Quotable Viggo

I hope you’ve all had a lovely Christmas! Here are the answers to last week’s Quotable Quiz and I’m betting all of you did amazingly well.


© New Line Productions Inc.


While filming which movie, did Viggo…

Singe his co-star?

Two Faces of January – Kirsten Dunst: ‘Viggo had to illuminate that scene with a lighter, and he was holding it and he burnt me and he was wailing and being emotional, and I couldn’t say anything. The light was out was out but it was still so hot. I think I still have a scar. I didn’t want to mess with Viggo. ‘
Black Book 2014


Send down for a sandwich?

Captain Fantastic - “When everyone climbed down for lunch, I was still standing up there,” he said, laughing. “The kids were like ‘Viggo come down to lunch!’ and I said ‘No, just send a sandwich up!’ I was absolutely terrified. I couldn’t look down.”
W Magazine 2016


Break a rib during filming?

TCM: Leatherface – ‘...the production itself had a few hiccups; the originally cast actor for the role of Tex didn't work out, and had to be replaced (however he was replaced with Viggo Mortensen, so it's not exactly the worst thing that could happen)... The screening was boosted by a fun Q&A with Foree, who revealed that he accidentally broke Viggo's ribs during their fight scene - the shot is seemingly in the movie (watch Viggo suddenly clutch his side after being thrown to the ground)...’
baddassdigest.com 2014


Borrow a camera and end up with a book?

Hidalgo – ‘[Miyelo] came from a scene in the movie called "Hidalgo" [about long-distance horse rider Frank T. Hopkins, forthcoming in 2004] where the character I play, who's at the end of his energies and in the middle of nowhere without any water or hope left, begins to hallucinate. In a delirious state, he starts to hear these voices and see these fragments of people. I wondered how one would use a still camera to represent images of the ephemeral dancers in wide-open, empty landscape - how the ghosts of Ghost Dancers might look. So I really approached it as an exercise. In the end, I didn't actually use my own camera. I wanted to include more of the landscape, and Richard Cartwright, a very fine photographer who was shooting the official stills for the movie, was kind enough to lend me his panoramic Hasselblad camera.
Viggo Mortensen
Salon.com 2003


Turn street sweeper?

Appaloosa – ‘Each time the tracks in the street were swept away rapidly by the crew including Dennis 'the horseman'. All of a sudden Viggo Mortensen apppeared, grabbed a big broom and started sweeping vigorously alongside the crew Now that was different. Viggo Mortensen is definitely not afraid of hard work and dirt…’
Blogengeezer 2007


Give away one of his own poetry books?

GI Jane - 'I… suggested to Ridley Scott the use of a poem by D.H. Lawrence for the introduction scene in "GI Jane'. This reference gave my military character another dimension. It made him a lot more original, it was also my way of making him less misogynist! And the book which I give to Demi Moore, in which there is that poem, it was mine, all battered, really old ...'
Viggo Mortensen
Studio Magazine 2002


Save the music budget by sending the director one of his own CDs?

Jauja – ‘We didn't have any money in the budget to buy music, but I told him, "I know a brilliant guitar player and we've recorded together." I sent him 10 tracks to see what he's interested in, and he picked "Moonset". He was right—it was perfect.’
LAist.com 2015


Do a stunt with ambulances standing by?

The Road – ‘How was it to jump in the ocean? “It was very cold. I asked for another take, but they were terrified. They didn’t want me to. They had ambulances. The water was 41 degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind was just really blowing. The air temperature was the same, but because there was howling wind, I was practically frozen. I think the air was probably freezing. It was so extreme. They had an ambulance and they had all these heaters on, and I just sat in there with a bathrobe and said, “Just tell me when you’re rolling. I’m just going to run out and go.”’
IESB.net 2009


Buy posters of Birds of North America, some landscapes, a small ceramic eagle for the set?

A History of Violence – ‘Mortensen's commitment translated to a collection of artifacts he purchased in the Midwest on his travels, which included ducks and a bank in the shape of a fish head that says 'fishin' money' on it and is set on the diner's cash register, posters of Birds of North America, some landscapes, a small ceramic eagle and other animal sculptures for his daughter's room which he thought Tom's character would have in his home."
Cannes Film Festival Press Kit 2005


Shoot a scene with an actor playing one of Viggo’s own ancestors?

Hidalgo – ‘“I found out a while back that I’m related to Buffalo Bill - distantly, on my mother’s mother’s side of the family,” he says. “It’s true: I went to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, and saw the records that prove the connection.” Mortensen finds J.K. Simmons’ performance as Buffalo Bill “terrific” - and it gave him an interesting opportunity to play in scenes with a distant relative.’
Cowboys & Indians 2004


Make his own honey?

Todos Tenemos Un Plan – ‘One of the skills he had to learn for the film was beekeeping. “We got to make honey,” he says, smiling. 'I have one jar left.”’
Telegraph Men’s Style Magazine 2013


Sing his co-star Argentinian love songs?

A Perfect Murder – ‘Interviewer: Is it true that you sang serenades to calm Gwyneth Paltrow before the love scenes in 'A Perfect Murder'? Viggo: That is correct. To calm her and create a certain atmosphere of intimacy I did sing a couple of love songs that I learned in Argentina when I was young. I don't know if that ended up scaring her instead’.
M/S Magazine 2001


Have a suit fitting while delirious with flu?

Two Faces of January – ‘There was one occasion where I had a fitting with him in Barcelona but Viggo had just come down with a fever and was completely delirious. He was sweating buckets and he confessed to his girlfriend afterwards that he hadn’t a clue what he was trying on, but he remained professional to the core. I wasn’t aware how bad he was until he confessed to me later that he could have been trying on bin bags for all he’d known.’
Steven Noble
Esquire Magazine 2014


Eat a flower?

The Prophecy – ‘Mortensen is out of this world. Watching him pluck the petals off a yellow rose and devour its crunchy interior is something you won’t soon forget.’
Scene Stealers 2011


Lose his hat as the final scene was being filmed?

Appaloosa – ‘…as the scene unfolded, Mortensen stood rock solid, waiting to draw his Colt .45. And then his hat went flying away, a Frisbee on steroids. Harris reset the scene, and then cinematographer Dean ran out of film. "That's why I like to shoot digitally," he muttered to Harris.’
Los Angeles Times 2008


Rescue fellow performers from being snowbound?

The Lord of the Rings – ‘Mortensen's humility and generosity turned his Rings co-stars into some of his biggest fans. They tell you of the time when a snowstorm shut down production. The cast was being transported to safety when Mortensen seized a four-wheel drive vehicle and drove back to the set in order to save the hobbits' four-feet-tall scale doubles from getting snowbound.’
Premiere 2003


Terrify the customers of a local restaurant?

Eastern Promises – ‘Mortensen's in-character tattoos for Nikolai were so authentic-looking that when the actor visited a Russian restaurant diners fell silent, thinking that a top Vory had entered. However, once he spoke English, many visibly relaxed...’
Eastern Promises Production Notes 2007


Play the piano every night after filming?

Good – “…I would be playing the piano and thinking about tomorrow's work and I ended up playing musically what the scene was for me, which I had never done before. I liked it so much I just did it all time. When I watched the movie last night there was a certain rhythm in the body language and speech-wise that has to do with the piano."
Sydney Morning Herald 2009


Sing ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ with his co-star?

A Dangerous Method – ‘“We also had a lot of fun singing duets. In Belvedere Gardens where Freud did take his walks, and then you see him in the end, in his morning walk, we were singing at the top of our lungs, which surprised the public and some of the journalists. He has a good singing voice and I did harmony. In Belvedere, we sang that song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," including all the high notes, which Michael hit really well.”
Yahoo Movies 2011


Wear one of his own shirts, bought in the 1980’s?

Captain Fantastic – ‘“I looked like the Beverly Hillbillies arriving in my pickup truck,” he remembered, “with bicycles and fishing poles and tools and pots and pans and clothes and sleeping bags, and I don’t know what else.” At least one of the items made it to the screen: a red-print Western shirt that Mortensen said he bought sometime in the 1980s, worn by Ben in a funeral scene.’
Seattle Times 2016


Change the scope of his rifle so that it was more historically accurate?

Young Guns 11 – ‘I was in my hotel room in Santa Fe, and there’s this knock on the door pretty late at night. I open it, and there was Viggo holding a rifle. He said, ‘I got some ideas about the scope my character would have on his rifle. Do you have a minute?’ He came in, and he sat down dead serious and showed me this conversion he’d done to an historically accurate scope. He said, ‘With all the copper mining in these parts, I think it would be copper.’ I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this guy is serious. He’s really got it.’”
John Fusco
Entertainment Weekly 2010


Approach a major corporation about using their product as a prop?

The Road - “The Coca-Cola is in the book. I amused myself with the idea that it was a Diet Coke. (laughter). It would have been funny. But they only place their products in family movies. So I called them and told them everything: It's going to look great! Cheaper! Free! If it were Pepsi, it wouldn't be like the book. We filmed it with Pepsi, with Fanta…Things went better with Coke. [laughter]. We sent the scene to them and it made an impression. And they agreed.
On Madrid - El Pais 2010


Tease his co-star by moving items around on his desk between takes?

A Dangerous Method – ‘And in between takes—at first I don’t notice—Viggo keeps pushing these penises, no, what do you call them? Phalluses? Freud’s desk had all of these little statutes and things, and some of them were phallus sculptures from different cultures around the world. And Viggo kept pushing them towards my end of the desk. I didn’t notice at first until I looked down and saw them all, inching ever-forward, with Viggo smirking, really a prankster, dressed up as Freud. It was surreal!”’
Michael Fassbender
Pop Matters 2011


Get a black eye so he could only be filmed from one side?

The Lord of the Rings – ‘… you took up surfing for the first time in New Zealand. How did that go? Viggo: Let's just say I'm not as good as the hobbits.
Entertainment Weekly 2003


Get removed from his own set by the security team?

The Road – ‘…Viggo would sleep in his outfit. When he went into a local shop one day, security was called to remove him from the premises, thinking he was a homeless bum.’
John Hillcoat
Telegraph Magazine 2010

Let's celebrate the end of another Viggo filled year with the usual Festive Quotable Quiz. Here are 25 brain-teasers all based around Viggo's filming experiences and they all start with the question 'While filming which movie, did Viggo…?', and while some are easy, others might involve a bit of research. As in previous years, see how many you can get but keep the answers to yourselves so others can guess too. I'll reveal all next week!

And here's a clue. The picture below is no help at all. Or is it…?



© Focus Features


While filming which movie, did Viggo…

...singe his co-star?

...send down for a sandwich?

...break a rib during filming?

...borrow a camera and end up with a book?

...turn street sweeper?

...give away one of his own poetry books?

...save the music budget by sending the director one of his own CDs?

...do a stunt with ambulances standing by?

...buy posters of Birds of North America, some landscapes, a small ceramic eagle for the set?

...shoot a scene with an actor playing one of Viggo's own ancestors?

...make his own honey?

...sing his co-star Argentinian love songs?

...have a suit fitting while delirious with flu?

...eat a flower?

...lose his hat as the final scene was being filmed?

...rescue fellow performers from being snowbound?

...terrify the customers of a local restaurant?

...play the piano every night after filming?

...sing 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' with his co-star?

...wear one of his own shirts, bought in the 1980's?

...change the scope of his rifle so that it was more historically accurate?

...tease his co-star by moving items around on his desk between takes?

...get a black eye so he could only be filmed from one side?

...approach a major corporation about using their product as a prop?

...get removed from his own set by the security team?


Good luck!

Crows – we know how much Viggo loves them (I do to!) and I was thrilled to get another crow anecdote to add to my collection from all the Green Book promotions. Crows are the totem animal for his beloved San Lorenzo, of course, but he also loves them because they are survivors. And he has a massive tattoo of one proudly inked onto his arm so that he can always carry a crow around with him.



© Stella Pictures.


Here, on this flowering slope, moments after reaching higher ground to better witness carmine-lipped clouds begin to pale and shy away, I was surprised to find you, and nearly stepped on your dislocated wing. Your feathers still shine like running ink, and your eyes see through me in the fading rose light.

On finding a dead crow
From 'Moravia' by Viggo Mortensen
Skovbo
2008



That morning, Ali says, Mortensen had decided to walk to set. "I see this little black thing wrapped in his jacket. He walks in the trailer, I'm sitting in the makeup chair, and I'm like, 'Oh, you got a cat.' And he's like, 'No, it's a crow.' And so everyone's looking, like, 'What the heck is Viggo doing with a crow?' And he's like, 'Yeah, the crow is not well.' Shortly thereafter, he goes back to his trailer. He gets out of his regular shirt, because he needs to be in a tank top to get his makeup done, and he walks back in with the crow, and I see he's got a tattoo on his arm. And I go, 'Viggo, what kind of bird is that on your arm?' And he goes, 'Oh, it's a crow.'" Ali let out a warm laugh. "I turned to his makeup artist, who says, 'Oh he does this all the time, he's always finding crows.' But, like, they just sort of come to him. This crow was on the ground, and it wasn't well. It literally died the next day. He tried to get it to some kind of vet — it didn't make it — but he's got this thing about him that is a little otherworldly. He's this guy with a crow tattoo who attracts crows."

Viggo Mortensen, the Unlikely Leading Man
New York Times
By Thessaly La Force
15 October 2018



For the part [of Nikolai], Mortensen studied with a voice coach, traveled to Russia, and read up on Russian jails. Fascinated by prison tattoos, he sent pictures of them to Cronenberg, who told him to run with it. In the film, he strips down repeatedly (attention, swooning Middle-earth fans) to reveal a ripped body covered in ink. Mortensen… says he realized that "there was a literate bent to some of these--phrases from Russian poems." His favorite is a picture of a black crow and "these words from a really old Russian song: 'Black crow, I'm not ready for you to take me yet.' This film is about survival. And Nikolai, he's not ready to die."

Tattooed Love Thug
New York Magazine
24 August 2007



"I really wanted to ask him about his movies, especially his performance as a Russian mobster in Eastern Promises, which I thought was remarkable," says Casas. "But we started to talk and we always ended up with San Lorenzo. 'Did you see the tattoo I had in that movie? It is a huge crow,' he told us.

The Lord Of The Books
El Argentino -Translation by Graciela
23 June 2009



Canuck the crow, the East Van bird who rides SkyTrains when he's not meddling in crime scenes, now finds himself flying in Hollywood circles. Canuck and I, a 2017 documentary that details the special bond between the crow and Vancouver resident Shawn Bergman, will be screened at the Snowtown Film Festival on Jan. 27 in Watertown, New York. The movie is being included in the festival as a loving nod to Viggo Mortensen, the Academy Award-nominated actor best known for playing the hero Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings franchise, who is native of Watertown and lover of crows.

Vancouver's Canuck the crow now a sought-after film star
Canuck the crow documentary will screen at New York film festival at the request of Viggo Mortensen
Scott Brown
Vancouver Sun
17 January 2018



Thursday, after the speech for the opening of the [San Lorenzo] chapel, he presented his relic: a bronze crow, a unique piece, life-sized, that he'd acquired in New Mexico a couple of years ago. He saw it while filming a modern western with his friend Ed Harris. He bought it, put a plaque on it with the Ciclón logo and presented it before fans and admirers. Those who adore him and see him as a kind of Chosen One, the Aragorn who will free the people (San Lorenzo) from their numerous sorrows, who will fulfill utopias and dreams and who will not be stopped by Sauron himself in all his dark power. Until the world championship is achieved, Viggo, brandishing his invincible sword, will not cease his quest.

Viggo Mortensen - "Above all, I'm a Cuervo... And a greater pride does not exist"
By Eduardo Bejuk - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zooey
Gente
April 2010



It was getting late when the Snowtown Film Festival organizers stepped onstage to say they had a couple of surprises in store. First up was a plaque honoring Mortensen with something called the North Country Inspiration to Artists Award. "Does that certificate mean I can go to Watertown Wolves games for free? No, I'm kidding," Mortensen quipped. "I'm kidding. I'm glad to have it". Then, local artist William Salisbury walked onstage holding an original sculpture of a crow. That's Mortensen's favorite animal and it just happens to be one of Watertown's most notorious pests — so, in other words, a little piece of home.

Days after Oscar nod, Viggo Mortensen comes home to Snowtown Film Festival
by Lauren Rosenthal
North Country Public Radio
31 January 2017



"When you were a kid, what'd you want to be when you grew up?"

"A crow was probably what I wanted to be most of all."

"Really? Why is that? What is it about crows?

"They're survivors. They can live anywhere. They're very self-sufficient. They're very resourceful. They're adaptable."

"That sounds like you."

"Yeah!" he laughed.

Viggo Mortensen: Making peace with the camera
By Tracy Smith
CBS
11 December 2016



"… and they are kind of treacherous; they'll steal from you," he said. "They are opportunists and they can handle anything. It seems like they are invincible … and they are beautiful."

Vancouver's Canuck the crow now a sought-after film star
Canuck the crow documentary will screen at New York film festival at the request of Viggo Mortensen
Scott Brown
Vancouver Sun
17 January 2018

For what seems like forever Viggo has only been offered deeply serious dramatic roles, despite being a very funny guy and definitely up for playing in a comedy. But finally his moment has come in Green Book – a film which isn't strictly a comedy but where he and Ali have injected a huge amount of humour. But, of course, there was also some wry humour sneaked into Captain Fantastic and Appaloosa, and he managed to find even more of it in A Dangerous Method where he portrayed Freud with a sophisticated wit. It's great to see him finally given license to let loose those 'silly genes' that Aunt Tulle talked about.



© Universal.


'I've never been offered comedy and don't know why. But sometimes I subtly slip ironic touches into my roles.'

Viggo Mortensen
A Multi-talented Hero
Dominical, by J. A. - translated for V-W by NacidaLibre
27 August 2006



"Good luck talking someone into that: 'History of Violence, The Road – that guy? Forget it.'"

Viggo after the interviewer suggests a comedy
On the Road, signs of the apocalypse hit home
Johanna Schneller
Globe and Mail
27 November 2009



The role is a game-changer for an actor, whose dramatic chops are a given (see his Academy nods for Eastern Promises and Captain Fantastic) but proves he's got a real flair for comedy that feels revelatory. He and Ali could take their own double act on the road.

Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
12 November 2018



'This story was good on paper, but it's way better on screen. It was nuanced stuff that they came up with, that they tried, that I was like 'Oh my God, this is hilarious.' This is not a funny script, but it's a hilarious movie, and it's because of their performances.'

Green Book' Director Says Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali Turned Serious Story Into "Hilarious" Movie
by Alex Cramer
The Hollywood Reporter
11 November 2018



They're two supremely talented dramatic actors, and their performances here scream out, "Oh we got jokes too!"

Victor Stiff
The Playlist
12 September 2018



We seldom get to see Mortensen in comic roles, but his goofy, sideways smile seems perfectly suited to this one, making it hard — even when he's saying things that are nowhere near politically correct — to dislike the guy for long.

Peter Debruge
Variety
11 September 2018



"He's surprisingly hilarious. The first time I met him, he was reserved. It was in an elevator. I was like, 'Hi.' He was like, 'Oh, hi.' I learned later he was very shy. So I was nervous, even a little scared, to work with him. I thought, 'This is going to be intense.' Then I got the whole other side, which I don't think many people know. He should do comedy, I've told him that... I'm sure he wouldn't be happy with people knowing how funny he is."

Kirsten Dunst
By Ajesh Patalay
Harper's Bazaar
May 2014



Viggo and I tried to find the comedy in [A Dangerous Method], as much as possible. That was fun. I've always been a massive fan of him. He's an impressive human being.

Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender Explores A Dangerous Method with Movie Fanatic
by Joel D Amos
Moviefanatic.com
25 November 2011



I realized from the research is that [Freud] was very funny. He doesn't crack jokes in an obvious way, but he found a way to slip that wit and that irony into things, and in some sense, I guess that character is the comic relief in the movie. The humor helped make Freud feel like not such an impossible task to play…

Viggo Mortensen Wants the Oscars to Start Noticing David Cronenbe
By Kyle Buchanan
New York Magazine
22 November 2011



Mortensen gives a wonderfully subtle comic performance [as Freud]. He wears a complacent look under his mustache and goatee, and he waves his inevitable cigar like a scepter. He smiles benevolently at his young colleague but you can see tiny lines of tension around his mouth whenever Jung strays beyond the lines of his dogma…

Steve Vineberg
Critics at Large
27 February 2012



As always Mortensen – in his third film with Cronenberg after A History of Violence and Eastern Promises – dominates the film and brings a much needed sly humour to the proceedings.

Mark Adams
Screen Daily
3 September 2011



He's quite funny too, in a droll and sarcastic sort of way, savoring Freud's many witticisms. This is a Viggo you don't think of when you think of Viggo.

Joshua Miller
Chud.com
21 October 2011



Magnetic, charming and funny [in Captain Fantastic], as well as tenacious and kind, Mortensen easily leads this cast to greatness.

Brogen Hayes
Movies.ie
17 May 2016



….a perfect, dryly comic Viggo Mortensen.

Appaloosa review
Tom Hall
The Back Row Manifesto
6 September 2008

No film part Viggo accepts is ever a walk in the park – in Green Book Viggo had to eat his way into the role to play Tony Lip. So here is an occasionally slightly tongue-in-cheek look at some of the prodigious lengths he is prepared to go to for the sake of a good movie.



© Bleecker Street


Green Book – bulking up

"I became as fat as a tick."

Viggo Mortensen, the Unlikely Leading Man
New York Times
By Thessaly La Force
15 October 2018


Captain Fantastic – rock climbing

"When everyone climbed down for lunch, I was still standing up there," he said, laughing. "The kids were like 'Viggo come down to lunch!' and I said 'No, just send a sandwich up!' I was absolutely terrified. I couldn't look down."

Viggo Mortensen on His Idealistic New Film "Captain Fantastic"
by Gillian Sagansky
W Magazine
8 July 2016


Loin des Hommes – learning Arabic

I worked for months and in Spain, where I live, I found someone who was from North Africa, and he helped me a lot. I looked at the whole script, and I made sure I could say it all in Arabic and made sure it was Arabic from that region.

Venice: Viggo Mortensen Talks Mastering New Languages
by Ariston Anderson
Hollywood Reporter
2 September 2014


Jauja – conquering wild Patagonia while inappropriately dressed

'Sometimes it was quite awkward and tiring to tramp around in that heavy greatcoat, wearing those slippery-soled riding boots, tripping over that saber. But I found that all of that helped me construct a sort of Danish Don Quixote, a man who has no idea how clumsy he seems in those landscapes, once he is off his horse.'

Mortensen plays a Danish engineer in Patagonia
by Pam Grady
San Francisco Chronicle
14 May 2015


Two Faces of January – coping with the crushing heat of Crete

"It was a vintage bus, a 1959 Mercedes bus, and the seats were red leather, beautiful seats. But it was so hot, and we were sweating so much that when I stood up, all the dye from the seats got on it, so I had this big red ass."

Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst Experienced the Downside of Wearing Vintage Costumes in The Two Faces of January
By Bennett Marcus
Vanity Fair
17 September 2014


Todos Tenemos Un Plan - playing twins one of whom becomes the other one half-way through the film

"You're playing a guy who doesn't play the other guy well. You're trying to do it in a way where you're not being overtly comical or exaggerating too much."

Viggo Mortensen: Why Don't Spanish-Language Films Get Any Respect?
By Lucas Shaw
Yahoo Movies
23 March 2013


A Dangerous Method – slipping into Sigmund Freud

"If I hadn't known that David was kind of crazy already I would have felt he was definitely insane…"

Viggo on being asked to play Freud
TIFF video interview
11 September 2011


The Road – surviving a watery Apocolypse

The water was 41 degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind was just really blowing. The air temperature was the same, but because there was howling wind, I was practically frozen. I think the air was probably freezing. It was so extreme. They had an ambulance and they had all these heaters on, and I just sat in there with a bathrobe and said, "Just tell me when you're rolling. I'm just going to run out and go."

Interview: Viggo Mortensen Travels THE ROAD
Christina Radish
IESB.net
9 November 2009


Appaloosa – taming a big honking gun

"When I first had it, I said, `Do you really need it to be an eight-gauge, Ed?' It's not that manageable, it's not going to be accurate at much distance. I said, `I'm not going to shoot that thing off a horse, because I'd get blown off the horse, realistically.'"

Mortensen Packs a Big Gun
By David Germain
Associated Press
17 September 2008


Good – wearing THAT uniform

'I did not like it, I felt uncomfortable. The first time I tried it on, I told the costume designer: "Is the hat that tight, are the boots that stiff?" I realized I felt bad because of the meaning I assigned to that uniform.'

Viggo Mortensen
The Dark Side Of The Hero
By Walder & Castro - translated by Graciela, Remolina and Zooey
Marie Claire (Spain)
June 2009


Eastern Promises – running around naked in a bathhouse full of assassins

"I knew it would be relatively painful, and it was. There's no pads. But the two guys playing my attackers were good - one guy was a Georgian who had been in the Russian military, and the other guy was a Turkish professional boxer. They were perfect, and perfectly painful."

Viggo Mortensen on the Bathhouse scene
Ties that bind
by Melora Koepke, Hour CA
13 Sept 2007


Alatriste – bye bye Hollywood, hola España

"Some people in Spain thought it was strange that I came to do this story. In the United States, some people asked me why I was going to do this. I answered them that the script was very good, that it was the best thing I had ever read; that not only did I like the story of Alatriste, but also the period. It's a valuable project, an interesting character, a historical period that is very unknown outside the academic world. '

Viggo Mortensen
The Court of Alatriste
By Rocío García
El País Semanal - Translated for V-W by Paddy
6 August 2006


A History of Violence – going over to the Dark Side

"I dunno, maybe I'm channeling some barbaric ancestor or something."

Viggo Mortensen on his convincing performance
E online
22 Sept 2005


Hidalgo – hold your horses

"I've always liked to ride, and it sort of reminds me of when I was a little boy. When you're a kid, you're kind of fearless. You can get afraid of things, but you're not as conscious of your mortality or of getting hurt as when you're an older guy and you're kind of like, 'Well, you know, if I come off goin' full tilt...this is gonna hurt.'"

Viggo on riding bareback in Hidalgo
'King' Star Returns To The Screen, Riding High
By Todd Camp
Star Telegram
6 March 2004


Lord of the Rings – the show must go on…

"On the fifth take, Viggo kicked the helmet, screamed, clenched his fists and dropped to his knees. I thought he was just doing some powerful acting. But then I noticed after I said 'cut' that he wasn't saying anything. Finally, he did the next scene limping."

Once they had finished filming, Jackson made the actor take off his boot.

"His toes were broken. Normally, an actor would yell 'ow!' if they hurt themselves, and stop the scene. Viggo turned a broken toe into a performance that's a great moment in the film."

Two Towers 'bloodier, more compelling'
New Zealand Herald
7 December 2002

There has been so much Green Book publicity, so many articles, reviews, interviews, I expect we are all feeling dizzy (I definitely am!). So here is a little quotes round up, continuing on from the one I did when the film first came out. It's mixture of comments and reviews, and one thing is clear – Viggo and Ali are a comedy and acting match made in heaven.



© Patti Perret/Universal


"It is one of the finest original screenplays I've ever read," he states. "Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie and Pete Farrelly managed to balance sparkling dialogue, often very funny scenes, a road movie and a sociopolitical cautionary tale in an inspired, dramatically satisfying true story about an unexpected friendship. They made a very difficult writing task look easy. I feel fortunate to be part of this movie."

Viggo Mortensen
The Book of Viggo
By Shana Nys Dambrot
LA Weekly
1 November 2018



Mortensen said he had loved the script but at first had been reluctant to take the role, because he wasn't sure he could pull off an Italian-American character. "I wasn't sure I was the right guy, I thought it was a bit of a stretch." But in the same way David Cronenberg had convinced him he could take a risk playing Freud in A Dangerous Method, he believed in Farrelly's faith in him. "Sometimes it's good to get over yourself and realise it's not all about me and what I'm afraid of, this guy [Farrelly] has a vision and he doesn't want to make a bad movie. I had to trust that."

Peter Farrelly, Viggo Mortensen talk 'Green Book' at Zurich opening
By Wendy Mitchell
Screen Daily
28 September 2018



"He's Viggo Mortensen…it didn't even occur to me that he couldn't pull it off. I wasn't hoping he could do it, I knew he could do it."

Director Peter Farrelly
Peter Farrelly, Viggo Mortensen talk 'Green Book' at Zurich opening
By Wendy Mitchell
Screen Daily
28 September 2018



…once we had Viggo we had the pick of the litter because anyone wants to work with him. So we said, "Who do we want? How about that guy Mahershala Ali? He was good in Moonlight." Boom.

Director Peter Farrelly
Green Book: Peter Farrelly brings powerful story of an unlikely friendship to the big screen
By Sean Kelly
31 October 2018



"It honestly was just like having an extraordinary dance partner," Ali told me of his experience filming "Green Book" with Mortensen.

Viggo Mortensen, the Unlikely Leading Man
New York Times
By Thessaly La Force
15 October 2018



'This story was good on paper, but it's way better on screen. It was nuanced stuff that they came up with, that they tried, that I was like 'Oh my God, this is hilarious.' This is not a funny script, but it's a hilarious movie, and it's because of their performances.'

Peter Farrelly
Green Book' Director Says Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali Turned Serious Story Into "Hilarious" Movie
by Alex Cramer
The Hollywood Reporter
11 November 2018



[Viggo] spent time with the family of the real Tony Lip, especially with Lip's son, Nick Vallelonga, who co-wrote the script with Farrelly and Brian Hayes Currie. "I was like, 'What were his favorite things to do?'" Mortensen says. "Nick was like, 'He loved everything! He could dance with two women at the same time; he'd swim in the Hudson River; he never lost when he was playing cards. There was nothing he could do that he wasn't good at!' So then I asked, 'What was his favorite?' 'Eating and smoking.' 'Eating and smoking. At the same time?' 'Sometimes!'"

Viggo Mortensen, the Unlikely Leading Man
New York Times
By Thessaly La Force
15 October 2018



Peter Farrelly: "He gained 25 initially for the role because Tony Lip is supposed to be a bouncer, a burly guy. Plus, Viggo was pounding weights. You bulked up. He was up 25 when we started, but he kept eating and eating."

Blame the cuisine of New Orleans, where most of the film was shot. As Mortensen says, "It was a lot of fun putting it on, but less fun taking it off."


3 things to know before road-trip flick 'Green Book' pulls into town
By Susan Wloszczyna
Gold Derby
7 November 2018



"I became as fat as a tick."

Viggo Mortensen, the Unlikely Leading Man
New York Times
By Thessaly La Force
15 October 2018



"Maybe people who are a little bit racist will watch it and enjoy it and laugh and get the entertainment value, and maybe just a little tiny light bulb will come on…I think there will be people who will walk out of this movie who have prejudices that might change."

Viggo Mortensen
Director Peter Farrelly
Peter Farrelly, Viggo Mortensen talk 'Green Book' at Zurich opening
By Wendy Mitchell
Screen Daily
28 September 2018



"The movie says to me we all have similar needs. We all have a desire, a need to be respected for who we are, wherever we're from, whatever we look like, whatever our education level is," Mortensen said. "Everybody deserves a hearing."

Mortensen thought twice about bouncer role in 'Green Book'
By Marie-Louise Gumuchian
Reuters
28 September 2018



Mortensen, plump as a mortadella, doesn't so much transcend the ethnic clichés of the role as chew through them, emerging into a zone of vaudevillian poetry.

A O Scott
New York Times
15 November 2018



Mortensen is terrific, having beefed up by 30 pounds to play this bruiser with a Bronx honk and the dazed realization that his fists can't change a damn thing. Sure, Tony roughs up white hypocrites who applaud the musician onstage and then bar him from their restaurants. But don't mistake him for another white savior. The role is a game-changer for an actor, whose dramatic chops are a given (see his Academy nods for Eastern Promises and Captain Fantastic) but proves he's got a real flair for comedy that feels revelatory. He and Ali could take their own double act on the road.

Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
12 November 2018



While Farrelly provides the vehicle, the engine is the star power and talent of the Oscar-winning Ali and Oscar-nominated Mortensen. Together, they combust!

…Tony Lip is not Mortensen by another name. This is a committed actor giving the character his all — as usual. Whether he's playing fantasy hero Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, a Russian mobster in Eastern Promises or Sigmund Freud in A Dangerous Method, this hard-researching actor always strives for authenticity. He's funny. He's charming. He's passionate.

Why Racial Inequality in "Green Book" Resonates So Deeply Today
By Thelma Adams
Realclearlife.com
7 November 2018



Ali and Mortensen are comedic revelations. Their chemistry is fantastic and both of them get a goldmine of great lines. Mortensen, in particular, is absolutely incredible here, completely disappearing into the role and making a very, very strong play for the Lead Actor prizes come awards season. It's the best he's been since probably Eastern Promises, bringing Tony to nuanced, three-dimensional life.

Jack Blackwell
One Room With A View
15 October 2018



And here's Viggo and we have Mahershala. What a pairing. You can't get better than that.

Peter Farrelly: There is no better pairing in the country, in the world. No matter what you think of the movie, no movie has two better actors than this.

I agree. Absolutely.

Middleburg Film Festival: Interview – Peter Farrelly and Viggo Mortensen On Green Book's Casting
Jazz Tangcay
Awards Daily
25 October 2018

I loved Peter Farrelly's comment his week about Viggo being picky, saying that he wanted 'the picky guy'. It reminded me of a quote from the Playlist which said that Viggo was 'pickier than a five year-old at a salad bar'. Picky is good, it means that every film Viggo chooses to be in is going to be good because the only thing that can really seduce him is an interesting story, a new challenge and a great script.



© Shane Partlow.

Viggo Mortensen -- who is pickier than a five year-old at a salad bar…

The Playlist commenting on how selective Viggo is choosing films.
Kevin Jagernauth
The Playlist
29 June 2012



"As an actor, whether you're well-known or not, the only real power you have is to say no, thank you. There are more things to say no, thank you to if you're in a movie that does as well as Lord of the Rings."

Viggo Mortensen, Actor, poet, photographer
Philip Matthews
New Zealand Listener
March 18-24 2006



"He reminds me of De Niro in his early career when he'd do a movie every three years or so. You couldn't wait and it was going to be an event. We were worried he was not going to do this movie. Our agents and everyone said we were going down a dead end. They said, "He's a picky guy?" and I didn't care. Did I want to go to someone who wasn't picky? I want the picky guy. The only reason the film got made was because we got him."

Peter Farrelly
Middleburg Film Festival: Interview – Peter Farrelly and Viggo Mortensen On Green Book's Casting
Jazz Tangcay
Awards Daily
25 October 2018



...he did something truly bizarre by Hollywood standards. He had the world by the balls, with his pick of roles—big studio stuff, Clooney kind of stuff, paycheck stuff. He turned all of it down, choosing instead to do what he wanted to do, little of which was lucrative. "I mean, how much ****ing money do you need?" he asks.

Why Viggo Mortensen Is Off the Grid
By Lisa DePaulo
Esquire
25 May 2016



Viggo is highly selective and his dedication to storytelling is unparalleled. He's a rare artist..

Matt Ross
Matt Ross may play a greedy tech titan in 'Silicon Valley,' but in Berkeley he's just a regular guy
Frances Dinkelspiel
15 April 2015



"Sure, we thought he was going to make it after The Indian Runner," [Don] Phillips says. "Viggo's turned down quite a few things that might have made a difference in his life because he just didn't connect with them creatively. Viggo is his own man. He's not dictated by the Hollywood horseshit machine."

Don Phillips
The Hero Returns
By Tom Roston,
Premiere 2003



How did you get Viggo onboard?

In my seduction of Viggo, who's very picky about his films, I flew to LA and one of the elements of the seduction was to discuss the political undertones of the movie. If you work with an actor like Viggo, the discussions go very deep and the anticipations of people's reactions to what you're doing is very deep.

David Cronenberg – A History of Violence
Chris in Cannes
Cannes Film Festival Report
15 may 2005
empireonline.co.uk



"Viggo was very deliberate and thoughtful before he chose to do this movie," points out producer Chris Bender. "He met with David a number of times. He really wanted to understand the script and the transformation his character undergoes, it was really about him falling in love with this character before he decided to do it."

A History of Violence - Cannes Film Festival 2005 Press Kit



Is it true that you almost turned down The Road?

Yes, I was very tired, and I did not want to accept the role unless I felt I was capable of giving it my best. But then I changed my mind because the story was really good and the topic is one everybody can relate to. Besides, my being exhausted fit the role perfectly. It is about a man who, in some sense, is dying of exhaustion, so the result was very interesting.

Viggo Mortensen Under The Spotlight
Selecciones Magazine
March 2009
Translated for V-W by Graciela



"We got a [Lord of the Rings] script to Viggo and his reaction was to say no! It took three more days to convince him. At the eleventh hour, Viggo Mortensen arrived in Wellington, joined the already bonded cast and stepped into filming almost as unexpectedly as his character, the mysterious and unknown Strider, appears in the story."

Executive Producer Mark Ordesky
LOTR - The Making of the Movie Trilogy
By Brian Sibley
Harper Collins
2002



"If you are both really talented and, deep down, a very core artist like Viggo, in the end you cannot swallow the bile, the bad scripts, the rest of it," says Rhys-Davies. "Eventually you just have to say, I could make this dross work, but I don't have enough time left in my life to do it. And Viggo could earn his crust with his art, so he doesn't have to stay. How long this industry will be able to keep him is up to the quality of the material. We are very lucky to have him now."

John Rhys-Davies
Viggo Trip
by Liane Bonin
Flaunt magazine #39, 2002



"For me, there was no doubt that Mortensen was going to have great career after the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. But he didn't wait for this saga to be excellent, he always made very good career choices, he always took very interesting options. Personally, I find him excellent in The Indian Runner. He is very fastidious in his choices and it is totally apparent in his roles, in a way that I admire… I wish only one thing for Viggo: that he continues to cut a path in this medium, because the medium needs actors of his caliber, who make films of course, for the public, but also for themselves, their own personal enlightening."

Elijah Wood on Viggo Mortensen
By Clément Cuyer, Allocine
14 novembre 2007



His contempt for actors who engage in superfluous acts of self-promotion… extends to actors who appear in dopey blockbuster movies, just for the paycheck. "Sometimes you look at a movie and you can see that the actor or actress said, 'I'm taking this onboard because I'm making a ton of money, and not because it's going to be something special,' " he said, sounding scandalized.

Viggo Talks and Talks
By Zoe Heller
T Magazine
2 December 2011



"I'm not in this to be famous, or to make lots and lots of money; I want every film I make to be a learning experience, something that makes me wiser and mentally healthier afterwards. If I'd signed up for the scripts I was being sent, I'd merely be wealthier, but I certainly wouldn't be healthier."

Viggo Mortensen
Long Live the King
by Paul Byrne
Wow.ie, 2004

On November 10th Viggo will be given the Alexander Garrett Award for Service to Beyond Baroque, celebrating his long association with this literary and arts centre, which was established in 1968. Not only does Viggo have a long history of live poetry readings – his own and other poets' work - and exhibitions there (One Man's Meat in 1999), but he has given unstinting support when needed. I loved director Richard Modiano's comment that, to him, Viggo is 'a poet foremost'. I think it's a great way to sum up Viggo's artistic output because poetry doesn't just have to be about words. His acting, his art, his music, his photography all has the poetic about it – a sensitive narrative of life gracefully and sensitively interpreted.



Midnight Special Benefit Poetry Reading - Beyond Baroque 2003
© HB Carlos.


"Many funding sources had dried up and I reached out to Viggo for help — which came immediately. To me Viggo is a poet foremost — I know his work from the days of Cafe Iguana and the Onyx Cafe; and of course he polished his poetry chops in the Wednesday Night Poetry Workshops."

Beyond Baroque director Richard Modiano
The Book of Viggo
By Shana Nys Dambrot
LA Weekly
1 November 2018



Most of you out there are more than likely familiar with Viggo the actor, star of films like The Indian Runner, Crimson Tide, G.I. Jane, The Reflecting Skin, and Carlito's Way among others... but we here in Bumville know him as poet and angel. Viggo has been very actively involved in the reclamation of Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center in Venice, Ca. for a few years now and has been an active voice on the L.A. poetry scene as well. When The Carma Bums kicked off their Twisted Tour of Words in '96 at Luna Park in West L.A., Viggo came to see the show and wish us all bon voyage and ultimately helped us with artistic assist of our video/film The Luxurious Tigers Of Obnoxious Agreement.

For The Carma Bums
Carma Bums
1997



'A lot of people that were here tonight said something about their writing, but were too embarrassed by it. And I'd ask them about what they write and encourage them to pursue it. People sometimes seem to feel that poetry is just this little thing you do privately, like your diary. But in reality it's something that you can work at in many ways, that you can share, that you can take as far as you like.'

Viggo Mortensen at the Midnight Special reading
A Religious Moment Where Something Might Happen
by Scott Thill
Morphizm 2002



The author of two published books of poetry, Mortensen crafts spare, fine-tuned verses that end with the sharp report of a metaphor hitting its target. Most paint a languid picture of West Coast suburban life a milieu of cars, swimming pools and lovers' conversations; some ruminate on the life of the movie actor with surprising acuity.

The Man Who Would Be King
by Nick Dent
Black & White Magazine
2001



'A teacher gave me the taste for poetry. I like the discipline it imposes, I like the reign of precision and the perfect word.'

Viggo Mortensen: "Travelling is the best anti-war weapon"
By Yetty Hagendorf - translated by Donna Marie
Le Soir (Belgium)
2 February 2015



'To write a good poem requires discipline, discretion and precision.'

Viggo Mortensen: "You must live your contradictions"
by Olivier Cariguel
Le Magazine Litteraire
March 2015



"For me, it's like taking apart an engine. You take all the pieces, you put them on a table and when you finish putting it together, you leave some of them aside."

Viggo on writing poetry
"Writing and acting are like being a kid again"
By Eduardo Bejuk
Gente Magazine – translated by Zooey
September 2009



"For me, music and poetry together mean something. When I feel something, I write. When I write, I think of a melody,"…

..he reads poems by Fabián Casas, like, for instance, "Sin llaves y a oscuras" [Without Keys and in the Dark], one by Bosnian poet Izet Sarajilic, or "Elogi de la discreció "[In Praise of Discretion], by Catalan poet Anna Rossell. With this last poem, the audience surrenders completely to the actor and applauds with great enthusiasm.

Romea Theatre poetry reading with pianist Rafel Plana
Viggo Mortensen Seduces at the Romea
By Griselda Oliver - translated by Ollie
Núvol
26 February 2015



…in my performance [at the Romea Theatre] I read recent poems or some that I wrote years ago. Every time I read them, they come out in a different way. But I always remember where and how the poem in question came to be.

"Poetry is an art that will never disappear."
By Lluis Arcalis and Teresa Marquez translated by Ollie and Zoe
El Punt Avui
1 March 2016



'He kept a lot of his poetry inside his refrigerator,' says Cervenkova, 'which endeared him to me forever.'

Exene Cervenkova
Viggo Mortensen
by Steve Pond
US Magazine #236, 1997



To Viggo, poetry is a way to leave reality behind in order to reach another, purer reality, away from those commonplace moments and the difficult situations for which there's no apparent relief. Poetry, to him, is a way to put the world into perspective.

About Them... "I like a brave woman"
By Salvador Llopart - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zooey
La Vanguardia
14 March 2010



His poetry and prose are taut and gripping - the outpourings of a genuine talent, not a bored dilettante.

Understated A-lister Viggo Mortensen tells our reporter about his new cult hit 'Captain Fantastic' - and why it's impossible to be the perfect parent
by Ed Power
Irish Independent
31 August 2016



'I don't have to wait on other people as to whether I'm allowed to work, and it's up to me if I want to ruin it in the editing.'

Viggo Mortensen on writing poetry
Viggo Mortensen
by Steve Pond
US Magazine #236, 1997



"Poetry is an art that will never disappear; it will always exist."

Poetry is an art that will never disappear
By Lluis Arcalis and Teresa Marquez translated by Ollie and Zoe
El Punt Avui
1 March 2016

I loved the comment from Thessaly La Force of the New York Times that Viggo was able to 'transmit a feeling of soul' in his films. This is the nub of it, isn't it? The reason he is so compelling on screen. A deeply aware and soulful man, he is able to bring all of that to bear on every role he plays. You can look into his character's eyes and the depths are always there, no matter who he is playing because he brings himself completely into the part. Yet somehow, he can transmute that into someone entirely other. It's kinda magic.



Image Javier Aquirresarobe.
© Dimension Films/2929 Productions.


He is, in such a superficial medium, able to transmit the feeling of a soul.

Viggo Mortensen, the Unlikely Leading Man
New York Times
By Thessaly La Force
15 October 2018



...while he's clearly driven by a need to express himself via many outlets, he still exudes a sense of some private, fundamentally unknowable core self. It permeates his screen presence, too, and is part of what makes him so intriguing as an actor.

Viggo Mortensen: Still here, still fantastic
The Film Experience
By Nathaniel Rogers
24 April 2016



Mortensen can get into his characters' skins, but also their souls, and he knows how to project a character's inner life onto the screen.

Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald
24 November 2009



Few actors can do stillness on screen with as much conviction as Viggo Mortensen. That chiselled face, turned towards a landscape or held in concentration as someone else speaks, can stand in for any amount of narrative exposition: look at any of Mortensen's characters and you know, without having to be told about it, that man's had a hell of a past.

