Norbert Creutz
Le Temps
26 May 2012
It was such a crazy experience. There were things that were not in the script and you were asked to do on the day, like improvising with Viggo Mortensen, which is quite crazy. He’s a very cerebral man. He turned up with these beautiful old antique books from the time, like Baudelaire, and things that his character would have had. He had a bag of goodies that he brought with him and a hat, a tie and a shoulder holster. I thought, ‘this guy is f**king cool.’ I was quite intimidated.
Sam Riley
Sullivan on Cinema: Sam Riley
By Chris Sullivan
Redbull.com
9 June 2011
…I would love to see a whole movie about Old Bull Lee, played by Viggo Mortensen….
Drew McWeeny
HitFix
23 May 2012
"I re-read the book for the film and became aware of how very relevant it is for today's world. Today too you can sense a sort of rejection of the economic crisis and the authorities on the part of young people. It was thus a very opportune moment to release the film."
Viggo Mortensen, Cannes Press Conference
23 May 2012
"The movie is disturbing at times. It's very pretty, and the more you get into it and let it carry you away, the more you enjoy it. When I saw it, I was just caught up in it. I let it carry me away as if it were a song."
Viggo Mortensen: "I think I've learned from my mistakes"
By Gloria Scola - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Tiempo
30 April 2013
You will find all previous Quotables here.
© Viggo-Works/Iolanthe. Images © MK2 Productions.