Far From Men: Viggo Mortensen saddles up in Albert Camus' short story
by Stephanie Bunbury
Sydney Morning Herald
23 July 2015



"He's very sweet and soulful and thoughtful, but in terms of working with him as an actor, I've never seen anyone so three-dimensionally aware or involved with a production."

Interview: George MacKay
The Scotsman
7 July 2018



Mortensen is such a delicately sentient actor that nothing he does reads as pure caricature. When Ben realizes that in trying to prepare his children for everything he may have prepared them for nothing, it's as if we can see right into his crushed soul. It's also the moment he becomes most human: at some point, all kids have to learn that parents are people too.

Stephanie Zacharek: Captain Fantastic
Time
4 July 2016



Viggo steals the picture. His always fresh and relaxed expressions, with dark subtexts dancing just below the surface, never cease to astound me.

Rex Reed - Appaloosa
The New York Observer
17 September 2008



Mortensen – an intriguing man, serene and philosophical – spoke during our interview with such tender sincerity about the two characters and their unremitting and inexpressibly vital bond that it seems clear that he has invested a large but vulnerable part of his soul into his performance. I don't care that this sounds indulgent because there is something about this film, this novel, something so pure, so intrinsically human that forces one to shove aside smart-arsed scepticism and just marvel – humbled – at so crucial and compelling a message.

Dan Hollis – The Road
PureMovies.co.uk
May 2010



It's a testament to Hillcoat's obvious belief in the strength of unadorned screen acting that he, like McCarthy before him, refuses even to explain the global cataclysm that has brought his protagonists to this state. Instead he asks us to read it, mostly, in the depths of Mortensen's wide, pellucid eyes… his eyes are filled with the kind of tremulous compassion that can carry the emotional weight of an entire movie.

Kevin Maher
The Times Online
8 January 2010



Mortensen's power comes directly from his eyes. They speak much more than any line he delivers in the film and offer an astounding glimpse into the psyche of his character.

Christopher Childs – A History of Violence
Twitchfilm.net
May 31, 2005



The beating pulse of the movie comes from Bello and Mortensen, both of whom are award worthy. Viggo might have had a haircut since his middle-earth days, but he's lost none of his power. Look into his eyes, you'll see his soul.

Paul Greenwood – A History of Violence
Future Movies
29 September 2005



As with History of Violence, [Cronenberg] elicits another tour-de-force performance by Mortensen, who completely envelops his Russian low-level mobster, Nikolai. A lot is going on in this remarkable actor's body and soul, resulting in one of the year's most stunning performance.

Paul Fisher – Eastern Promises
Moviehole
9 Sept 2007



...Mortensen plays this role as if he had different blood chemistry than the rest of us. Nikolai remains eerily still until he's moved to act; then he glides forth with reptilian grace. Yet something still glows at the bottom of those half-lidded eyes - enough to suggest the cobra has a soul.

Ty Burr – Eastern Promises
Boston Globe
14 Sept 2007



"Viggo has the perfect qualities as a man and as an actor to do this part. He's got incredible depth of soul."

Nick Wechsler – The Road
Interview with Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Contender
Emmanuellevy.com
3 September 2009

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.



© MK2 Productions.


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

This week we have a musical quotable. Not only because I’ve been singing all week so music has been very much on my mind, but also because I keep thinking how nice it is that Green Book features some lovely piano playing and the fact that Viggo has a new music CD hopefully coming out sometime soon, Godzilla Sleeps Alone. So what rocks Viggo’s musical boat?



© Festival Aphonica


Viggo Mortensen talks so eloquently about the joys of getting lost that 10 minutes into the interview I'm lost as well. The actor likes cutting loose and roaming free: partly for research but also for his own enjoyment. Maybe he'll browse around some out-of-the-way bookshop, or drop in at some museum, or visit some old-time record shop and listen to the music from times gone by. Try as I might I can't drag him back on track.

"What music does your dad listen to?" he asks.

My dad? My dad likes jazz, I tell him. Old jazz, trad jazz; 30s and 40s stuff.

"Chet Baker?" says Mortensen.

Er, that's probably too late for him, I say, with a nervous eye on the clock. Now, about your new film ....

"Coltrane?" says Mortensen.

The Happy Trails Of Viggo Mortensen
By Xan Brooks
The Guardian
17 April 2009



Didn't you live in South America for about nine years as a kid?

Yeah, I was 11 when we moved back to the States. I couldn't believe the swear words, the slang, the music - all the kids were into Blue Oyster Cult and Grand Funk Railroad. I was a closet Carpenters fan. I'd sing 'Top of the World' to myself on the way to school, but when I got close to campus I'd shut up.

The Hot New 39-Year-Old
By Dennis Hensley
Movieline magazine, 1998



"I still keep a collection of old tango songs and I listen to them all the time. I also listen to some other Argentine singers of the moment."

Viggo Mortensen Goes Back To His Roots For 'Everybody Has A Plan'
Static
19 April 2013



"...I like to sing tangos every now and then, in private... I don't want to bother other people; I bother them enough with my movies."

Viggo talking about his Argentinian Childhood on Radio Cooperativa, Chile
By - transcribed/translated by Graciela
Radio Cooperativa
27 March 2007



"I love this Argentine song from the 1930s called Envidia by Ada Falcon. It's very special."

Viggo Mortensen Goes Back To His Roots For 'Everybody Has A Plan'
Static
19 April 2013



‘...music is when we all would get together [during Captain Fantastic]. That was at least once a day we'd get together, all of us. We really were jamming and laughing and talking. We'd have something to eat. Okay, let's go! And then we'd start playing. The feeling there was, There's no such thing as making a mistake. We're just playing together. We got better and better and more comfortable with each other...I thought the music was important as an initial bonding thing.’

Viggo Mortensen
'Captain Fantastic': Matt Ross, Viggo Mortensen and the perils of off-the-grid fatherhood
by Michelle Lanz
The Frame
7 July 2016



And in music, what are your essentials?

I don't know if I have essentials; the selection depends on the moment. This morning I've been listening to Ray Barretto, The Ramones, Andrés Calamaro and Janis Joplin.

Viggo Mortensen: "If I'm lost, it's because that's how I want it."
By Juan Luis Álvarez - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
La Vanguardia
9 September 2012



What kind of music do you enjoy while you are reading?

It depends what I'm reading, where, and when--and what music is on hand. No music is good sometimes, too. At moment I am listening to selected opera arias sung by Mark Reisen, the great bass voice of Russia, recorded in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Before that I was listening to Buckethead's Colma.

ForeWord Magazine.
31 October 2007



"There's a YouTube footage where we were singing outside the Belvedere [in Austria]. We used to sing a lot. That's something I do a lot of, anyway. It's like somebody will say a phrase and I'll sing the rest of the line. It's like a way to be relaxed."

What songs did he and Viggo sing? "Anything really," said Michael, "like 'Young Girl'" (by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap). He was told that the song's refrain, "Young girl, get out of my mind," was a fitting one for his characters in both "Shame" and "A Dangerous..."

"I remember Viggo and I came bursting into the makeup room and singing. Keira (Knightley) was getting her hair done. We made her and the makeup artist jump out of their skin," said Michael.

Michael Fassbender
No 'Shame' in Michael Fassbender's sex-addict role
By: Ruben V. Nepales
The Inquirer
5 January 2012



"Should I stay or should I go?", is what the famous song from the The Clash's "Combat Rock" album asks. Below I put a link to the song, in case Caruso Lombardi or any other people working for CASLA feel plagued by existential doubts before the key match against Tigre (or the two other very important matches we have left in this tournament) and they need to psych themselves. I recommend listening to the song at an excessive volume, maybe together with some mate with gin to stand the cold of the fall´s early morning."

Viggo Mortensen
"Should I stay or should I go?"
By Viggo Mortensen - translated by Ollie and Zoe
Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro
1 June 2012



What about music, what kind of music makes you happy?

It depends. I do like the Swan of Tuonela by Sibelius. Aren't swans supposed to be like geese, in that they mate for life? That's the ideal. So be careful before you kill a swan because you are probably killing a very important relationship.

Viggo Mortensen: The New Box Office King
By Jenny Ewart
Bent
January 2004



Q: How did the screen test go [For To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar]?

A: I asked if I could sing 'When I Fall in Love' a cappella, figuring if I could make that much of an ass of myself I'd be less embarrassed saying the dialogue.

The Hot New 39-Year-Old
By Dennis Hensley
Movieline magazine
August 1998



We break up; collect nicely all out stuff, all orange peelings, bottle tops, and plastic glasses, and head back to his car, a Dodge Ram 2.500 pick-up diesel. On the dashboard lies dried flowers and what seems to be an Indian rosary, in the CD player is fusion music (new age and jazz), and Viggo Mortensen puts on a classic ranger hat. He seems to be very much at ease, as he sits here well above the driving lane and like a pinball navigates us through the brutal traffic.

Viggo from Hollywood
By Poul Hoi
M/S (Danish magazine)
August 2001



"Like others who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, I took an interest in not only Kerouac, but also in what supposedly inspired them - apart from literature - during those post-war decades: the jazz figures (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk?), painting (Abstract Expressionism), and movies (Italian Neorealism, Nouvelle Vague, etc.)."

Viggo Mortensen: Furrowed Burroughs
By Aureliano Tonet - translated by Anita Conrade
Trois Couleurs
May 2012



Rain is the universal music - along with the contribution of the wind through a forest or punishing an open window, the roar of the rivers, the sea.

Viggo Mortensen
If The Rain Gets Here
By Viggo Mortensen and Fabián Casas - translated by Ollie and Zoe
Sobrevueloscuervos.com
9 October 2014

A lovely comment by Peter Farrelly in Screen Daily got me thinking about all the Directors Viggo has worked with, how deep the collaborations have become and how complete their faith in him is. Is there a Director out there who doesn't want the chance to work with Viggo? I'm betting not…



© Getty Images


"He's Viggo Mortensen…it didn't even occur to me that he couldn't pull it off. I wasn't hoping he could do it, I knew he could do it."

Peter Farrelly – Green Book
Peter Farrelly, Viggo Mortensen talk 'Green Book' at Zurich opening
By Wendy Mitchell
Screen Daily
28 September 2018



'Viggo demonstrates the aspirations of the movie, what kind of movie are you hoping to make, and for me, I can have no better faith than in Viggo Mortensen.'

Matt Ross – Captain Fantastic
Captain Fantastic: Viggo Mortensen and Matt Ross Interview
Jason Gorber
Dorkshelf.com
14 July 2016



'I had dreamed of bringing Viggo Mortensen on board; his singularity made him the perfect fit for the role.'

David Oelhoffen – Far from Men
labiennale.org
21 August 2014



'Viggo is directed by himself, doesn´t need my help; he is an amazing actor, a unique person, a dream producer… I was very lucky that he liked the story.'

Lisandro Alonso - Jauja
Nueva voz: Lisandro Alonso y el cine de los hombres solos
El Deber
28 December 2013



"He was incredibly gracious and generous… He became almost like a partner, sort of a patron saint to the whole movie."

Hossein Amini – Two Faces of January
New director turns to an old favorite, '2 Faces of January'
By Pam Grady
San Francisco Chronicle
1 October 2014



What was it that drew you to Viggo. Why was he right for the role?

I think he one of the best actors in the world.

Ana Piterbarg - Todos Tenemos Un Plan
Ana Piterbarg talks Tigre and Viggo with The Fan Carpet's Holly Patrick for Everybody Has a Plan at the 56th LFF
By Holly Patrick
Fancarpet
20 October 2012



'I wanted to show another Freud, not the strict looking grandfather we all know, but someone in his fifties who, it's said, was handsome, funny and charismatic. How was I not to think of Viggo?'

David Cronenberg – A Dangerous Method
David Cronenberg: "Nunca he ido a terapia, pero me parece una situación fascinante"
Rafa Vidiella
20minutos.es
3 November 2011



'He is able to reflect struggle without even speaking, and I knew we needed someone who would not hold back.'

John Hillcoat – The Road
No Country for Any man
Telegraph Magazine
January 2010



"I wanted the guy who I could ride next to on a horse for ten hours and never say a word and feel totally comfortable, and I figured he'd be the guy. He's the only man I wanted to play the role."

Ed Harris - Appaloosa
TIFF: Riding Into Appaloosa with Ed Harrs, Renee Zellweger, Viggo Mortensen, and Jeremy Irons
By Jordan Riefe
The Dead Bolt
13 September 2008



Q: Aren't you scared to work with an actor like Viggo?

A: Of course, I'm scared. I'm anxious. I'm looking forward to it. I'd love to start it right now.

Vicente Amorim – Good
Rede CBN radio interview
3 June 2006
Translated by Claudia



'….you get an immense resource when you get Viggo.'

David Cronenberg – Eastern Promises
by Quint
Aintitcool.com
18 December 2007



"...he's got the age, professionalism, look, body and he's one of the few action heroes in modern cinema."

Agustín Diaz-Yanes- Alatriste
Viggo Mortensen Will Be A Splendid Captain
by Gontzal Díez
The Truth of Murcail
19 February 2004



"Viggo has the charisma of a leading man, and the eccentricity and naturalistic presence of a character actor. He's the kind of actor I love."

David Cronenberg – A History of Violence
History Teacher, by Missy Schwartz
Entertainment Weekly
19 August 2005



'I hadn't seen the first Lord of the Rings before we cast him, but I figured anybody that could sell blouses to Diane Lane out of a truck could do anything.'

Joe Johnston - Hidalgo
Staci Layne Wilson
American Western Magazine
March 2004



'Ultimately, you create your own luck. Fate does step in. When we ended up with Viggo, fate was dealing us a very kind hand. Viggo, in hindsight, was the one person who was perfect for this film. He came out of nowhere, and suddenly there was Aragorn.'

Peter Jackson - LOTR Trilogy
The Lord of the Rings: The Untold Story
By Ian Nathan
Empire
December 2004

Well – this has been an exciting week in Viggodom with Green Book winning TIFF's Grolsch People's Choice Award, something that caught pundits well-and-truly unawares. Now there is some serious Oscar talk and Universal are intending to 'promote the hell out of it'. That's got the champagne corks popping in the V-W backroom! In case you have missed the best of the best, here is a compilation of the must read quotes and reviews from the week.



© Universal.


"I'm still reeling over the response to the film, so this is just incredible. Thanks so much to the festival: I was truly honoured just to be accepted into it, but to actually win is beyond my wildest dreams. Now I see why everyone says the audiences in Toronto are the best in the world."

Peter Farrelly
CBC
16 September 2018



Green Book, as predicted by Kris Tapley, has taken the People's Choice Audience Award at Toronto… One thing that is definitely possible is that Viggo Mortensen could finally win an Oscar he's a bit overdue for now. The history of this kind of award often does lead to acting wins – like Three Billboards, La La Land, Room, Silver Linings, King's Speech, 12 Years a Slave, etc. In almost every case, the winner or even runner up of these awards wins an acting prize. So this could be Viggo's year at last.

Viggo Mortensen Becomes Best Actor Frontrunner as Green Book Wins People's Choice Award in Toronto
By Sasha Stone
Awards Daily
17 September 2018



Universal has confirmation that their confidence in Green Book is not unwarranted. Studio marketers think they have a Blind Side: a populist mainstream commercial movie that also plays well for the Academy…The studio will give Green Book the full-tilt push now, for the win. And while the movie's comedic trailer did not put it on Oscar pundits radars, it is now. Enhanced coverage will follow.

'Green Book' Gets Oscar Boost from Winning TIFF Audience Award: Here's Why
By Anne Thompson
Indie Wire
17 September 2018



Best Actor in a Leading Role: I see Green Book getting both Viggo and Mahershala in. Think about it this way: Viggo received a nomination (well deserved, by the way) for Captain Fantastic, a massively overlooked film until it bounced back for awards season. If Viggo can get nominated for that, he should have no problem getting his third acting nod for Green Book.

2019 Oscars at a Glance: Second Oscar Nomination Predictions
By Chancey Plagman
Culture Vultures
21 September 2018



Green Book… made its world premiere at TIFF and gained momentum as critical raves and word of mouth spread from screenings that had audiences applauding multiple times throughout the film. "'Green Book' just surprised everybody and came out of the woodwork," said festival director and CEO Piers Handling
"I think it was smart because they came in and it wasn't over-hyped, it just snuck in under the radar."

Handling said he thinks "Green Book" struck a chord because of its "smart" blend of top-notch acting and compelling story that speaks to contemporary issues.
"I think the film was just so well-told, it's witty, it's funny, but it's also about what's going on right now in our society," Handling said.

'Green Book' wins People's Choice Award at Toronto International Film Festival
By Victoria Ahearn
Toronto Star
16 September 2018



Going into a festival, you think you know what all the big movies will be, but really, you have no idea. Case in point: Green Book. Peter Farrelly's solo debut, the real-life tale of a white bodyguard and a black musician traveling across the Jim Crow South, didn't exactly come out of nowhere, but it didn't have anything close to the pre-festival buzz of a Star is Born, Roma, or Beale Street. Green Book screened later in the festival, when many journalists had already flown back home, and it was not high on either of our priority lists. But those who did make it to the premiere came out raving about the performances of Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, and the movie eventually won Tiff's People's Choice Award a reliable harbinger of a Best Picture nomination. Next time I'm thinking of skipping a screening, I'll think of Green Book, and shudder in despair.

The Winners, Losers, and Surprises of the Toronto Film Festival
By Nate Jones
Vulture.com
17 September 2018



Peter Farrelly's Green Book, which surprised everyone when it won in Toronto, is the kind of movie the gives back more than it takes. It's the kind of thing you didn't know you were missing until the credits roll… Mortensen is unrecognizable as Tony Lip. As impressed as I've been with his ability to disappear into roles, he's never delivered such a fully realized character as this. There isn't a moment in the entire film where you remember it's an actor playing a part. He IS Tony Lip. Every throwaway glance, every wipe of his mouth, every cigarette smoked, every look, every laugh — all of it readable on his face. For all of Mortensen's gifts in shapeshifting, he has never quite been able to create such an intimate dialogue with the viewer as he does here. If he judged Tony too harshly, he could never have played him with so much innate humanity. Tony means well. He hasn't been taught well, but he means well and where I come from that counts for a lot

Green Book – One of the Best Films of the Year and a Career High for the Shape Shifter that is Viggo Mortensen
By Sasha Stone
Awards Daily
20 September 2018



Peter Farrelly knows how to hit his audience right in the feels as both a co-writer and director, but he's also a playful enough filmmaker to prevent Green Room from becoming a dreary and sentimental slog. The film is funny, very funny. It's also very moving. That's a crowd-pleasing combo and the movie is guaranteed to please plenty of crowds this awards season... Mortensen dons a cartoonishly amusing accent (one that'll sound a little familiar to fans of Carlito's Way) and leans into the comedic exaggeration of his character. However, he finds dignity and heart at the core and transitions from silly punchline to warm family man and threatening presence with such ease that it's stunning.

TIFF Journal: Green Book
Phillip Brown
The Bonus Review
20 September 2018



The coupling of the two polar opposites (think The Odd Couple) is fascinating to watch. There isn't a wasted second in this perfectly told, shot (Sean Porter), edited (Patrick J. Don Vito), scored (Kris Bowers) and directed drama/comedy. Mortensen strikes the right balance of Italian bravura and class clown. Robert DeNiro must be envious; this is the kind of role he'd eat for lunch. Linda Cardellini as Tony's more accepting wife is pitch perfect. Mahershala Ali switches gears with ease from playing a hardened drug dealer in Moonlight to portraying a refined artist with great dignity and many secrets in this heart-warming crowd-pleaser. Expect Oscar nominations for the film, actors, director and screenplay. After all, Green Book won TIFF's prestigious 2018 Grolsch People's Choice Award, an award voted on by festival goers.

Dwight Brown
dwightbrownink.com
18 September 2018



Tony is written as the stereotypical mob-connected Italian-American New Yorker, and I'd take it almost like a caricature if it weren't written by his own son. It the hands of a lesser actor it would be easy for this character to come across as a joke, but Viggo Mortensen gives him some depth. Since he often plays serious, violent guys, it is fun to see him here in a more playful role.

Andy Howell
Film Threat
18 September 2018



Farrelly manages to respect the severity of the characters' social context while ensuring that Green Book never steps outside its protagonists' relationship, a delicate balancing act that credibly makes a feel-good, effervescent comedy out of its thorny subject matter without ever sanitizing it.

Jake Cole
Slant Magazine
16 September 2018



…there's never any doubt where Green Book is heading, and director Farrelly – who shares script credit with Tony's son Nick and Brian Hayes Currie – makes sure it gets there as smoothly as possible. And while I suspect he simply got out of Mortensen and Ali's way and let them figure out their chemistry and their timing on their own, that's the smartest thing he could have done.

It's a pleasure to watch them electrify this movie, and each other.

Norman Wilner
Now Toronto
14 September 2018



While the film does deal with some weighty topics, Farrelly manages to keep it light and entertaining. I cannot begin to put into words how refreshing it is to watch a buddy comedy that along with being funny somehow manages to embrace difficult themes such as racism and homosexuality without coming across as heavy-handed or depressing. Green Book is the type of film that studios don't make anymore. There hasn't been a film like this in such a long time that it makes Green Book feel wonderfully unique on top of it being the feel-great film of the year… Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are perfect together, and I can see Green Book becoming one of the biggest box office successes of the fall movie season.

Scott Menzel
weliveentertainment.com
16 September 2018



People tend to use 'feel‐good movie' as a pejorative, but this movie really does just make you feel good. It's breezy and accessible, it has a lot of love for its characters, and it ultimately offers a message of hope in the face of prejudice. For some reason, that sort of thing isn't so fashionable these days. But the 2,000 TIFF viewers who gave Green Book a standing ovation were having too good of a time to care.

TIFF 2018: Green Book
By Ryan Falconer
The Varsity
17 September 2018

This week has seen a hugely positive reaction in the Press to Farrelly's Green Book after its premier at the Toronto Film Festival. In case you might have missed any goodies, here is a little round-up of the best reviews and comments! Enjoy...



© Universal.


The Elgin theatre audience exploded in cheers and whoo-whoo applause when a showing of Peter Farrelly''s Green Book ended late Tuesday night. I'm not talking about expressions of warmth and respect — I'm talking about instant kapow, instant "yes!" No other Toronto Film Festival screening I've attended has generated this kind of love, alpha vibes and excitement.

Hollywood Elsewhere
11 September 2018



The 130-minute running time of the film flashes by in heartbeat, and as the final moments arrive, you wish for the film never to end.

Paul Heath
The Hollywood News
14 September 2018



"I don't know if there are two better actors in the same movie this year," said Farrelly. "Viggo and Mahershala are at the top of their game. You can't believe how lucky you are.

Director Peter Farrelly
TIFF: 'Green Book' stars have amazing chemistry
By Jane Stevenson
12 September 2018



Now this is a wonderful film. So wonderful… Mortensen transforms entirely, and Ali matches him with his wit, and grace, and humility.

Alex Billington
FirstShowing.net
12 September 2018



Green Book is a road movie, a buddy comedy and a prestige studio release all at once. You will know every beat as it happens; you will almost be able to mouth the dialogue along with the characters. But none of that matters because you get to watch Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali exist together, from one moment to the next, giving performances so textured and alive that they knock Peter Farrelly's movie from "pretty good" to "goddamn transcendent."

Norman Wilmer
Now Magazine
13 September 2018



… packing on 30 pounds to play a good old boy from the Bronx, Viggo gets a laugh every time he opens his mouth — always for one of two purposes: either to hustle whoever's listening into giving him what he wants (hence his nickname, "Tony Lip") or else to stuff food inside it (he seems to spend half the movie eating, whether it's engaging in hot dog-eating contests at the local diner or alone in his hotel room, folding a pizza in half for a late-night snack). We seldom get to see Mortensen in comic roles, but his goofy, sideways smile seems perfectly suited to this one, making it hard — even when he's saying things that are nowhere near politically correct — to dislike the guy for long.

Peter Debruge
Variety
11 September 2018



…it charmingly evokes laughs and tears in all the right places, thanks in no small part to the original screenplay by Tony Lip's son Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie and Farrelly, but more than anything to the winning performances by Mortensen and Ali, two of the most versatile and likable actors in the biz, who are perfectly cast in this film.

Scott Feinberg
The Hollywood Reporter
12 September 2018



Proving that he can blend in with virtually any material at his disposal, Viggo Mortensen adds another notch to his chameloenesque abilities as the streetwise Frank Anthony Vallelonga, who prefers the casual monicker Tony Lip… Mortensen inhabits the character with a kind of authenticity that endows some of the more heavy-handed showdowns with surprising depth (particularly in a monologue where he tells Ali, "I'm blacker than you are")

Eric Kohn
IndieWire
11 September 2018



Mortensen has the flamboyant role and makes the most of it, turning Tony into a gruff, gluttonous bonehead with a big heart and a thick accent. It's a deliciously oversized performance, though Mortensen also nails unexpectedly quiet moments, notably one where he learns something new and potentially shocking about his boss and simply mutters, "I've been working nightclubs in New York City my whole life. I know it's a … complicated world."

Steve Pond
The Wrap
11 September 2018



Mortensen's role may be the showier of the two, but Ali is a marvel to watch in his musical performances. The actor suggests Eddie Murphy in "Coming to America" crossed with the composure Adrien Brody brought to "The Pianist," where performing serves as a way to communicate across cultural differences, and also to redirect the frustration of all the ways he has been mistreated.

Peter Debruge
Variety
11 September 2018



Farrelly puts his actors in front of the camera armed with a tight script, but this picture sinks or swims based on the chemistry between its two leads. And fortunately for viewers, Mortensen and Ali couldn't turn in better work. They're two supremely talented dramatic actors, and their performances here scream out, "Oh we got jokes too!"

Victor Stiff
The Playlist
12 September 2018



The entire film relies heavily on the relationship and chemistry between Dr. Shirley and Tony. Mahershala and Viggo have spectacular chemistry with one another. The combination of Mahershala's seriousness and Viggo's rude humor and mannerisms make for some hilarious moments throughout the film. Coming from director Peter Farrelly, who is best known for movies such as Dumb and Dumber, There's Something About Mary, and Shallow Hal, the humor in the film is perfectly executed.

Ashley Menzel
Weliveentertainment
12 September 2018



Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortenson both deserve Best Actor nominations; Viggo brings real depth to the role of an Italian-American that could have easily delved into caricature; Ditto Mahershala Ali who seems to be, at least on-screen, maybe in real-life as well, a piano virtuoso -- his character is filled with restraint and the inner fight to sustain his dignity amidst the racial intolerance at hand.

Jordan Ruimy
WorldofReel.com
12 September 2018



It's fun to see Mortensen go all in with what could have gone disastrously: a full-blooded comic character, complete with a gut and a thick Italian-American accent. He's better than the trailer suggests, the performance feeling less like an impression and more like the lived-in portrayal of a larger-than-life man.

Benjamin Lee
The Guardian
12 September 2018



Lip is a terrific character for Mortensen to sink his teeth into. Rarely has he seemed to be having more fun, displaying a flair for comedy as the streetwise Lip finds himself plunged into Shirley's arty-world, which includes an apartment above Carnegie Hall decorated in African art.

Chris Bumbray
JoBlo.com
12 September 2018



Suffice to say, I am unabashedly recommending Green Book to anyone who has wants to see one of the best films of the year. It checks all the boxes. Mortensen and Ali are terrific, so, don't be stunned if both get nominations come award season. Make no mistake: This is a big crowd-pleaser. Imagine, if you will, the best elements of, say, Driving Miss Daisy and Hidden Figures, with some well-placed laughs and unexpected tears added for a bit of much-needed spice.

George Prentice
Boise Weekly
14 September 2018



Expect a groundswell of awards support for Mortensen in the lead actor category and Ali in the supporting actor category that he won just two seasons ago for Moonlight — and maybe even for best picture, too.

Scott Feinberg
The Hollywood Reporter
12 September 2018



Green Book is another ace in the hole that should prove to be a major audience favourite, boding well for its mainstream release via Universal…

… One final note - I saw this movie at a TIFF press screening halfway through the fest. At this point, journalists are cranky and tend to be harder on the movies they're watching as they're going on very little sleep and have already seen so many good movies that by this point it's hard for anything to stand out. Not so with GREEN BOOK. The audience roared with laughter throughout and gave it the strongest round of applause I've heard outside of A STAR IS BORN. To me, this is a sure sign that the movie works for even the most cynical audiences, and I predict it'll be a major sleeper hit in the months ahead. It's a charmer.

Chris Bumbray
JoBlo.com
12 September 2018

In a recent Quotable we read how habits and rituals, and his faithful Bombilla of maté, all serve to make Viggo feel at home no matter where he is in the world. It's not surprising he needs anchors because he is a man who travels a lot. When Green Book promotion starts in earnest this month, so will all those endless plane journeys and hotel rooms, because we know he will be utterly dedicated to giving all the work everyone has put into the film the attention it deserves.



ROTK Wellington, NZ World Premiere
© Unknown.


The actor explains why he always behaves the same way, no matter where he is in the world. "In this business you're travelling half the time. Sometimes I feel like a world traveller who doesn't know where he'll sleep the next day. I am exaggerating a little, but I do value my habits, so I can quickly feel at home. If I don't, it takes me too long to adapt to strange surroundings. That's very important for an actor. That way he can more quickly concentrate on his role."

Viggo Mortensen Goes To Bed With A Shotgun
By - translated by Airwin
Algemeen Dagblad
27 April 2009



I put the Cuervo flag in my backpack, next to that of Real Madrid and the Montreal Canadians, others that I usually hang wherever I travel for work. An old habit, superstitious things.

The Past Is In Everything
By Viggo Mortensen and Fabián Casas - translated by Ollie and Zoe
Sobrevueloscuervos.com
19 August 2014



'Since I grew up travelling a lot, flying is almost like being at home for me, and a plane is like my second mother.... I continue to enjoy watching people from everywhere walking through the terminals, waiting, looking for their gates - each person with their own destination, their dreams, their belongings, their preoccupations. And being in the sky during those hours when you feel as though you've escaped from linear time always seemed like an opportunity for reflection to me.'

Viggo Mortensen
Knowing How To Travel
By Viggo Mortensen and Fabián Casas - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Sobrevueloscuervos.com
30 March 2013



We human beings probably were not the first to see holes in the sky, to suppose that all that open space might be empty space. I am, however, the only person I know who has ever flown in seat 6-F of Iberia Flight 3166 at 18:58 hours Greenwich Mean Time, on the 27th June 2005, heading west by northwest over the English Channel, nearing Portsmouth. At approximately 30,000 feet we are invisible to the naked human eye watching from the ground, perceiving us as blue nothing.

Madrid to London to Connect to New York
By Viggo Mortensen
I Forget You For Ever
2006



'I have to tell you...what an awful combination it is to have a US passport and a Buenos Aires accent when you arrive at the Chile airport. A pretty long delay... my friends that had Spanish passports had already gone through (customs), and they were waiting... and the guy kept checking, very kindly, but he wasn't letting me go anywhere, and he talks to me in a pretty tortured English, and so I tell him: "I speak Spanish, you can talk to me in Spanish". And so he gave me a long look, and then I realized I had f***** up, really, because the combination of the accent and the passport... I was going straight to jail, or so it looked. And so another customs officer comes and says, "No, no, he is the Lord of the Rings", and so..."Welcome to Chile" and (pam, pam - sound of passport getting stamped) "Here you go...go ahead".'

Viggo on Radio Cooperativa, Chile
By - transcribed/translated by Graciela
Radio Cooperativa
27 March 2007



"We picked him up at the airport one time, and he wasn't wearing shoes. I still have no idea how he got through the airport barefoot."

Fran Walsh
On 'The Road' And Off, Viggo Mortensen Walks The Walk
By Scott Bowles
USA Today
3 December 2009



Your face is on the side of an Air New Zealand plane - that must be pretty surreal.

I know, it's scary.

Our Kiss Was Just a kiss
by John Millar
Hot Stars
27 March 2004



Viggo Mortensen stacks his case and suit protector neatly in the corner of the room. The precision of the movement is entirely in keeping with an angular formation of razor cheekbones and sharp suit. We probably shouldn't be surprised the Danish-American-Argentine has this travelling thing down.

The Mad Men
Tara Brady
The Irish Times
10 February 2012



'You know, they have nice beds in this hotel. It's a nice change once in a while. Just like TV. I don't watch TV at home, but when I come to the hotel, it's like, all these pillows and TV! And it's like, this is great! God, why didn't I do this before, but every time, it lasts about 15 minutes before I get bored and switch off the TV.'

Viggo Mortensen
A Sense of Finality
By Markus Tschiedert
Green Cine, 2003



The weekends in the Congress Hotel are pandemonium, with the noise from the concerts and the bar in the old lobby… That´s why I didn´t sleep well, and also because in my mind, I´m still a little bit in the Northeast of the country where two days ago I was excavating my rented car that was covered with more than a meter of fresh snow so I could get to the airport where my flight to New York was leaving. I went from -26 degrees centigrade to 35 [tr. note: -15 to 95 F] here in the desert of the Southwest. From the cold night by the frozen Saint Lawrence river that marks the border with Canada to the clear dawn of the Sonoran Desert, a shot away from Mexico.

The Origin of Myths
By Viggo Mortensen and Fabián Casas - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Sobrevueloscuervos.com
18 March 2014



He... presents me with two large chocolate squares, one wrapped in pink paper that has a handwritten "Venezuela" on it, and another in orange paper that has a handwritten "Indonesia".

I am not sure whether he handwrapped them himself or whether they came from a hand-wrapped chocolate shop. I imagine him travelling the world with a suitcase of wrapped chocolates.

Sympathy for the devil
By Chrissy Iley
The Observer
19 April 2009



"I never stopped traveling through countries and characters; this is my job."

Viggo Mortensen
By Simona Coppa - translated by Ollie
Grazia
9 October 2012



One day, in Tehran, I see a tourist bus parked in front of my hotel. The name written on the side of the bus, I forget you forever, intrigues me. Isn't that a strange name for a transport company? It became the title of one of my books of poems and travel photos...'

Viggo Mortensen: "You must live your contradictions"
by Olivier Cariguel
Le Magazine Litteraire
March 2015



I've been on hundreds of planes, spent thousands of hours between times and places. We will land, and I won't be done writing about this and maybe other things.

Madrid to London to Connect to New York
By Viggo Mortensen
I Forget You For Ever
2006

Not long now! Green Book is premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and the promotional hoopla will start again, filling our pages at V-W with wall to wall excitement. Time for some thoughts on movies and acting – the process, the teamwork, the feelings when the work has ended from the man who admits that he’s ‘not cut out for the glamour side of the business’.



© Universal.


“I’m sort of old-fashioned in that I don’t think a movie is fully realized until people have paid a few bucks to go into a room and sit down together, with strangers,” he said. “I think there’s something about that that’s different. You can sort of simulate that in your house, but there’s something about the movie house, the movie theater, that I think is valuable. I hope it never completely goes away.”

How Viggo Mortensen learned to be captain of 6 kids onscreen
Moira Macdonald
Seattle Times
8 July 2016



"The camera's your friend," he said. "But it's like this person that's there that doesn't talk. But they have really good eyesight! So you should be on your toes. It's this mute, hawkeyed friend that doesn't know how to keep a secret," he laughed. "I'm not afraid of it," he added.

Viggo Mortensen: Making peace with the camera
By Tracy Smith
CBS
11 December 2016



‘There’s no better thing as I’m concerned in my profession than to be called reliable. Sounds boring, but if someone can count on you to do a job well, or as best that you can, that’s what I strive for…’

Let’s Get Viggo’d at The Coolidge
by Megan Johnson
Boston Herald Blog
6 March 2012



"When it works, acting is the easiest and most fun job in the world. When everything goes wrong, it can become the most embarrassing and humiliating. And there, unfortunately, no one can help you."

By Simona Coppa - translated by Ollie
Grazia
9 October 2012



‘Films are teamwork and there are actors who don't mind saying that the film was a piece of shit but I was just fine. I don't like that. If the film doesn't work, there's nothing. It's like saying, I'm the top scorer, but my team didn't make it to the final.’

Viggo Mortensen
River Mortensen
By Ramón Raboiras - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Esquire
September 2012



“Some actors say that the best way to reach intensity is to stay fresh by not rehearsing, but I don't agree with that. I think being in control is much better: you understand the story, the surroundings, the scene, what went on before and so, if the dialogue suddenly changes because the script is rewritten or the other actor has made a mistake, you keep on acting in character. And, although sometimes you can be out of control, I don´t think that´s the way it has always to be. If anything unexpected happens you need to be ready to do something.”

Viggo Mortensen Interview
By Gloria Scola - translated by Ollie, Remolina, Rio and Sage
Pantalla Semanal
5 February 2010



'I’ve never been offered comedy and don’t know why. But sometimes I subtly slip ironic touches into my roles.'

Viggo Mortensen
A Multi-talented Hero
Dominical, by J. A. - translated for V-W by NacidaLibre
27 August 2006



'Working with fantasy is, in a certain way, a childish activity. However, 'it's childish behavior' is often said in a pejorative way. How many times have we heard that phrase? I think that it's something that doesn't have to be negative. Childish behavior? Yes, thanks! Me, I'm really interested in going to that extreme. Perhaps other actors aren't.’

Viggo Mortensen
River Mortensen
By Ramón Raboiras - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Esquire
September 2012



Yesterday, as we finished our filming, I was overcome by a strange feeling of loss, this emptiness you speak about. It´s normal when plays or the shooting of a film come to an end; the work of the group is over and you are left alone in the night while the process of telling disappears as if it had never taken place.

Viggo Mortensen
The Rigors of Fate
By Viggo Mortensen and Fabián Casas - translated by Ollie and Zoe
Sobrevueloscuervos.com
4 June 2013



"I don't think I'm quite cut out for the glamour side of this business," says the 45-year old, Manhattan-born actor. "I enjoy the working process more than the hoopla that comes once a film is released. For me, it's all about the making of the art itself - whether it's films, or music, or painting, or whatever. Once it's done, I'd just rather move on."

Viggo Mortensen
Long Live the King
by Paul Byrne
Wow.ie 2004



Which has been your favorite role in the films you've worked on?

It's like choosing a child. Or a brother. Or more accurately, a favorite foot or hand. The truth is that all the roles I've played have taught me something.

Encounters - Direct Response from Viggo Mortensen
By - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
El Mundo
21 April 2015



"Look, you hope the movie turns out well, you want people to see it, but that, or awards, or anything like that — it's kind of a crapshoot," he says. "You put it out there, you promote it, but I can't predict what you or anyone else is going to think of it. I just know if it's a story I want to tell. And, maybe this sounds selfish, but however it turns out, I've still had the great experience of researching it, and studying it, and doing it, and that's the most valuable thing to me. Because that knowledge I've gained — that's something I keep. That's mine."

Viggo Mortensen on 'Two Faces of January,' LOTR and what his movies teach him
By Stephen Whitty
The Star-Ledger
21 September 2014



'My best movies, I look at them years later and think, 'I was kind of another person then.' At certain points, it's beyond you. It transports you. That's the magical thing about telling stories in movies, and even going to movies; there's something else that happens. You hope. Because you want to be transported. You want to come out feeling different.'

Viggo Mortensen
On the Road, signs of the apocalypse hit home
Johanna Schneller
Globe and Mail
27 November 2009

When it comes to Viggo's acting, less is definitely more. He can give us a character's whole life-story with just a look, with the smallest of gestures, something that film critics constantly remark on in his performances. As Michael Rechtshaffen comments below - he can convey volumes in virtual silence.



© New Line Productions Inc.


…..keep your eyes on Mortensen. You could make an entire movie about the way that guy just stands in a room and quietly scans the atmosphere for even the slightest molecular disturbance.

By Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
6 Sept 2007



Viggo Mortensen is not about the words. He's about being... present. .......
......Mortensen's an actor I'm content just to watch: Those riven cheeks, taut against blade-sharp cheekbones, features that gift golden hour. He quietly inhabits the role of Frank Hopkins....

Hidalgo
Ray Pride
Movie City News
4 March 2004



...Holding one's body still in front of a movie camera while also giving the sense of a mind in motion is a specialized art, one with few masters. Paul Newman comes to mind, notably in his later career, as does Robert Duvall, a perennial movie cowboy who will surely wish that Appaloosa had come his way. And now, it would seem, there is Mortensen, who steals this film by doing nothing much more than lean against doorways and bar counters.

Appaloosa
Chuck Wilson
Village Voice
17 Septenber 2008



Mortensen shows his character's rage and capacity for violence in subtle fashion, simply by the sudden way he will clench his fist or frown.....

Two Faces of January
Geoffrey MacNab
The Independent
15 May 2014



The scene opens charmingly with Frank and the pregnant Dorothy canoodling at home. Frank has a hand on Dorothy's bump, and is talking softly to the baby inside. Seeing the affection between the parents-to-be is reassuring, not least because we see the volatile Frank smiling and relaxed, apparently in a playful mood. Then he suggests fiddling with the hydraulics.

Arquette is perfectly cast, her natural aura of gentle goodness and purity making what follows all the more horrific to watch. At Dorothy's admonishment- "Frank don't talk like that!" - Frank switches. If we weren't so caught up in the film itself, we would be in awe of Mortensen's skill here. His acting is breathtaking, as he builds from disappointment through hurt to a mean sarcasm - "Did I say the wrong thing?"

The Indian Runner
Rowan Righelato
The Guardian
27 September 2013



A single close-up upon realization of his daughter's disappearance and the quest it will entail becomes a tender conduit, a portraiture of a historical human that is unspeakably, indefinably beautiful.

Jauja
Daniel Kasman
Mubi.com
21 May 2014



Every now and then, a movie comes along that plays out almost entirely on a gifted actor's face; you feel as if you could watch the whole thing in quiet close-up, and catch every nuance of the story… Early on, watch that handsomely etched face; on it, flickering, is Ben's fierce love for his children, his stubbornness, his patience, his self-righteousness that's tempered — just a bit — by affection. And, later, see how it falls, like a seemingly immovable rock suddenly tumbling down a mountainside, when he realizes something rare for him: He has, perhaps, been wrong.

Captain Fantastic
Moira Macdonald
Seattle Times
14 July 2016



The scene which confirms the truth is a masterclass in understatement - it's a shot rather than a scene, the merest flicker on Mortensen's face, but you couldn't say it wasn't dynamite. The actor nailed it on his first stab; Cronenberg knew instantly that there was no need for take two.

A History of Violence
On Viggo Mortensen
By Ryan Gilbey
Filminfocus.com
4 December 2007



Mortensen's power comes directly from his eyes. They speak much more than any line he delivers in the film and offer an astounding glimpse into the psyche of his character.

A History of Violence
Christopher Childs
Twitchfilm.net
May 31, 2005



Mortensen, who possesses the sort of face that conveys volumes in virtual silence…

Loin Des Hommes
Michael Rechtshaffen
LA Times
1 May 2015



He is one of the few actors who can tell a story with his eyes, and these are eyes so full of pain. It is the best kind of acting, pure and honest.

The Road
John Foote
In Contention
15 September 2009



In a performance of tremendous power and impressive subtlety, Mortensen employs eerie stillness to rivet the audience's attention and send chills down its collective spine.

Eastern Promises
Soren Anderson
The News Tribune
21 Sept 2007



He's the only character who keeps us guessing throughout, and he manages to steal every scene he appears in by slyly underplaying the role.

A Perfect Murder
Judge Clark Douglas
DVD Verdict
12 June 2012



Mortensen is predictably fantastic. That dude can say 5 different things with his face in one ten second take..

Quint
Ain't it Cool News
8 September 2008

Here are the answers to last week's early film quiz. Did you know in which film Viggo sported a 'mullet'? Or where he channeled a 'James Dean vibe'? Did you get many of them right?



© Hollywood Pictures/Trap-Two-Zero.

GI Jane:

Mortensen… has rarely looked so sleek, appealing and ready to play romantic leads as he does this time, gleaming out from behind a clipped mustache and a dangerous attitude. This ought to launch his career into the highest spheres.

Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner
22 August 1997


The Prophecy:

He even manages the tricky balance of being horrible and seductive enough to slip you out of your soul… Plus, he manages it in a mullet.

Stars in Rewind: Viggo Mortensen in 'The Prophecy'
by Elisabeth Rappe
Cinematical
12 October 2009


The Indian Runner:

…a magnetic actor capable of both scary outbursts and eerie, reptilian calm.

Janet Maslin
New York Times
20 September 1991


The Passion of Darkly Noon:

…his silent actions are evidence that this actor is not one who doesn't need lines to act the role of his career. To a lesser-talented actor, this restriction might have resulted in a poor performance but does not.

"The Passion of Darkly Noon" Review
By Russell Hill
WILDsound


A Walk on the Moon:

…played with silky eroticism by Viggo Mortensen.

Janet Maslin
New York Times
March 26, 1999


Daylight:

Viggo Mortensen in a pre-Rings role, sporting a profoundly ridiculous blond weave, though still giving the film's best performance by miles…

Shaun Munro
BluRay review
Obsessed with Film
Feb 2011


A Perfect Murder:

But Viggo Mortensen, well heck, now there's an actor with some bite!! If you have yet to hear much about this man, open your ears, and listen wide. This guy can act...and act well goddammit! … certainly a force to reckon for all great future character roles. Watch for him...he's hot!

Berge Garabedian
Joblo.com
November 2, 1998


Carlito's Way:

Viggo Mortensen, in a small role, manages to steal a scene… without ever getting out of his chair.

Ken Dubois Ultimate Edition DVD Review
Reel.com
October 2005


American Yakuza:

I'd recommend this movie to anyone interested in seeing a younger shirtless Viggo, as well as some nicely choreographed action.

American Yakuza Review
Flash Bang: Action Movie Reviews
2005


The Reflecting Skin:

Viggo shows up well into the film, and we see an early example of his willingness to be both vulnerable and venomous. Naturally, too, we see his buttocks, surely at least part of the appeal for some audience members.

Jason Gorber
Twitchfilm
23 July 2015


Prison:

It's interesting to watch him here as he channels a James Dean vibe, with his wedge-cut hair and sulky, almost shy delivery. He rises to the occasion when the dramatic scenes demand it, but for much of the movie his presence borders on the self-effacing, in contrast to his later work.

David Maine
Popmatters.com
20 February 2013

Because it's blisteringly hot over here in the UK and because it's the Silly Season, and because there is nothing yet from Green Book to cheer us up, I thought we'd have a bit of fun. Everything below is a review (some pretty daft) from Viggo's pre-LOTR films. Can you guess which films they are? Keep your answers to yourself and I'll print them here for you next week :twisted:.



© Overseas Film Group.


Mortensen… has rarely looked so sleek, appealing and ready to play romantic leads as he does this time, gleaming out from behind a clipped mustache and a dangerous attitude. This ought to launch his career into the highest spheres.

Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner



He even manages the tricky balance of being horrible and seductive enough to slip you out of your soul… Plus, he manages it in a mullet.

Elisabeth Rappe
Cinematical



…a magnetic actor capable of both scary outbursts and eerie, reptilian calm.

Janet Maslin
New York Times



…his silent actions are evidence that this actor is not one who doesn't need lines to act the role of his career. To a lesser-talented actor, this restriction might have resulted in a poor performance but does not.

Russell Hill
WILDsound



…played with silky eroticism by Viggo Mortensen.

Janet Maslin
New York Times



Viggo Mortensen in a pre-Rings role, sporting a profoundly ridiculous blond weave, though still giving the film's best performance by miles…

Shaun Munro
Obsessed with Film



But Viggo Mortensen, well heck, now there's an actor with some bite!! If you have yet to hear much about this man, open your ears, and listen wide. This guy can act...and act well goddammit! … certainly a force to reckon for all great future character roles. Watch for him...he's hot!

Berge Garabedian
Joblo.com



Viggo Mortensen, in a small role, manages to steal a scene… without ever getting out of his chair.

Ken Dubois
Reel.com



I'd recommend this movie to anyone interested in seeing a younger shirtless Viggo, as well as some nicely choreographed action.

Flash Bang: Action Movie Reviews



Viggo shows up well into the film, and we see an early example of his willingness to be both vulnerable and venomous. Naturally, too, we see his buttocks, surely at least part of the appeal for some audience members.

Jason Gorber
Twitchfilm



It's interesting to watch him here as he channels a James Dean vibe, with his wedge-cut hair and sulky, almost shy delivery. He rises to the occasion when the dramatic scenes demand it, but for much of the movie his presence borders on the self-effacing, in contrast to his later work.

David Maine
Popmatters.com

It's the World Cup Final tomorrow so this Quotable just has to be about football! It's something we all know Viggo is mad about, but I confess I have never watched a game in my entire life – though if England had reached the final I might have made an exception. But never mind – 'tis the season to talk about men running about a field in primary colours and shorts. Lots of lovely old favourites here but there was never a better time to read them again.



© Viggo Mortensen


'He arrives, there's nobody at the airport to meet him because nobody knows when he's going to be there [laughs]. He gets a rental car and turns up on the set. And slowly his trailer starts to get all this character. It was the World Cup at the time, so he's a massive football fan, so all these flags started going in his trailer. He had a picture of the Queen of Denmark up. I was watching him from my trailer, "What's he doing today?" [Laughs] He's a very interesting guy.'

Michael Fassbender on meeting Viggo
Michael Fassbender Explores A Dangerous Method with Movie Fanatic
by Joel D Amos
Moviefanatic.com
25 November 2011



"To me, soccer is a metaphor for many things, like struggle in life. It's a sport in which someone really little like Messi - who looks like an ordinary guy who could be riding a bike delivering newspapers or sandwiches, whatever - does unforgettable things every time he comes out to play. It's impressive."

El mundo de Viggo Mortensen
By Manuel Martínez - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Esquire Latinoamerica
15 March 2012



Oh God,no! Viggo Mortensen is wearing the sweatshirt of San Lorenzo, the Argentine soccer team of which he is a big supporter. The effect is what I feared: all male journalists present at the meeting with the actor unleash questions about who will win this game, this season, the derby ... with the result that the first 20 minutes with one of the most fascinating men in the world are wasted with talk about sports!

Viggo Mortensen: "Do I look sexy?"
By Simona Coppa - translated by Ollie
Grazia
9 October 2012



Mortensen speaks five languages, and seems happy to discuss football in all of them.

Interview: Viggo Mortensen, actor
Scotsman.com



'I left Argentina when I was eleven, in '69, and there was no cable TV, no Internet, nothing. I was in the northern United States with my picture cards, my little t-shirt, my flag, and nothing else.'

Viggo Mortensen
"I feel honored to be able to give a hand to poets"
By - translated by Zooey and Sage
Pagina 12
14 August 2009



"I don't play soccer well… I sing just like I play soccer! But I like it, so I do it anyway, it's just a matter of starting, fear is useless…"

Viggo Mortensen
A Hollywood star in RSM
Argentinean TV interview with Mariana Fabbiani
11 October 2008



CUERVO, WE ARE CHAMPIONS!!!
I woke up with my clothes on, my head wrapped in a flag with the image of Pope Francis, as if it was some sort of turban, and the TV full blast showing The Mummy with Boris Karloff, but we are still champions!

In This Heat
By Viggo Mortensen and Fabián Casas - translated by Ollie and Zoe
Sobrevueloscuervos.com
18 December 2013



"I'm spreading "the cuervo gospel" all over the world. That's not only my mission, but my career, that's my job. Cinema, poetry and all the rest are hobbies. Spreading the cuervo gospel, that's what I'm dedicated to..."

Viggo Mortensen
In The Name Of The Father
By Natalia Trzenko - translated by Ollie and Zooey
La Nacion
22 June 2010



"Every time I go to Argentina, I go to the San Lorenzo store and I buy all the decals they have because I have the habit of sticking them up in cities, airports, in the stadiums of other teams, " he recounts and ends with a sly smile, "to mark territory."

"We are all artists" - Viggo Mortensen
By Susana Parejas - translated by Ollie and Zoe
7 Dias
2 September 2012



'... now at least I won't have to work as hard to be an ambassador for San Lorenzo around the world. The pope is taking a big load off me. '

Viggo Mortensen: Lay off the pope
By Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com
20 March 2013



'I think in part I cling to CASLA because it is a fixed point for me, an ideal, a flame that never dies.'

Viggo Mortensen
Knowing How To Travel
By Viggo Mortensen and Fabián Casas - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Sobrevueloscuervos.com



It's almost three o' clock in the morning. He is sitting next to the fire on a wood and leather chair. The "asado" (barbecue) is over. The people he was preparing mate for, two at the same time, have said goodbye. He is wearing a gray San Lorenzo goalkeeper's soccer shirt, and he throws a cigarette butt into the embers. Viggo Mortensen, 49, now has a needle in his hand and he starts sewing his red and blue flag, which suffered a passionate tear in the victory against Lanus: "I like to sew it myself."

A Trip With Viggo Mortensen Through The Heart Of The Province
By Robustiano Pinedo - translated by Graciela
[I]El Tribuno Salta
14 May 2007
[/I]


Go San Lorenzo! My membership card says "supporter from another country", but I am not a supporter from another country; that does not describe me properly… I am a "local" supporter, [a supporter] from the bottom of my heart, from a heart that is ours, that belongs to all the "cuervos", in the past, in the present and for ever.

Viggo's speech
100th year San Lorenzo celebration
Buenos Aires
Translated by Silver
2 April 2008



….if he were called to face the end of the world as we know it, he would do it with a t-shirt from his team pressed to his heart.

In The Name Of The Father
By Natalia Trzenko - translated by Ollie and Zooey
La Nacion
22 June 2010

This week has been Hidalgo Week – all these lovely photos of Viggo and TJ posted by Elizabeth remind us that Viggo just looked terrific in this film, despite mostly being upstaged by a horse with a big personality. Hidalgo is an old-fashioned easy-viewing film with a heart and a message about personal challenge, endurance and tolerance which, really, should have done much better at the box-office. As one member of the preview audience said, 'What's not to like about a forty-foot tall Viggo Mortensen?'.



© Touchstone/Buena Vista Pictures.


There's a great deal to like about "Hidalgo," Disney's horse adventure film set in 1890. Besides an exciting story beautifully shot, there's the charming Viggo Mortensen, the inimitable Omar Sharif and Hidalgo himself, one of the most engaging animal characters outside a Disney cartoon.

And did I mention Viggo Mortensen?

Finding the History in "Hidalgo's" tall tale
By Cathy Schultz, Ph.D.
2004



"I found out a while back that I'm related to Buffalo Bill - distantly, on my mother's mother's side of the family," he says. "It's true: I went to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, and saw the records that prove the connection." Mortensen finds J.K. Simmons' performance as Buffalo Bill "terrific" - and it gave him an interesting opportunity to play in scenes with a distant relative.

Viggo Mortensen: The Straight-Shooting Star of the New Western
By Joe Leydon
Cowboys & Indians
April 2004



'I saw this picture with Diane Lane called A Walk on the Moon. And there was something about his performance in that film that told me that this guy could be Frank Hopkins. I hadn't seen the first Lord of the Rings before we cast him, but I figured anybody that could sell blouses to Diane Lane out of a truck could do anything.'

Joe Johnston
Staci Layne Wilson
American Western Magazine
March 2004



'It was one of those things that, once it's done, no matter how much you try, you can't recast it in your mind. He really became the character. People say that all the time, but with Viggo, it's really true. And all that stuff they say about him - "No-Ego Viggo,' "he's not a star, he's an actor,' - that is so true. He's such a class act.'

John Fusco
Viggo, Ego and Hidalgo
By Brett Buckalew
FilmStew.com, 2004



Viggo Mortensen is not about the words. He's about being... present. .......
......Mortensen's an actor I'm content just to watch: Those riven cheeks, taut against blade-sharp cheekbones, features that gift golden hour. He quietly inhabits the role of Frank Hopkins....

Ray Pride
Movie City News
4 March 2004



'Viggo Mortensen was an absolute joy to work with. He slept on the roof of his trailer with his saddle and bedroll. We had to constantly keep him late and call for him early and he never complained. He came with no entourage and drove himself to location. When his stunt man fell off the horse and jammed his elbow, Viggo did the stunt himself, riding bareback at full speed.'

Joe Johnston
Joe Johnston Sketchbook
Oct 2014



There's a part of the body that we weren't aware of called the 'nacho'. In other words, it's sort of right in the middle, it's not your, uh, you know, up front and it's not your...and that got pretty sore. We got a nacho pad, but it was a little too late.

Viggo Mortensen on riding bareback
'King' Star Returns To The Screen, Riding High
by Todd Camp
Star Telegram
6 March 2004



Is it true that you and your British co-star, Zuleikha Robinson, could have been killed while shooting Hidalgo?

That was scary! We were both riding this horse, and it just took off and headed for this really high wall. I knew that there were trucks and equipment on the other side, and two huge storage jars on top. I was sitting behind Zuleikha, just hanging on. Somehow we stayed on, but Zuleikha lost the reins and I jumped off and grabbed them, and miraculously no one - not even the horse - got hurt. We could easily have been killed. Zuleikha was giggling - I think the shock hit her later. It wasn't caught on camera, but it would have looked like a great special effect. It was unbelievable!

Our Kiss Was Just a kiss
By John Millar
Hot Stars
27 March 2004



"He wanted to eat a real locust," Johnston says. "The locust he eats is made out of sugar. He said, 'You know, I can eat a live one.' I said, 'Let's eat all the fake ones first. If we run out, you can eat a live one.' "

Joe Johnston on filming Hidalgo
A Man of Many Parts
Teresa Wiltz
Washington Post
2004



"It's based on a real person and a real horse," Mortensen says. "But we take some liberties, for a good reason. Myth-making is a way of dreaming out loud or dreaming in public. . . "

Viggo Mortensen
A Man of Many Parts
Teresa Wiltz
Washington Post
2004



'A couple days ago, there was this hail. And everybody's just sitting there, kind of setting up the scene with clothing from 1890 and a herd of close to a thousand horses. And the waiting is almost like a ritual, like preparation for a religious moment where something might happen. You have words for the ceremony, the vestments, and all the elements and you're hoping that something good happens. So it's still interesting, the group getting together and doing it.'

Viggo Mortensen
A Religious Moment Where Something Might Happen
by Scott Thill
Morphizm
2002



'It is good to have a movie that's old-fashioned and treats cowboys with respect. But all that can get lost when you get the 'Oh, I heard it's not true' comments. I can't believe that I had to spend half my time on the press tours dealing with that. My job became primarily to defend the movie's right to exist! It's a movie based on a true event, not a documentary. And it is a hell of a ride. That ought to be good enough - is for most movies - few of which can hold a candle to Hidalgo.'

Viggo Mortensen on the Frank Hopkins controversy
A Visit With Viggo
By Marianne Love,
Sandpoint Magazine
2004



'This is really very subversive coming out of Hollywood,' says Mortensen, pointing out how rare it is to see an active effort made to fairly portray Arab culture in mainstream films. 'We made a movie that's entertaining, it moves along, it's beautiful, it looks right, it's well cast - yet it contains so many more things in it, and it's done in a subtle way.'

Viggo Mortensen
Hidalgo: A Filmmaking Journey to the Middle East
By Zaki Hasan
Q-NEWS Magazine
2004



It takes a thoroughbred star like Mortensen to make the bond between man and horses believable, and to keep Hidalgo from straying too far into fields of corn.

From hobbits to horses
Jennie Punter
The Globe and Mail
5 March 2004



….as one woman at a preview screening said to her girlfriend looking up at the big screen: 'What's not to like about a forty-foot tall Viggo Mortensen?'

Cowboy and Mustang Meet Arabian Nights
John P. McCarthy
reeltalkreviews.com 2004

According to the British press last week, Yerba Mate is becoming very popular in the UK (though I've managed to resist its bitter green charms so far). As well as being an ambassador for San Lorenzo, Viggo has also been a pretty good ambassador for herbal tea which he credits with giving him so much energy. His bombilla has bemused interviewers all over the world and become known as the guy who, in the words of one writer, 'totes his own teapot'…



On National Mate Day - 30 November.
© Cinergia.


Viggo Mortensen, the man who is Aragorn -- the most heroic warrior in the most heroic movie of all times, "The Lord of the Rings", glides onto his chair. Viggo is barefoot, he holds a wooden brass decorated cup with a silver straw and some greenish fluid inside. He slurps. It's Mate tea. Viggo -- was it mentioned already? -- well, he's different.

Viggo Mortensen
By Bernd Volland Translated by JoannaP
Stern Speziel Biografie
April 2003



The Argentinian. The cuervo. The Lord of the Rings. The one who teaches people to drink mate on million dollar sets.

The Habit Of Giving It All
By Juan Manuel Dominguez - translated by Ollie, Sage and Zooey
Perfil
20 June 2010



Viggo Mortensen rolls his own cigarettes, totes his own teapot…

V IS FOR VIGGO
By Hugh Hart
San Francisco Chronicle, 2003



…a rejuvenating South American tea that resembles wholegrain mustard from where I'm sitting.

Viggo Mortensen: A Method Actor in Middle-Earth
By Ryan Gilbey
The Independent
14 December 2001



"Eastern Promises" finds Mortensen playing Nikolai Luzhin, a Russian ex-con tattooed from head to toe with elaborate designs detailing his every misdeed and prison stint. He puts out lit cigarettes on his tongue, can fight to the death while naked and has a knack for snipping the extremities off corpses to make them more portable.

So it's a little underwhelming when Mortensen walks in and starts bustling around, brewing up a pot of herbal tea and assembling a lovely plate of fresh berries.

Viggo's 'Promises'
By Sara Stewart
New York Post
26 Aug 2007



"It's not lawn clippings, I promise."

Viggo offering a journalist mate
Return Of The King Press Junket: Viggo Mortensen
By Nazz
Nazz
December 2003



He smells of woodsmoke, as though he's just returned from some manly pursuit like chopping logs in a forest. Again, highly possible. He does have a home in the remote mountains of Idaho, surrounded by woods. In fact the scent is wafting from his cup of tea.

Viggo Mortensen is lord of all things
Chitra Ramaswamy
The Scotsman
24 May 2013



A black-red bag hangs down a shoulder and the other hand holds the mate bin (the bitter, rich of caffeine Argentinean tea) with its straw, a bit raised as if it was the Holy Grail cup.

Viggo Mortensen, by Lorenza Del Tosto
Omero.it
Translation by Cindalea
5 July 2007



An encounter with Viggo is sitting on a porch, drinking a bombilla of mate and watching time pass in such a way that every now and then new reflections, inquiries, ways of looking at things arise. It can take a whole season. Watching many skies pass by.

River Mortensen
By Ramón Raboiras - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Esquire
September 2012



Viggo Mortensen loves rituals. He never changes his habits, no matter where he goes. For example, he enters the villa in Deauville – made available by the French top jeweler Cartier – in bare feet, as if he is in his own living room.

In his right hand, he is holding a cup with his favorite beverage: maté – an herbal drink from Argentina, the country where he spent the majority of his childhood. He also remembered to bring a silver straw, the bombilla.

The actor explains why he always behaves the same way, no matter where he is in the world. "In this business you're travelling half the time. Sometimes I feel like a world traveller who doesn't know where he'll sleep the next day. I am exaggerating a little, but I do value my habits, so I can quickly feel at home. If I don't, it takes me too long to adapt to strange surroundings. That's very important for an actor. That way he can more quickly concentrate on his role."

Viggo Mortensen Goes To Bed With A Shotgun
By - translated by Airwin
Algemeen Dagblad
27 April 2009



In the harsh noon glare that seemed more Captain Fantastic than Cecconi's in West Hollywood, we asked the SAG Outstanding Cast nominees — aka the actors who played Mortensen's six onscreen children — what he smells like.

"Tea!" was the universal response. Specifically, green tea and mate, which he drinks out of a special straw and bowl. "That's what he smells like, non-stop, 24/7," said Nicholas Hamilton, who plays Rellian. "He smells like tea, yeah, green tea," Shree Crooks, who plays Zaja, agreed. Samantha Isler, who plays middle daughter Kielyr, offered, "He smells like wisdom." Crooks added, "And beef jerky. Beef jerky, tea and berries."

What Does Viggo Mortensen Smell Like? An Investigation
NY Magazine
29 January 2017

So – I spent yesterday evening dressed as a Fairy (not the warmest of garb) and performing songs outside in a wooded garden while trying to stay upright against a stiff gale. Those fairy wings act rather like a sail! It was so cold the audience had blankets wrapped around them (I had blanket envy). So, unsurprisingly, this Quotable is about acting with (against?) the weather. And we all know who the King of the Elements is – Viggo of course. Pretty much nothing stops him (and I make no apologies for the length of one of the quotes below because it sums him up perfectly!) although I'd like to see him try some of it in fake wings and a tutu… :lol:



© New Line Productions Inc.


When the elements, the weather and the terrain get tough, Viggo gets going.

Interview with Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Contender
Emmanuellevy.com
3 September 2009



Any time I'm outdoors, whether it's in a desert or a sea or the forest. I like the elements - whatever the weather is, I don't feel that any moment is wasted at all.

Viggo Mortensen: "It's my nature to do a lot"
By covermg.com
10 July 2012



...we had this two-day, one-night wilderness survival camp, with just the six of us kids and a guide," she said. "We each were given a knife and had to figure out how to survive. We had to track down our food, purify water, build a shelter. I love being outdoors, but this was pretty extreme."

"We were building fires because in the forest it was so incredibly dark," Isler said. "All of a sudden, we heard these sounds and saw this shape coming toward us through the forest. It was Viggo, who said he wanted to bring us beef jerky and dried cherries. And we were all like, 'How in the world did you find us?' "

Tulsa teen actress Samantha Isler talks about her role in 'Captain Fantastic'
By James D Watts Jnr
Tulsa World
29 July 2016



Myself, I love the rain, especially falling asleep to its music, ideally sounding on a metal roof, and I with a book in my hands and/or an old movie on TV, but I´m actually seduced by the rain´s melody on any surface... Rain is the universal music - along with the contribution of the wind through a forest or punishing an open window, the roar of the rivers, the sea.

Viggo Mortensen
If The Rain Gets Here
By Viggo Mortensen and Fabián Casas - translated by Ollie and Zoe
Sobrevueloscuervos.com
9 October 2014



"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. I've seen it happen over and over again in the snow, the rain, cold, the fog – anything that he is able to use that puts him in the world of the character."

Simmons (producer)
Interview with Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Contender
Emmanuellevy.com
3 September 2009



How was it to jump in the ocean [in The Road]?

It was very cold. I asked for another take, but they were terrified. They didn't want me to. They had ambulances. The water was 41 degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind was just really blowing. The air temperature was the same, but because there was howling wind, I was practically frozen. I think the air was probably freezing. It was so extreme. They had an ambulance and they had all these heaters on, and I just sat in there with a bathrobe and said, "Just tell me when you're rolling. I'm just going to run out and go."

Interview: Viggo Mortensen Travels THE ROAD
Christina Radish
IESB.net
9 November 2009



'It was a good decision to shoot [Todos Tenemos Un Plan] in the winter because it gave character to the movie. But it put us under more pressure, too, because there were fewer hours of daylight. It was cold, and the weather was quite changeable. But it was beautiful.'

Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen's grand plan
Telegraph Men's Style Magazine
By Sheryl Garratt
26 March 2013



On the horizon, nothing. Or nothing much. A land flat and dry, hardly covered by a thin layer of vegetation where only snakes and cacti with sharp needles survive. On this April evening on Friday 12 to Saturday 13 the gusts of wind shake the tents and knock down the lamps that illuminate the first kilometres of the Argentine pampa with a white light. Clouds of smoke surround the twenty or so people who fight against the elements. Some are jumping up and down or wrapping themselves in blankets, others are drinking one maté after the other. Gathered around the fire, all of them are trying to hold on, drinking heartily from the whiskey bottles going round. This looks like a war, but it´s a film. After almost nine hours, the film crew are shivering with cold and doing one take after the other, while director Lisandro Alonso, hair in the wind and a thin parka covering his shoulders, runs from one place to the other. A hailstorm swoops down without warning. "That´s what the end of the world must look like," says Fabián Casas, writer and scriptwriter of the film, in a faint voice, sheltered at the back of a tent, wrapped in a woollen shawl. Then, out of nowhere, a man in pyjama bottoms and white open shirt emerges barefoot. Viggo Mortensen walks in the middle of the night, asks for "a cigarette" in French, bending down to light it from the embers. Waiting to enter the scene, he sways in the wind. "Viggo, be careful, you are going to hurt yourself; there´s cacti everywhere," Nicolás, the assistant director, tries to warn him. The actor hears but doesn´t listen. "Action." Mortensen runs, passing before the camera, rummages inside a tent, shouts in the night "Ingeborg! Ingeborg!," retraces his steps and goes off camera. Hands on his knees, he pants, regains his breath and suddenly he starts laughing loudly. On the set, eyes meet asking themselves what is it? Who is this guy?

Lost in La Pampa [Jauja]
By Pierre Boisson - translated by Ollie
So Film #10 (France)
May 2013



I remember one time when we were trying to shoot [Hidalgo] in the Sahara, where you get these atrocious winds; it was hot, there was sand in the cameras. I heard everywhere: 'this is hell!' and, deep down in my heart, I thought 'this is a giggle compared to Lord...'."

Viggo Mortensen
A Year in the Life of Viggo Mortensen
by Sophie Benamon
Studio Magazine
2003



Mortensen's humility and generosity turned his Rings co-stars into some of his biggest fans. They tell you of the time when a snowstorm shut down production. The cast was being transported to safety when Mortensen seized a four-wheel drive vehicle and drove back to the set in order to save the hobbits' four-feet-tall scale doubles from getting snowbound.

The Hero Returns
By Tom Roston
Premiere
January 2003



'In October, I got caught in a snowstorm in Lapland. I lost the trail and had to find some place to hide. I was out there on my own for a couple of days. I was worried but managed to find shelter and make a fire. It's really not about where you are, but how you are. I can get annoyed or say, "OK, this is where I am. I don't have any choice at the moment. Let's make the most of it."'

Viggo Mortensen's Travelling Life
By Nick McGrath
The Telegraph
10 April 2015



"Even if it rains, even in bad weather, even if I'm on top of the most uncomfortable rock in the world. I feel happy in that setting."

Viggo Mortensen - Passage To Hell
By Ruben Romero - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zooey
On Madrid - El Pais
5 February 2010



"When we needed more wind, and after a long dead calm, Viggo sniffed and said: "This afternoon it's going to rain.' And so it was.'

Agustín Díaz Yanes
Reunion with Alatriste in Uclés
Diario de León, by Miguel Ángel Nepomuceno - translated by Paddy
26 June 2005

This week's Quotable is short and sweet – in fact very short and sweet as they are all one-liners. Lots of old favourites but, hey, they sum him up so well so let's enjoy them again!



© GQ.


They don't make them like Viggo Mortensen anymore.

A Reader interview with Viggo Mortensen
By Ben Olson
Sandpoint Reader
13 January 2017



…the very definition of a 21st century Renaissance Man.

Validation for Viggo
Filmstew
Richard Horgan
22 January 2008



The man has never disappointed us.

Viggo Mortensen in the Shoes of Dr. Freud
By Nicolas Crousse
Le Soir – translated by Dom
4 September 2011



Viggo Mortensen, who seems only loosely tied to modern life at the best of times...

Helen O'Hara
Empire Magazine
18 August 2016



Is Viggo Mortensen the most interesting man in the world?

Viggo Mortensen: Still here, still fantastic
The Film Experience
By Nathaniel Rogers
24 April 2016



Is there a language Viggo Mortensen doesn't speak?

Jill Lawless
Associated Press
2 September 2014



He's like a one-man United Nations.

The 100 Sexiest Movie Stars
Empire Magazine
October 2013



…he… can fill a digital recorder with wall-to-wall perspective.

Kris Tapley
In Contention
10 September 2009



Viggo Mortensen is an extraordinarily beautiful man.

Viggo Mortensen: "It's my nature to do a lot"
By covermg.com
10 July 2012



Jean-Jacques Rousseau trapped in the body of Rudolph Valentino.

Viggo Mortenson is complicated
By Micjelle Devereaux
San Francisco Bay Guardian
12 September 2007



[He] wears a San Lorenzo shirt like it's tattooed on his skin.

"I feel honored to be able to give a hand to poets"
By - translated by Zooey and Sage
Pagina 12
14 August 2009



…he stashes chocolate on his person like a marsupial…

A History of Defiance
Daniel Mirth
Men's Journal
October 2009



..constitutionally incapable of creative blockage.

True Colors
By Margot Dougherty
Los Angeles Magazine
1998



His star power actually helped keep the electricity in the building running.

Nick Flanagan
Live-ish from the Genie Awards
9 March 2012



'I would want to watch Viggo Mortensen in any language.

Sanford Panitch, President of Fox International
Fox International Acquires Worldwide Rights To Viggo Mortensen-Starrer 'Everybody Has A Plan'
By Mike Fleming
Deadline.com
5 May 2011



Viggo Mortensen is not about the words. He's about being... present. .......

Ray Pride
Movie City News
4 March 2004



…there is enigmatic and then there is Viggo Mortensen…

On Viggo Mortensen
By Ryan Gilbey
Filminfocus.com
4 December 2007



…arguably the most unconventional, maverick A-list actor around.

Five Things We Learned In Toronto From The 'A Dangerous Method' Star
Oliver Lyttelton
The Playlist
14 September 2011



He never had Champagne dreams and caviar wishes…

Viggo Talks and Talks
By Zoe Heller
T Magazine
2 December 2011



If fame came with a report card, Viggo's would say can do better.

The Man Who Would Be King
By Nick Dent
December 2001
Black & White magazine, #58



'…there are some silly-genes in our family, that he benefits from.'

Aunt Tulle on Viggo
Avisen.dk interview
15 October 2008



"Doesn't everybody want to be Viggo Mortensen? I do!"

Matt Ross
Captain Fantastic: Viggo Mortensen & Family
by Christine Westwood
FilmInk
11 June 2016

When Kyle Lee of Box Office Prophets called Juaja 'one of the great westerns ever made, and possibly the most unusual' I realised I'd never thought of the film as a western, but all the elements of some of cinema's most iconic westerns are there – the wide open spaces in which people are almost lost, the taking of land from native peoples, the lurking threat of hidden violence, the search for someone missing in a hostile environment, the trying to hold on to the familiar when transplanted into another world. But Jauja is also so much more – a Quixotic journey through an environment where dreams and reality flow into each other and become something strange and wonderful. I think it's time to put the Bluray back in the player and see this magical and mysterious film again...



© 4L Productions.


I've now seen Lisandro Alonso's captivating, unearthly Jauja four times, and I don't think I'm any closer to telling you what it's all about; the more I see it, the more puzzled I am. Alonso likes to traffic in the oblique — in the blank, mysterious spaces between the ostensible realities onscreen. That sounds like a lot of hooey, but watching Jauja, which is certainly one of the best films of the year, I never once doubted that I was in the hands of a master filmmaker.

Bilge Ebiri
Vulture
21 March 2015



The faint echo of The Searchers' plot should already make it clear that this is a deconstructed western (the relationship between man and his surroundings is where Alonso and Ford's westerns overlap). But it's one that, slightly reminiscent of Miguel Gomes' Tabu a couple of years before it, seems in dialogue with silent cinema, with its Academy (4:3 aspect ratio) format and rounded corners, as well as Viggo Mortensen's brilliant but largely wordless performance...

CineScope Blog
21 December 2014



Mustachioed, astride his horse in a cavalry uniform, sword in sheath and a splendid hat on his head, he is reminiscent of John Wayne in the early John Ford films.

Franck Nouchi - translated by Ollie and Zoe
Le Monde
19 May 2014



[Dinesen's] off the map even before he's robbed of his horse and most of his possessions; from the start he's destined to be lost in and swallowed up by nature, red in tooth and claw and utterly disinterested in the plight of insignificant humans... Like all of us, he's a rationalist who expects the world to work a certain way, and is helpless when it does not...

Matt Prigge
Metro (US)
20 March 2015



'Sometimes it was quite awkward and tiring to tramp around in that heavy greatcoat, wearing those slippery-soled riding boots, tripping over that saber. But I found that all of that helped me construct a sort of Danish Don Quixote, a man who has no idea how clumsy he seems in those landscapes, once he is off his horse.'

Mortensen plays a Danish engineer in Patagonia
by Pam Grady
San Francisco Chronicle
14 May 2015



'Dinesen is a surveyor and scientist, very northern European, very rational, everything has to have a logical explanation… And in that way my character is very determined – like if you are going to do a job, you might as well do it correctly, and in a timely fashion. And if someone says, 'Well, we're having tea at 4.30pm on Tuesday', you say, 'Well, I'll be there'. But it's Argentina, so whoever you were going to meet might turn up on Wednesday, or maybe he doesn't.'

Viggo Mortensen
Jauja: Interview with Viggo Mortensen
by Pamela Jahn
Electric Sheep
16 October 2014



"I find him an admirable character in a way," says the 56-year-old actor. "He's so obtuse, even when he doesn't know where he's going or why he's going or who he is, he still keeps moving forward. It's his stubbornness which I find both pathetic and endearing and, as I say, admirable."

Interview: Viggo Mortensen
Tobias Grey
The Financial Times
27 March 2015



As [Dinesen] progresses through this limbo-like landscape we watch him gradually transforming, Mortenson's weathered features becoming akin to the rocks surrounding him. As he emerges from within dark cracks, kneels to sip dripping streams or dozes underneath the stars, he melts into the environment, the boundaries of Dineson's self slowly eroding into the Patagonian dirt.

David James
wegotthiscovered.com
6 April 2015



The film is framed in a 4:3 aspect ratio and, most strikingly, sports rounded corners on its images. That relatively constricted vision (somehow the rounded corners highlight how quickly the world slips out of view as the camera pans) is offset by the incredible depth that Alonso and masterful cinematographer Timo Salminen produce in their shots. In the open desert, fading gradually from sharp clarity in the foreground to the soft blur of the horizon, the images seem to connote infinity...

Tomas Hachard
NPR
19 March 2015



...the landscapes remind us that 'Scope is not indispensable for evoking vastness: the tight parameters of these frames encourage us to imagine an infinity outside their edges. Rich colors suggest both dream and the artifice of Hollywood Westerns: deep blue clouds on a sky fading to yellow at its base resemble a painted backdrop; pools of golden firelight in a night shot are manifestly lit, as if on a studio set.

Jonathan Romney
Film Comment
19 March 2015



Sweating in layers of bulky long johns, and sporting a droopy, weeping mustache, Mortensen carries the film, his human grumbling and surprised, rageful violence conveying the sense of a nervous, basically average man caught on a journey into his own heart of darkness. Increasingly, as the other characters drop away, Mortensen has nothing to play against but nature and himself.

Mark Asch
Brooklyn Magazine
7 October 2014



'Dinesen is a man who seems to cope well with loneliness, but finally he becomes lost in it. He goes out in the desert trying to find his daughter, but in the end we realize that he is also tracking down his wife, his mother, all women and men in the world, his own childhood, his country and his death'

Viggo Mortensen
An Anarchist in the Closet
By Viggo Mortensen - translated by Chrissie and Ollie
Pagina 12
27 October 2013



We're as lost as Mortensen's protagonist, and we feel the weight of it acutely. The semi-flat steppes all look the same in every direction, and the minutes tick by, until eventually night falls and we lose our bearings completely.

Michael Atkinson
In These Times
18 March 2015



"There's a lot of entering and coming out of dreams, a lot of transitions in the movie… By the end of the story, you don't know if we're being dreamed, or if the characters are all dreamed, or if it's a dog's dream or the girl's dream. In a way, it doesn't matter. It's what it stimulates."

Interview with Actor Viggo Mortensen
Nick Chen
London Calling
7 April 2015



What kind of western ever gets us to ask these kinds of questions? One of the greatest, that's what kind. A true Hidden Gem.

Hidden Gems: Jauja
Kyle Lee
Box Office Prophets
31 May 2018

Sticking with Purgatorio and Ariel Dorfman after his comment that Viggo spotted an anomaly in the script, I thought it would be good to take a look back at the play. Unbelievably, it's been 7 years since Viggo took his courage in both hands and trod the boards at the Matadero Naves del Español in Madrid. As you can see from the the quotes below, it was a very challenging text…



Image Andrés de Gabriel.
© Teatro Español.


What brought you to theatre? "Fear. I've done theatre because it frightens me. I'm attracted to everything that frightens me."

Viggo Mortensen: "I'm attracted to what scares me"
By Roció García - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
El País
24 November 2011



"…when I met [Dorfman] in person, since he's Chilean, we were talking in Spanish and I asked him, out of curiosity, if there was a version in Spanish, and he said, "Well, yes, I have a version. A translation, and furthermore it would be interesting if you'd be interested in doing it, since you're bilingual, if you'd do it, Viggo, in Spanish first and we'll see what happens after that."

"La Ventana" with Viggo and Carme
By - transcribed by Ollie and translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Cadena SER
23 November 2011



Ariel says, more or less in jest, that it's a cursed play, that every time he tries to put it on in a, shall we say, legitimate theater, it doesn't work. Someone gets sick, something happens, somebody leaves, and there's been a long journey for us, too, before arriving here."

"La Ventana" with Viggo and Carme
By - transcribed by Ollie and translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Cadena SER
23 November 2011



'Sometimes, during rehearsals, I have thought that I've been an idiot to get into this theatrical challenge…'

Viggo Mortensen
By Liz Perales - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
El Cultural
31 October 2011



"…this script is complicated because it's not how people speak. I think that it's just as complicated to seem natural, conversational in a script by Lope de Vega, by Shakespeare. It's complicated!"

"La Ventana" with Viggo and Carme
By - transcribed by Ollie and translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Cadena SER
23 November 2011



'Ariel Dorfman´s script is demanding, but it´s full of little gifts that keep coming to you to the extent that you are deciphering the text and physically absorbing it.'

Viggo Mortensen: "Sometimes I have thought that I´ve been an idiot to get into this theatrical challenge"
By Liz Perales - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
El Cultural
31 October 2011



"I learned more about acting and thinking on your feet in that play than in my last ten or fifteen years in filming," he says, seriously. "There's no saying cut, you just figure it out; it's like an hour and forty minutes long take. I really loved it, loved the connection with the audience."

Viggo's round-table at the Freud Museum
by Lucy Wiles
Felix Films
10 February 2012



"It's just two characters, and it's an hour and 45 minutes," he said, with no intermission. "Any mistake you make is live, and it can go off the rails," he said. "Also, in the script, there's a lot of repetition and a lot of strange things about time."

Viggo Mortensen interview
By Chris Brock
Watertown Daily Times
20 November 2011



"I find peace in Viggo´s eyes. Confronted with the giddiness of the text, you can take risks with him, walk the tightrope."

Carme Elías
Viggo Mortensen And Forgiveness
By Ulises Fuente - translated by Ollie and Rio
La Razón
1 November 2011



I put the script here, although I already know the text. I always have the script backstage. I have this owl with the bracelet in San Lorenzo colors; I touch the two eyes of the owl every night before I go on. I have a photo of San Lorenzo's first championship team in 1923, Father Lorenzo Massa, the Silesian who founded San Lorenzo, I have chocolate. I'm always eating...

Viggo Mortensen
Inside The Dressing Room
By - transcribed by Ollie and translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
El Mundo
15 December 2011



'I don't think there's so much difference between good acting in film and good acting in theatre. In general, depending on the size of the hall, it's true that in theatre you have to take into account adequate voice projection, but, ultimately, what matters is whether the spectator believes what the actor is doing or not.'

Viggo Mortensen: "Sometimes I have thought that I´ve been an idiot to get into this theatrical challenge"
By Liz Perales - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
El Cultural
31 October 2011



"You have to be honest about weakness and feelings of guilt. The good thing about any creative work, movie, story or poem, is that it asks you questions without asking you to think one way or another, and this play asks whether it is possible to forgive unconditionally, whether there are things that are so hurtful that they cannot be forgiven, and the answer I personally provide is that real forgiveness cannot set any conditions, be they what they may."

Viggo and Carme explore forgiveness
By Rosana Torres
El Pais
4 November 2011

I loved Ariel Dorfman's comment this week about Viggo querying his text in Purgatorio. It's so very Viggo isn't it? That depth of knowledge, his constant attention to detail, his desire to ensure that whatever he appears in is the best it can possibly be. Once he's committed he is a power house of information and ideas, from badgering Cronenberg about Freud's cigars to persuading Perez-Reverte that Alatriste came from Leon. It's a dedication that has been greatly admired and drawn on by fellow creatives over the years.



© Hanway/Lago.


During a production of his play Purgatorio, Dorfman was challenged by the actor Viggo Mortensen, who was insistent about a line of dialogue: "This doesn't make sense!" he kept repeating. "He wouldn't let me go," Dorfman says. And Mortensen was right. The actor was able to teach Dorfman something about his own play. "You learn, if there's no aggression in an artist exchange." If an actor or editor is generous and open, the writer can gain something.

Ariel Dorfman: 'Not to belong anywhere, to be displaced, is not a bad thing for a writer'
By Andrew Madigan
The Guardian
9 May 2018



'We really trust each other's sensibility. I did talk to a director once who said, "You know this guy Viggo you worked with? I sent a script to him, and he sent me notes!" I said, "Yeah? Well, were they good notes?" He looked at me like I was crazy.'

David Cronenberg
'Dangerous Method' helmer talks working with Pattinson, Giamatti on 'Cosmopolis'
By Christy Grosz
Variety
13 December 2011



"Viggo was a central collaborator in terms of his ideas about the script. He had wonderful and insightful ideas about everything, including adding his own original music to the film. For me, he exemplifies a very high level of artistry and integrity. That is one of the things that made him my first choice to play Ben, Physically and temperamentally, he was absolutely right."

Director Matt Ross
Cannes Press Kit
May 2016



'He comes to the role with such fierce dedication and so many ideas. We invited him into the editing room later in the process and he had a very complete memory of what he had done and what had been shot and asked us very challenging questions about why we had chosen one approach over the other. He was a very good extra eye in the editing room and I was glad we were able to spend some time with him there.'

Interview with Joseph Krings, Editor of "Captain Fantastic"
Manhatten Edit Workshop blog
20 July 2016



'He thinks 24 hours a day about the film; he is insatiable when thinking ideas, dialogues, suggestions for enhancing the images, the work of the group in general, and with the other professional and nonprofessional actors who acted with him in different scenes from the movie. I was very lucky that he liked the story.'

Lisandro Alonso
Nueva voz: Lisandro Alonso y el cine de los hombres solos
El Deber
28 December 2013



'…this is a thing I knew about Viggo -- once he commits, he's committed. He's incredibly loyal to the project, to the character, to the movie. Once he committed there was never any going back; it was full on, "Let's do research of the Viggo kind" -- which is very deep, to say the least. He'd send 25 emails of Freud's cigars, you know, with pictures going back and forth: "What kind were they?" "How many did he smoke a day?" "What shape were they?" "What strength?" "Would he have ever varied the kind during the course of the day, or did he always smoke the same kind?" "Could he afford them?" "Were they expensive?" You know, it went on and on and on.'

David Cronenberg Discusses His Dangerous Method
by Luke Goodsell
Rotten Tomatoes
23 November 2011



"You would think, 'Of course Cronenberg was drawn in by the tattooing,' but it was almost not there," says the director. "In the original script, tattooing was just alluded to. Viggo discovered a set of books called Russian Criminal Tattoo and a doc called Mark of Cain, which was about the tattooing subculture in Russian prisons, and when I saw them my mind was blown completely."

Ties that bind
by Melora Koepke, Hour CA
13 Sept 2007



"Viggo's one-man research engine helped mould David's thinking about the script, and fed into the script in a great way. It informed our whole process."

Paul Webster
Eastern Promises Production Notes
20 August 2007
Source: Focus Features



'He called me once to talk about certain aspects of his character and history, such as Alatriste's birthplace. I had never detailed it in any of the five novels published up until now, but Viggo was interested in the fact. 'In Old Castile,' I responded. 'Could it be Leon?' he asked after thinking about it for a while. 'It could,' I responded. So then he went to Leon and walked about covering it inch by inch, remaining in each town, in every bar, talking with whoever happened to be in front of him. In effect, he finally concluded that Alatriste was Leonese. And he said it with such conviction that even I didn't question or argue the point.'

Arturo Pérez Reverte: Alatriste
El Semanal, July 2005-08-04
Translated by Elessars Queen



'I went to the Prado Museum, which I had visited many times, but now I saw the paintings in a different light, searching for the character, so I'd call Tano (the director) at 2 am and tell him, "listen, I found this painting by Góngora". Viggo makes a face and changes his voice to imitate Díaz Yanes: 'Okay, let me explain it to you. You're an idiot.' But nothing. I saw the characters in those painting."'

Viggo Mortensen: Alatriste
The Lord of Simplicity
By Ernesto Garratt Vines - translated by Margarita
Wikén - El Mercurio
30 March 2007



'I worked with him 12 years ago on horses, we rode together down by the Mexico border in Arizona while working on Young Guns 2. He played a small role [in which] he rides along with Billy Peterson, who played Pat Garret. He plays John W. Poe, a historical bounty hunter who pursued Billy the Kid. We had all these young actors playing historical figures and I had all this research available. But it was Viggo who had this tiny little role, who just kept coming to me and saying [things like], 'You know, I was doing some research and copper was really big at that time and they were making copper rifle scopes. I think that Poe would've made his own scope, you know, as a bounty hunter to personalize his tool of the trade.' Then he would come back and say, 'What was Poe's relationship with John Chisum? Did he have any cattle interests...?' So when I heard that he was interested in the role [of Hopkins] I anticipated that kind of commitment to research and sure enough, days after he was cast he called me and said, 'Who do you know on Pine Ridge reservation and can I go there?' Within a week he was out with these Lakota horsemen and riding with them, and on a long ride to Wounded Knee."'

John Fusco
IGN gets the behind-the-action goods from the director, writer and star of Hidalgo.
By Jeff Otto, IGN
March 04, 2004



When Mr. Jackson telephoned Mr. Mortensen, whose work he admired, the conversation did not seem to go well.

"Knowing Viggo now, his conversation was incredibly Viggo-like, but at the time it was incredibly off-putting," Mr. Jackson said. "He was asking about the character: how long has he lived with the elves? Where are his parents? If I didn't know the answer, I'd make it up. There would be this terrible long silence, and I didn't know if the phone had disconnected or not, and then he'd ask another question and there would be 30 more seconds of silence."

"At the very end of the call, I thought it had gone very badly, that he wasn't going to do the role," Mr. Jackson continued. "I was thinking, `What are we going to do now?' as I was waiting for the call to end, and then there was another long silence and Viggo said, `I guess I'll see you on Tuesday.' "

Peter Jackson on offering him the part of Aragorn
The Man Who Would Just As Soon Not Be King
By Sarah Lyall
New York Times
2003



"Viggo commits himself to a project with the same intensity as the filmmakers - which is rare for an actor," the director says. "After the end of a long day's shooting, when all the other cast would be either in bed or in the bar, Fran Walsh and I would be home grappling with the script for the next week's shooting. At midnight, a nine-page handwritten memo would come rattling through the fax from Viggo, outlining his thoughts about that day's work and the next few days to come. He would suggest passages from the book we should look at. This wasn't an exception - over 15 months it became the rule. In the small hours, it was actually comforting to know there was somebody else out there grappling with the same nightmare that we were."

Peter Jackson
The Hero Returns
By Tom Roston
Premiere 2003



'He is absolutely dedicated to the process,' says Ridley Scott. 'He was constantly revisiting me with questions and notes and suggestions, none of which I ever got tired of.'

Ridley Scott on GI Jane
Viggo Mortensen
by Steve Pond
US Magazine #236, 1997



"…with Viggo you don't just get a violin, you get a whole symphony orchestra."

David Cronenberg
RT talks Eastern Promises
By Sara Schieron, Rotten Tomatoes
12 September 2007

This week we are going to have a feast of philosophy. Things to ponder and live your life by from a man who really knows how to ponder and lives his life really well…



Image Emily Berl.
© Getty Images.


"…I think that having the courage to be oneself is the most difficult thing in the world. The most essential and also the most magnificent."

Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen, Charming Free-spirit
by Manon Chevalier
ELLE Quebec
Translated for V-W by Chrissiejane
December 2008



"We may not know why we're here, or where we're going after we die, but if you're here, you might as well be here. And being here means paying attention, I think."

Q&A with Viggo Mortensen
Sara Stewart
New York Post
December 2008



'Don't ever be afraid to ask the question, "why?", or as most small children do, to repeat that question as many times as you receive an unsatisfactory answer. Inquiring minds are essential to a healthy society, and to making an individual art out of living.'

Viggo Mortensen
SLU Commencement Address
May 21, 2006



What keeps you awake at night?

Yesterday and tomorrow, but I eventually fall asleep because neither exists.

Q&A: Viggo Mortensen
by Rosanna Greenstreet
The Guardian
2 January 2010



He understands why, in dire times, you'd be tempted to "set your house on fire and never answer the phone again, but it would be better to ask yourself: How can I be most useful to this world? Not that I'm some f****** genius."

Viggo Mortensen (free radical)
Twenty one reasons to dig Viggo Mortensen
by Allison Glock
GQ Magazine 2003



"I think five minutes can be an eternity if it's well used, you know. There are periods of time that are gems, but you don't have to go into a blizzard in South Dakota or into the rain forests of New Zealand or the middle of the Sahara. You can find that just walking down the street."

Viggo Mortensen
The Rebel King
By Chris Heath
GQ magazine, 2004



"One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren't enough hours in the day but if we do each thing calmly and carefully we will get it done quicker and with much less stress."

Viggo Mortensen is lord of all things
Chitra Ramaswamy
The Scotsman
24 May 2013



'When I'm awake, I dream of perfection. It's not about reaching it, I'm aware that it is not possible. My concern is to seek it, to try very hard to shoot the perfect movie, to have the perfect marriage, to paint the perfect painting – above all to know that it will never work out. What counts is the will, not the achievement of the goal.'

Viggo Mortensen
I Have A Dream
By Viggo Mortensen - translated by CoCo and Techadmin
Zeit magazine
23 July 2015



"For a long time now, I've been certain of one thing: there are more things that connect me to others than there are things that divide us. We should be able to all understand each other. I've proved it."

I wouldn't look the Alatristes of today in the eye
By Oskar L. Belategui, translated for V-W bu Margarita
Hoy Sociedad
3 September 2006



"Even though many people seem to be not interested in art or in things like nature or life itself, we must force ourselves to remember, we must force ourselves to be deep in life."

Viggo Mortensen, The Photographer Of Dreams
By Giovanni Valerio - translated by Cindalea
Panorama First
July 2008



'Mother Nature is the first school. She makes you wise if you watch her. '

Viggo Mortensen
A Multi-talented Hero
Dominical, by J. A. - translated for V-W by NacidaLibre
27 August 2006



'I feel at home in many places, and with time, I learned that in life it is more important who you are, what you do and how you feel than where you are.'

Viggo Mortensen Under The Spotlight
Selecciones Magazine
March 2009
Translated for V-W by Graciela



It's the endlessly entertaining, often ridiculous, sometimes admirable, sometimes embarrassing attempts that some people make to find some meaning in their lives that make life worth living.

What I've learned – Viggo Mortensen
By Kal Fussman
Esquire
22 April 2015



"I think it was Robert Louis Stevenson who said this, it was about meandering through a career, or the arts in general, without seeming to have a deliberate plan. He said, 'To travel hopefully is better than to arrive, and the true success is in the labor.' That's a great line, 'To travel hopefully.' That's what I'd like to do."

Viggo Mortensen
The Other Side of Viggo Mortensen
By Paul Young
Variety Life, 2003



What do you believe in above all else?

"In everything. I believe in everything! However, it makes my life so complicated" (laughs)

Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen, Charming Free-spirit
by Manon Chevalier
Elle Quebec
Translated for V-W by Chrissiejane
December 2008

In the past Viggo has talked a lot about all he has learned from other actors – those he has seen on screen and those he worked with in his early career. And, as he continuously points out, he is still learning. But as an actor he also generously gives and many actors have said that they have learned a lot from him or that he has been a mentor to them. As he says in his own words in the last quote, acting is - for him - a 'team sport'.



© Bleecker Street.


Comments about Viggo:

"Viggo is such an amazing guy. He's the gentlest, kindest person you'll ever meet. All the 'family' members got along but I think the strongest bonds that were made were between the kids and Viggo. He would come on set every day with different books for all the kids to read. I ended up having about 10 books that I've never gotten around to reading. He really is a generous, amazingly kind man."

Nicholas Hamilton
Captain Fantastic and the Sundance Kid
By Matthew Lowe
Filmink.com
20 January 2015



"I think everybody finds Viggo to be a bit of a mentor because he's becoming a kind of—and certainly this is nothing that he would want—but I think he's becoming a kind of iconic figure in terms of how you should be an actor. Just your demeanor, your seriousness, but your sense of humor and the kind of research you do and your professionalism, and your loyalty to the project and to the people who are creating the project."

David Cronenberg
On the Analyst's Couch with David Cronenberg
Jenni Miller
GQ Magazine
21 November 2011



Bloom didn't skip a beat in saying fellow Lord of the Rings co-star Viggo Mortensen is the actor he's worked with who's had the most influence on his career....

"Viggo Mortensen had the biggest impact on me in terms of approach, dedication, intention, and artistic outlook and I'm nowhere close to how good he is as an artist and I wouldn't even put myself in the same category as an actor." said Bloom.

Orlando Bloom
Entertainment Weekly
10 October 2013



'Viggo came late to the project, but he brought a dedication and an understanding of the role that became an example, particularly to the younger cast members. You have to remember that this was Orlando Bloom's first movie. Not only was Viggo valuable in his performance, but he was valuable as a leader of the cast.'

Barrie Osborne
The Lord of the Rings: The Untold Story
By Ian Nathan, Empire, December 2004



Who have you learnt the most from working with?

Viggo Mortensen, in terms of he way he approaches a scene, his commitment to the people he's working with and his follow-through in support of the film that he's made.

Karl Urban: I had 14 weeks of intense training to get fit for Dredd
By Andrew Williams
Metro
7 September 2012



"...he really reawakened in me a sense of the possibilities of what it can be as an actor enjoying a role."

Sean Astin
A Fantastic Leap of Faith
by Brent Simon
Entertainment Today, 2001



'He's a very interesting guy. He writes poetry. He takes photographs. He's very artistically rich. I just tried to watch him and learn as much as I could.'

Michael Fassbender on meeting Viggo
Michael Fassbender Explores A Dangerous Method with Movie Fanatic
by Joel D Amos
Moviefanatic.com
25 November 2011



"Viggo is generous, he is constantly bringing small gifts. That must be a result of his education and the numerous trips he takes. And when you act with him in a scene, even when his part is done, he stays close to the camera in order to help you. We function very differently, especially in the way we channel our energy. He is always calm, and speaks softly. I have a more brutal side. I learned a lot from knowing him."

Vincent Cassel
Viggo Mortensen the Insatiable
Studio Magazine
By Sophie Benamon
November 2007


Viggo on other actors:

'I discovered [The Passion of Joan of Arc] when I was 20. I didn't know very much about movies, I wasn't even an actor: I wasn't yet measuring all of Dreyer's esthetic innovation and radicalism, but it still had a crazy effect on me. The story, the way it's told, but especially her, Falconetti: her modern way of acting, her immediacy. Whatever moment you're watching the film, she's there.'

Viggo talking about Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc
"It's women who made me want to be an actor."
By Clélia Cohen - translated by Donna Marie
Vanity Fair (France)
June 2014



'I would say there's two roles that I would have liked to play and that I came within a hair's breadth of playing. One was right in the beginning, Greystoke—to play Tarzan. The other was the Willem Dafoe part in Platoon. The thing is, I didn't have the experience to deal with the consequences of being in a big studio movie playing a lead. I wouldn't have kept learning. I've been lucky to learn by playing all kinds of roles and watching all kinds of really good cinematographers, actors, and directors for many years before people were even aware of me in terms of audience.'

Viggo Mortensen, King of The Road
By Michael Mechanic
MotherJones.com
23 November 2009



"The real trigger for me was the film that everyone was talking about when I was twenty: The Deer Hunter, particularly Meryl Streep. What an inspiration! All the actors in that movie are amazing, no doubt; but there's something about Meryl Streep in that movie that makes me identify with her. I don't know why, something mysterious that you can't put your finger on, but which haunts you deeply, and for a long time..."

Viggo Mortensen: The Soul of a Warrior
By Juliette Michaud
Studio Magazine
December 2002



"I loved working with Al Pacino. He was unusually generous for someone in his position. He has a very open mind, and a very open heart."

Viggo Mortensen
Uncut
November 2007



Viggo talking about Omar Sharif:

"Not only was I working with this wonderful actor I knew best from Lawrence of Arabia - we were working in some of the same locations in Morocco where they shot parts of that movie 40 years ago. That was an amazing experience for me," Mortensen says. "I mean, to be working there with the man himself, Omar Sharif, was great just in terms of being a witness to film history.

"But it was even better to get to know that man as a human being. He's a very generous, extremely professional actor. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to tell that he's also a genuinely intelligent, well-read person. And he's got this aura about him that's beyond anything a lighting designer or a cameraman can do. He just has a certain gleam in his eye ... and that smile of his. He's so in the moment and so alive. He just radiates a love of life."

Mortensen wishes they'd had even more scenes together. "But I think the relationship between our two characters is a good one, a unique one. It shows how two very different cultures can connect."

Viggo talking about Omar Sharif
Viggo Mortensen: The Straight-Shooting Star of the New Western Hidalgo Talks about Movies, Myths, Cowboys, and Codes of Honor
By Joe Leydon
Cowboys & Indians
April 2004



"I accepted [the part of Lucifer], in part because I had always wanted to work with Christopher Walken," the actor says while sitting on the sofa's edge. His face lights up when saying Walken's name. It's evident that Christopher Walken is a cult actor for many young actors nowadays. "I would do any movie with him, no matter what [it was]."

On "The Prophecy'
Viggo Mortensen: A Very Devilish Devil In The Prophecy
by Ferran Viladevall
La Opinión 1995



'Watching Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington was pretty interesting; to be at several scenes when they're arguing in speeches and stuff. I'd say that's fun to watch those actors go at it like a sporting event and I had a front row seat. '

Viggo Mortensen on Crimson Tide
The Fire That Fuels an Artist's Heart
By Carnell
Carpe Noctem magazine #15
1999



'[Harrison Ford] was most of all professional. Conscientious. Interesting to study. I had the greats before me: Peter Weir, above all, with his calmness and efficiency. In the evening, when I came back from my wandering, they let me watch the rushes. Witness was an idyllic experience.'

Viggo Mortensen: The Soul of a Warrior
By Juliette Michaud
Studio Magazine
December 2002



"If I've learned anything these past years it's that everyone is in some way your superior. Every movie I've made has confirmed the fact that this is a team sport."

AFI Fest: Viggo and The Road
The Bloggomist: The Local Boy
Evil Monito Magazine
17 November 2009

It was lovely to see Viggo and David Cronenberg back together again at the Beaune International Thriller Film Festival, presenting two of their collaborations. It would be even lovelier to see them working together again! In the meantime, while we light our karma candles for a miracle, let's take a look back at that famous (infamous?) Cronenberg/Mortensen double act.



© Hanway/Lago.


Scorsese and De Niro.
Fellini and Mastroianni.
John Ford and the Duke.
And now … David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen?

By Robert W. Butler, The Kansas City Star
16 Sept 2007



….exuding from their two films together is a sense of ideal alchemy, as if the sculptured physique and the Sphinx like face of the actor were made for the dry and morally complex thrillers of the Canadian film maker.

Sans Viggo, je n'aurai pas fait ce film
Les Inrockuptibles
Serge Kanaski and Julien Gester
12 November 2007



After two collaborations, they're as comfortable together as a pair of old shoes.

Behind the banter, 'Eastern Promises' actor and director offer serious insights
By Chris Vognar, Dallas News
12 Sept 2007



"Viggo's cheap, he's available and he's obedient!" laughs Cronenberg. "And he's got a great chin."

David Cronenberg
Ties that bind
by Melora Koepke, Hour CA
13 Sept 2007



"I love Viggo - it really is a collaboration," Cronenberg says. "It's like a marriage. You might see two people together and not understand why they are, but they know. We know. We feel we can get the best out of each other."

Viggo's 'Promises'
By Sara Stewart
New York Post
26 Aug 2007



"I feel safe bringing things to David that weren't on the page, because he knows it's good for the movie to make people feel safe and like they are truly collaborators."

Cronenberg chuckled. "Yes, essentially I am very lazy, and I only hire people who will do all the work for me."

"And then he can take credit for it," Mortensen said, deadpan.

Mortensen, director discuss their noirish
Eastern Promises
By Dixie Reid, Sacramento Bee,
12 Setember 2007



So, do when you work with Viggo, is it like being in his skin the whole time?

Yes, that's true. I can tell you that one time the props guy came to me and said, "I'm going to ask you about this because you are Viggo, and Viggo is you—so it doesn't matter which of you I ask." He saw it.

David Cronenberg's existential promises
By Jennifer Merin, New York Press
14 Sept 2007



We really trust each other's sensibility. I did talk to a director once who said, "You know this guy Viggo you worked with? I sent a script to him, and he sent me notes!" I said, "Yeah? Well, were they good notes?" He looked at me like I was crazy.

'Dangerous Method' helmer talks working with Pattinson, Giamatti on 'Cosmopolis'
By Christy Grosz
Variety
13 December 2011



How did they work to create Mr. Mortensen's Nikolai, covered in tattoos and minimalist of motion?

"I just followed orders," deadpans Mr. Mortensen, 48. "And I just told him to do whatever he wanted," says Mr. Cronenberg, 64.

Behind the banter, 'Eastern Promises' actor and director offer serious insights
By Chris Vognar, Dallas News
12 Sept 2007



When I read interviews about History of Violence, the interviews really emphasized the degree to which you two collaborate. Tell me, how do you two work together?

DC: It's a total lie. I do everything, Viggo does nothing. I do all the work. But he pays me to say that he does a lot of stuff.

VM: Also to say that I'm thoughtful and considerate.

Talking Eastern Promises with David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen
By Sara Maria Vizcarrondo
Rotten Tomatoes
12 September 2007



"In the movie," said Cronenberg, "Viggo was wearing Armani. We don't allow him on the street like that, because he can't carry off the class when he's being himself."

Mortensen, director discuss their noirish
Eastern Promises
By Dixie Reid, Sacramento Bee,
12 September 2007



David Cronenberg said that you and Freud both had a mischievous sense of humor.

He said that? That's nice. I see that in him too.

Viggo Mortensen
How Viggo Mortensen Got Inside Sigmund Freud's Head
By Rachel Dodes
The Wall Street Journal: Speakeasy
18 November 2011



What was it that got you interested in A Dangerous Method? Was it mostly working again with Cronenberg, or the psychological theme? Or both?

Firstly, working with David Cronenberg again. Secondly, the bait that David threw my way, in the form of an elaborate system of undergarments that Sigmund Freud was reputed to have employed on some of his summer excursions deep into the Alps. They included an elaborate system of miniaturised pulleys and wires that assisted in muscular stimulation for the steeper climbs. I was allowed to wear these undergarments in all scenes whether I was climbing or not.

Viggo Mortensen
Empire On-line Web Chat
31 January 2012



"I think my cast has great need of psychoanalysis, which is why I cast them actually, to introduce them gently to the idea that they needed help, a lot of help….And you can see they are much better people. Before they were messes. When I found them, they were neurotics, hopeless," Cronenberg said to great laughter.

Mortensen played along. "Now we dress ourselves," he retorted.

Venice Film Festival Press Conference
Cronenberg 'cures' cast in Freud-Jung drama
Rssbroadcast.com
2 September 2011



"I just go back to work with David and he fills up all my neuroses…"

Viggo Mortensen
TIFF Press Conference Diaries: It's game on for the stars of A Dangerous Method
Ben Kaplan
National Post
10 September 2011



DC: As I look at his nose, it appears much more Freudian than it used to.

VM: It's getting bigger, isn't it?

DC: Yeah, it is.

Cronenberg and Mortensen - Dangerous Minds
Shortlist.com
10 February 2012



Would you say you enjoy a similar intellectual relationship as Freud and Jung have on that epic first 13-hour date-slash-conversation?

Mortensen: We can have a conversation about baseball statistics as readily as we could have about psychoanalysis.

Cronenberg: We are readers, and we do get excited when we say, "Oh, I read that same book!" and things like that, so there is that intellectual connection.

Mortensen: I think one of the things about you that I most like, other than just the exchanges we have intellectually and just the silly jokes we sometimes enjoy, is the fact that, each time you're making a movie, you get as excited as I do or more so about the subject. . . . You have the eternal beginner attitude. Which I think is a great thing to have for an actor, for a director, anybody.
If you enjoy what you're doing, no matter how serious the subject matter, I think you feel that when you watch the movie. I think you watch this movie — and I'm subjective because I'm in it — but I think you can see we had a good time making it.

David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen talk about 'A Dangerous Method'
By Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
12 December 2011



VM: Well, is there anything else? It's onerous to talk to me, I know.

DC: It's torment. I actually had to take some codeine pills before we
started.

A Conversation Between David Cronenberg And Viggo Mortensen: The Interview
Transcribed by Patches
28 Sept 2007

This week's Quotable encompasses a lot of Viggo's thoughts on acting and movie making. Sometimes a film is all one hopes for, sometimes it isn't, but for Viggo there is always something to learn along the way, a chance of discovering something wonderful and of telling a great story.



© Jack English.


Why are you an actor?

To fight against forgetting.

I wouldn't look the Alatristes of today in the eye
By Oskar L. Belategui, translated for V-W bu Margarita
Hoy Sociedad
3 September 2006


"I love that process before you start shooting, because the filming-the-movie experience, the shooting of the movie itself, doesn't turn out to be the movie you thought it might be. The period before, there's no limit. You can read as much as you want, think as many thoughts, make as many notes; ask as many questions, and then you have to put those aside and sit face to face with other actors and listen to the director and they say action, and you've got to be there and just assume that the most useful is in you, is part of you somehow. I love that period because that's always good – that's never bad."

Viggo Mortensen
Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen, Hossein Amini – The Two Faces of January
By Robyn Candyce
Moviehole
24 September 2014



"I could have done one big-studio movie after another if the goal was to stay as visible as possible, to make as much money as possible. I guess, because of my temperament, I didn't want to. I wouldn't have been telling good stories. The challenge would have always been to try not to make a total ass of myself, even though I knew the story was really stupid."

Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Talks and Talks
By Zoe Heller
T Magazine
2 December 2011



"The camera's your friend," he said. "But it's like this person that's there that doesn't talk. But they have really good eyesight! So you should be on your toes. It's this mute, hawkeyed friend that doesn't know how to keep a secret," he laughed. "I'm not afraid of it," he added.

Viggo Mortensen: Making peace with the camera
By Tracy Smith
CBS
11 December 2016



"When it works, acting is the easiest and most fun job in the world. When everything goes wrong, it can become the most embarrassing and humiliating. And there, unfortunately, no one can help you."

By Simona Coppa - translated by Ollie
Grazia
9 October 2012



'Films are teamwork and there are actors who don't mind saying that the film was a piece of shit but I was just fine. I don't like that. If the film doesn't work, there's nothing. It's like saying, I'm the top scorer, but my team didn't make it to the final.'

Viggo Mortensen
River Mortensen
By Ramón Raboiras - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Esquire
September 2012



'Working with fantasy is, in a certain way, a childish activity. However, 'it's childish behavior' is often said in a pejorative way. How many times have we heard that phrase? I think that it's something that doesn't have to be negative. Childish behavior? Yes, thanks! Me, I'm really interested in going to that extreme.'

Viggo Mortensen
River Mortensen
By Ramón Raboiras - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Esquire
September 2012



'I don't really have a game plan. I've never really had one. Some people say, "Hollywood prefers this now," and I always go, "What is Hollywood? I really don't know what that is." I don't plan to do big or small movies.'

Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen: 'A Dangerous Method' Taught Me How to Talk in a Movie
By Michael Hogan
Moviefone
23 November 2011



'I don't think there is any such thing as "Method Acting" because method is "what works," you know?'

Viggo Mortensen on Everybody Has a Plan, Argentine Popes and His Beloved San Lorenzo
John Lopez
Huffington Post
21 March 2013



So how many tongues has he used onscreen?

"Lakota, Elvish -- two kinds of Elvish -- Dwarvish, Arabic, French, Danish, Russian," he listed. "I think I spoke Swedish one time, German, Spanish."

It's possible he may have left out one or two.

Jill Lawless
Associated Press
2 September 2014



"I'm sort of old-fashioned in that I don't think a movie is fully realized until people have paid a few bucks to go into a room and sit down together, with strangers," he said. "I think there's something about that that's different. You can sort of simulate that in your house, but there's something about the movie house, the movie theater, that I think is valuable. I hope it never completely goes away."

How Viggo Mortensen learned to be captain of 6 kids onscreen
Moira Macdonald
Seattle Times
8 July 2016



Which has been your favorite role in the films you've worked on?

It's like choosing a child. Or a brother. Or more accurately, a favorite foot or hand. The truth is that all the roles I've played have taught me something.

Encounters - Direct Response from Viggo Mortensen
By - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
El Mundo
21 April 2015



"My best movies, I look at them years later and think, 'I was kind of another person then.' At certain points, it's beyond you. It transports you. That's the magical thing about telling stories in movies, and even going to movies – there's something else that happens. You hope. Because you want to be transported. You want to come out feeling different."

Viggo Mortensen
On the Road, signs of the apocalypse hit home
Johanna Schneller
Globe and Mail
27 November 2009

I watched Appaloosa again recently and kept thinking that while I regret that there was never an Eastern Promises 2, I regret even more that Cole and Hitch never rode out together again for the last two of the Appaloosa books that I enjoyed reading so much. Viggo makes one heck of a cowboy. As one critic said recently, nobody moseys like Viggo Mortensen. Heck, he's even related to Buffalo Bill...



© New Line Cinema/Warner Brothers.


"I found out a while back that I'm related to Buffalo Bill - distantly, on my mother's mother's side of the family," he says. "It's true: I went to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, and saw the records that prove the connection." Mortensen finds J.K. Simmons' performance as Buffalo Bill "terrific" - and it gave him an interesting opportunity to play in scenes with a distant relative.

Viggo Mortensen: The Straight-Shooting Star of the New Western
By Joe Leydon
Cowboys & Indians
April 2004



Indeed Mortensen, one of the few Danes who can get away with a cowboy hat (in Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and Hidalgo), looks so much like a man from the Golden West, it's a wonder he isn't attached to remakes of everything from High Noon to Carry On Cowboy.

A History of Violence is David Cronenberg's Western
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
March 2006



'The cowboy 'ethic' has as much in common ideally with the Medieval Knight or Lakota warrior or Samurai warrior in that you can be an individual, be independent minded and allow other people to have their individual experience too! It can be that way.'

Viggo Mortensen
An Interview with Viggo
by Lise Balk King and Frank J King
Native Voice
January 2004



When there's action to be had, Mortensen looks like a real pro. He's got the cowboy drawl down pat; shoots a Colt .45 with confidence; delivers sharp one-liners like a kinder, gentler Clint Eastwood; and has a great seat on a horse. Even when the movie gets a little slow--and it does, a 3000-mile desert race will do that to a movie--Mortensen's onscreen appeal saves the day.

Hidalgo
Leigh Johnson
Hollywood.com



It's not as if we haven't seen movies like "Hidalgo" before -- the cowboy, the horse, the hat -- and yet there's something fresh about it all the same. Part of it comes from Viggo Mortensen, an actor who has the measured pace and steady gaze of a Cooper or a Stewart.

Wild West to wild Mideast
Mortensen saddles up as former cowboy racing across desert
Mick LaSalle
Chronicle, 5 March 2004



While [Hidalgo] can waver from itself, Mortensen is steadfast like a throw back to the old school smoldering actors that paraded about the prairies, years ago; sexy and very iconic American cowboy.

Hidalgo review
Emily Blunt
The Blunt Review
2004



Not only did Rex Peterson serve as trainer, but also adviser to Mortensen on cowboy attitudes - to the point that a joke on the set called Viggo "Rex, Jr".

Hidalgo - Production Notes
Touchstone Pictures
2004



Viggo Mortensen follows a classic cowboy code in the Western "Appaloosa": Speak softly and carry a big honkin' gun.

Mortensen Packs a Big Gun
By David Germain
Associated Press
17 September 2008



Are there two more stronger, silenter types in modern movies than Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen? Each of these actors are a throw back to the days when cowboy stars were manly men who mean what they say and only say what they mean and nothing else.

Richard Crouse
CTV.ca
6 September 2008



"There are film buffs and story buffs who like the apparent simplicity [of a Western]. Although in a movie like this you can see that, yes, there is silence and there's an easy pace at times punctuated by dramatic tension, but in that silence, if it is well acted, and it is a good Western, which I think this is, then that silence is full of complicated things and a lot of subtext."

Viggo Mortensen Talks 'Appaloosa'
Premier Magazine
By Karl Rozemeyer
19 September 2008



...Holding one's body still in front of a movie camera while also giving the sense of a mind in motion is a specialized art, one with few masters. Paul Newman comes to mind, notably in his later career, as does Robert Duvall, a perennial movie cowboy who will surely wish that Appaloosa had come his way. And now, it would seem, there is Mortensen, who steals this film by doing nothing much more than lean against doorways and bar counters. Like Harris, Mortensen is a great listener, and good listeners—in life and in movies—barely move. That quality is just right for the role of Hitch, whose life hangs on Cole's next word and slightest gesture. It's an old truth, and not just about westerns: When the talking stops, the dying begins.

Chuck Wilson
Village Voice
17 September 2008



Mortensen said he was hooked by the dynamics between the two men. They love each other, said Harris, even if they might never say those exact words. It's a deep, complex friendship, though don't expect it to unravel like the one between the cowboys in Brokeback Mountain.

Said Mortensen: "They cut those scenes."

Appaloosa: TIFF press conference diaries
by Mark Medley
National Post
September 05, 2008



Mortensen comes off best. Not only does he seem like a genuine artifact of the late 19th Century, his plain-spoken charisma is well-suited to the western genre. ….But with or without that fantastic mustache, Mortensen should certainly do another western, soon. Preferably he should do one with a real sense of danger to go along with all the neat, tidy, highfalutin' honor and decency.

Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
2 October 2008

Every quote today - and there are quite a few old favourites - reflect the reaction of reporters to meeting and interviewing Viggo. He's impressed them with a zen-like inscrutability, talked over them, hypnotized them and fascinated them. He's never quite what they expect from an A List actor!



© ACN.


Most actors will agree on the value of appearing enigmatic. But there is enigmatic and then there is Viggo Mortensen…

On Viggo Mortensen
By Ryan Gilbey
Filminfocus.com
4 December 2007



His voice is calm, a Zen whisper from the depths. Viggo Mortensen is understatement personified. I don't think I've ever met an A-list actor so far from the brash Hollywood caricature.

Understated A-lister Viggo Mortensen tells our reporter about his new cult hit 'Captain Fantastic' - and why it's impossible to be the perfect parent
by Ed Power
Irish Independent
31 August 2016



Here's the thing about Viggo Mortensen: I could listen to this man speak on just about any topic for hours. His voice is both passionate and hypnotic. It's impossible not to be engaged when he's speaking because he presents himself with, somehow, both a welcome calmness and a focused intensity at the exact same time. It might be magic. I suspect it is magic.

Viggo Mortensen Will Hypnotize You With His Intensity As He Dissects What's Wrong With Our Polarized Country
By Mike Ryan
Uproxx
7 November 2016



...while he's clearly driven by a need to express himself via many outlets, he still exudes a sense of some private, fundamentally unknowable core self. It permeates his screen presence, too, and is part of what makes him so intriguing as an actor.

Viggo Mortensen: Still here, still fantastic
The Film Experience
By Nathaniel Rogers
24 April 2016



Ostensibly, Mortensen is in town to promote his role as a conflicted, compromised German professor in Good, a small-scale drama that – in his words – "needs all the support it can get". He could have got away with delivering the sales spiel. Instead, he's content to go lolloping off after his own train of thought and in the end, the best option is to give up and drift along for the ride. In Mortensen's view, the journey is always more entertaining than the destination anyway.

The happy trails of Viggo Mortensen
Xan Brooks
The Guardian
18 April 2009



In the flesh, his inscrutability gives off an electric hum. He is soberly dressed - grey suit, sensible shirt - and speaks in hushed, gravelly tones. If you didn't know, and of course you do, you might mistake Mortensen for a visiting academic or a writer.

Understated A-lister Viggo Mortensen tells our reporter about his new cult hit 'Captain Fantastic' - and why it's impossible to be the perfect parent
by Ed Power
Irish Independent
31 August 2016



My first impressions of Viggo are a little hard to explain. He has an elusive reputation but I found him very down to earth. At the same time, however, he came off as quite mysterious. He spoke in a hushed, thoughtful tone and sounded very poetic in his speech patterns. Even when he wasn't saying much of anything I felt compelled to listen.

John Makarewicz
CHUD magazine
2004



Mortensen is nothing if not precise. A conversation with him tends to lead wherever he wants it to go. Try to ask a follow-up question or change the subject, and he'll gently, politely raise his voice and continue talking over you.

Rocky Road
By Ben Kenigsberg
Time Out Chicago
13 November 2009



An encounter with Viggo is sitting on a porch, drinking a bombilla of mate and watching time pass in such a way that every now and then new reflections, inquiries, ways of looking at things arise. It can take a whole season. Watching many skies pass by.

River Mortensen
By Ramón Raboiras - translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
Esquire
September 2012



The depth of his tenor and the thoughtful, unhurried way in which he expresses himself makes his words a visual, spoken poetry.

Native Voice Interview with Viggo
By Lise Balk King
Pine Ridge Reservation
South Dakota, December 2003



Viggo Mortensen is an extraordinarily beautiful man. But his handsome features are merely a suggestion of the tremendous sensitivity and resonant spirit that inform his inner self. He speaks with a gentle yet engaging passion and carries himself with a sense of calm that seems to radiate outwards to anyone in proximity…

Viggo Mortensen: "It's my nature to do a lot"
By covermg.com
10 July 2012



…the actor tends toward abstractions and diversions in conversation. Entire paragraphs can pass by without a concrete noun, but you don't mind because he's friendly and easygoing - a man with the attitude of a surfer, the eyes of a killer, and the brain of a slacker bookworm.

An actor lured by western promise
By Ty Burr
Boston Globe
September 28, 2008



He seems to be a soul meant to wander the earth in search of universal truth, not discuss Hobbit movies over canapés with journalists.

On interviewing Viggo in a posh hotel
Dr. No: Viggo Mortensen Has Made Turning Down Roles Into an Art Form
By Oliver Jones
The Observer
6 July 2016



Is Viggo Mortensen the most interesting man in the world?

Viggo Mortensen: Still here, still fantastic
The Film Experience
By Nathaniel Rogers
24 April 2016

It was nice this week to learn that during the filming of Prison Viggo earned a stunt team t-shirt. Viggo has always done most of his own stunts, but also has a huge respect for the stunt teams who double for him or who, in The Lord of the Rings, formed the hoards of Orcs he spent days fighting with. Viggo seems game for almost anything so that the Director can get the perfect shot, even clinging to a cliff face while terrified of heights.



© New Line Productions Inc.


Mortensen's humble attitude and willingness to do his own stunts earned him the nickname "No-Ego Viggo" among the crew. "He was always taking out stuntmen and buying them beer because he hit them one too many times," says Orlando Bloom. "He just goes for it. Viggo's energy is endless. He knows no limit."

The Hero Returns
By Tom Roston
Premiere
January 2003


Prison

When casting saw roughly 80 actors to fill the lead role, the moment they saw Viggo Mortensen it was a done deal. A young star on the rise, Mortensen had the mysterious quality needed to play Burke, while making him likable enough for the viewer to want to root for. He also handled almost all of his own stunts, a move that would earn him a stunt team t-shirt by Hodder by the end of production.

Locked Up 30 Years Later: Kane Hodder in 'Prison'
by Meagan Navarro
Bloodydisgusting.com
6 March 2018


Captain Fantastic

"He looked perfectly natural and happy and fine up there," says Captain Fantastic writer-director Matt Ross when told of Mortensen's terror during the mountain climbing scene. "He kept it all to himself. I remember he didn't want to come down for lunch. He would say, 'I am fine. I'm fine,' I had no idea."

Dr. No: Viggo Mortensen Has Made Turning Down Roles Into an Art Form
By Oliver Jones
The Observer
6 July 2016



"The kids were like 'Viggo come down to lunch!' and I said 'No, just send a sandwich up!' I was absolutely terrified. I couldn't look down."

Viggo Mortensen on His Idealistic New Film "Captain Fantastic"
by Gillian Sagansky
W Magazine
8 July 2016


The Road

How was it to jump in the ocean?

It was very cold. I asked for another take, but they were terrified. They didn't want me to. They had ambulances. The water was 41 degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind was just really blowing. The air temperature was the same, but because there was howling wind, I was practically frozen. I think the air was probably freezing. It was so extreme. They had an ambulance and they had all these heaters on, and I just sat in there with a bathrobe and said, "Just tell me when you're rolling. I'm just going to run out and go."

Interview: Viggo Mortensen Travels THE ROAD
Christina Radish
IESB.net
9 November 2009


Hidalgo

"He did things on the horse that the stunt man had difficulty doing. He fell off the horse, he rode bareback, he jumped on the horse at a gallop, which is difficult to do, and he you know, he fell off a few times and he got knocked down and he got kicked a few times, but you know, he also got right back up and wanted to do it again. I think he knew that if there was anything that was really life-threatening, he would come forward and say, 'I don't feel comfortable doing this.' But he never did."

Joe Johnston
IGN gets the behind-the-action goods from the director, writer and star of Hidalgo.
By Jeff Otto, IGN
March 04, 2004



"I pretty much got to do all the riding," Mortensen says. "That's because I worked hard with the trainer, with Rex Peterson and with the stunt guy Mike Watson and with all the horses and because I rode as a kid, so I was comfortable, so they felt it was a worthwhile risk. I'm sure the producers sometimes were sweating it but sometimes you do take some chances in order to get something that you can't really buy otherwise, digitally or otherwise, especially with a movie like this which isn't a special-effects driven movie, you can follow me in one shot without cutting. You can be close on me and see what I'm doing. "

Viggo Mortensen
IGN gets the behind-the-action goods from the director, writer and star of Hidalgo.
By Jeff Otto, IGN
March 04, 2004


Alatriste

"Some supposedly great stars doubt you and call you and say. 'Man, what are you doing?!' But Viggo went for the kill. He was the first one to throw himself into the cold water, into a filthy mud puddle, and the rest followed him."

Agustín Díaz Yanes
The Lord of Simplicity
By Ernesto Garratt Vines - translated by Margarita
Wikén - El Mercurio
30 March 2007


Lord of the Rings

"I was jet-lagged when I arrived in Wellington, and they drove me to these old army barracks. Inside was sort of a small gym. Against the wall, kind of vibrating and all tensed-up and sweating, was a whole group of people. It was the stunt team, some of them had real scars and they were very scary-looking, holding all of these rusty, blood-stained implements of destruction.

Bob Anderson, the sword-master, introduced them as the people I'd be fighting with for the next year-and-a-half or so. Then he gave me my sword, pointed me in their direction and said, 'Go.' They all came screaming, running at me. I didn't know quite what to do, so I sort of covered myself and they stopped right in my face, waving these weapons. Bob said, 'OK, good. You didn't run away, that's a start.' That's kind of how I got going on these movies. It was that way with everything."

MVP of Middle-earth
By Bob Strauss
U-Daily News
29 January 2004
U-Daily News



"There's one scene [at the end of] the first film where a knife is thrown at Aragorn, who clocks it with his sword. One of the stunt guys who was meant to be his double said, 'I've been practicing that and I've never been able to [hit the knife] once, and Viggo hits it on the first take. I hate him.'"

Miranda Otto
The Hero Returns
By Tom Roston
Premiere 2003



"It was very important to me to make everything as believable as possible. That's why, even when I was exhausted, I always fought with the [heavy] steel sword rather than the lighter one," he explains. "I wanted to make sure the fight scenes were realistic. I shouldn't be able to just throw my sword around like Errol Flynn did, especially when I'm really tired. It should be hard to fight with it!"

Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen
by Desmond Sampson
Pavement #62, 2003



I did pretty much all my own stunts in the battle scenes, and the amazing stunt team played the enemy at all times. The battle scenes are very elaborate, people going berserk night and day. Even in the background, thousands of people going completely nuts. But even if I had 20 people coming at me, I could recognize them through their masks and armour; I got to know their body language so well. It was gruelling."

Viggo Mortensen
By Simon Braund
Australian Empire magazine
January 2002



"He had no knuckles," laughs make-up man Perez. "He'd been virtually slaughtered by everyone because he would not let anyone do his rehearsals'"

Jose Perez
The Hero Returns
By Tom Roston
Premiere 2003



Eastern Promises

"I knew it would be relatively painful, and it was. There's no pads. But the two guys playing my attackers were good - one guy was a Georgian who had been in the Russian military, and the other guy was a Turkish professional boxer. They were perfect, and perfectly painful."

Viggo Mortensen on the Bathhouse scene
Ties that bind
by Melora Koepke, Hour CA
13 Sept 2007



A History of Violence

David Cronenberg: We didn't use stunt doubles. One of the things that these [self-defence] videos said was this: "You might think that if there is somebody there with a gun that you want to back away and be as far from the person as possible. But that's a mistake. You want to get close, really close to this person. From there you can do a lot of damage."

Viggo Mortensen: And he wanted to do that with the camera.

David Cronenberg: And I wanted to do that with the camera to do a lot of damage.

Noah Cowan: Did you get hit, Viggo?

Viggo Mortensen: Repeatedly.

David Cronenberg: I would do that even when we weren't shooting.

Viggo Mortensen: It happens in all the movies we do, he hits me with the camera. Even when I'm having a cup of coffee…

Viggo and Cronenberg talking about the dangers of filming the Eastern Promises fight scenes
Listening in: David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortenson introduce AHOV at Tiff
Next Projection.com
14 January 2014

A bit of a long Quotable this week. At the beginning of February, I looked at Viggo's leading ladies and their comments about working with Viggo. This week it's the turn of the men. They have, of course, all been equally 'Viggo-tized'.



Image Larry Horricks.
© Good Films.


"He's the gentlest man you'll meet, especially with the kids. He's really quiet out in public, but he loved all [us] little ones to pieces. He was hanging around with us all day and telling jokes. He acted like a father figure. He's a great guy."

Nicholas Hamilton
Young Aussie actor Nicholas Hamilton stars with Viggo Mortensen at Sundance
Harry Winsor
If.com.au
15 January 2015



"(Viggo's) such a goofball, that's what I was most excited about, he's very funny and just likes having a good time."

Oscar Isaac
London Premier Interview
Press Association
14 May 2014



The most difficult scene, Mr. Riley says, wasn't about nudity or sex, but playing across Viggo Mortensen, who plays Old Bull Lee, the William Burroughs character in the film. "I was nervous about improvising with Viggo because he is particularly well read, and a poet himself."

Sam Riley
Sam Riley Hits the Road
By Lanie Goodman
Wall Street Journal
4 October 2012



'And Viggo Mortensen -- he is the most beautiful man in the world! He is! He's just like, wow! He's such a special dude.'

Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender, future superstar
By Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com
8 March 2011



"Viggo's … a real artist. He cares about what speaks to him. He doesn't care about how much he's paid, doesn't care where he lives, doesn't care how nice the hotel is. He's a horse. I feel like he could go all day, work all day and he's polite and creative and generous. That made it easy. Not only is he physically gifted, he's graceful and tough."

Garret Dillahunt
Fred Topel
CraveOnline
20 March 2009



"This guy here [he puts a hand on Mortensen's shoulder] is a good a guy as you'll ever work with, not just as a talent but as a human being. The first day, he brought goodies from Argentina and flags and everything. His favorite soccer team is not as good as La Boca, but it's a good team."

Robert Duvall
Viggo Mortensen and Robert Duvall go on 'The Road' to redemption
By Carla Hay
Examiner.com
25November 2009



"Come on, we've all been Viggo-tized before. He has that charisma, he has a swagger. He's a great dude."

Michael K Williams
'Wire' Hero Michael K. Williams Loved Getting 'Viggo-tized' on 'The Road'
Popeater.com
Bryan Alexander
19 November 2009



"I just really enjoyed working with him. He's a really decent guy, a wonderful actor, a great-looking actor. I thought the two of us could capture this kind of unspoken love, appreciation that these guys have for each other. And his sense of humor. He's got kind of a weird sense of humor I like."

Ed Harris
Mortensen Packs a Big Gun
By David Germain
Associated Press
17 September 2008



"The thing about whoever played Halder is he had to have a sense of integrity and goodness. That's something I've always thought of (Mortensen) and something I'd been told by people who knew him — that he was a really lovely guy."

Jason Isaacs
Feb 2009



"Viggo is generous, he is constantly bringing small gifts. That must be a result of his education and the numerous trips he takes. And when you act with him in a scene, even when his part is done, he stays close to the camera in order to help you. We function very differently, especially in the way we channel our energy. He is always calm, and speaks softly. I have a more brutal side. I learned a lot from knowing him."

Vincent Cassel
Viggo Mortensen the Insatiable
Studio Magazine
By Sophie Benamon
November 2007



"I think there is some kinship in our approach to things. Maybe that is one of the reasons David brought us together because there was a similarity in how we approach things. Viggo is not pompous or pretentious. He doesn't arrive with an entourage. He's grounded, quirky, and observant. He is artistic. I deeply appreciate that since I basically arrive on the set with my shovel in hand and go to work as well. And I love it when someone else does that."

William Hurt
Cannes Film Festival 2005 Press Kit



'I can not believe that somebody can be so perfect. This man must carry a deep secret with him, or he has a skeleton in his cupboard, or something like that. Because Viggo Mortensen is the nicest, most artistic and most generous person I've ever met. And not only towards me, but he also has eye for the 'little/small people'. He gives you things all the time: his poems, paintings, pictures. I have to take all these things home with me to Paris.'

Omar Sharif
Source unknown



"We got on very well together, and spent a lot of time together as friends. But as an actor you can't wish to work with anyone more truthful and more honest than him. He brings an incredible pathos to the role, and I was so pleased to be doing scenes with him."

Sean Bean
A Fantastic Leap of Faith
By Brent Simon
Entertainment Today, 2001



"We sort of viewed him as our king and as an inspiration, and I think that he certainly wouldn't see himself as that. There is quiet leadership to him, and it's not intentional, and I think it's simply because he takes care of the people around him."

Elijah Wood
The Rebel King
By Chris Heath
GQ magazine, 2004



Says Bernard Hill, better known as King Theoden, "I read an article that said, 'Finally, someone's found the niche for Viggo Mortensen: the rugged hero who has a deep intellect and a great humanity. That's what Aragorn is, because Viggo has brought that to it. He's very like that as a human being."

It's Good to be "King"
By Susan Wloszczyna
USA Today, 2003



'Viggo's already cornered the market on animal magnetism.'

Liev Schreiber – A Walk on the Moon
The Knoxville News Sentinel,
6 April 1999



There are actors whose performances come as light emanating from the screen. Then there's Mortensen. His effect is gravitational. It draws you closer, inward.

Actor Geoffrey Rush after seeing the film at Tiff
Naked Viggo Mortensen: artist at work
By Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post Film Critic



Philip Seymour Hoffman, certainly one of the great actors of our time, told us in a Venetian hallway of the Hotel Excelsior how he regarded Viggo Mortensen as one of the masters of the profession. A point of view that is totally shared.

Viggo Mortensen in the Shoes of Dr. Freud
By Nicolas Crousse
Le Soir – translated by Dom
4 September 2011



"Viggo could earn his crust with his art, so he doesn't have to stay. How long this industry will be able to keep him is up to the quality of the material. We are very lucky to have him now."

John Rhys-Davies
Viggo Trip
by Liane Bonin
Flaunt magazine #39, 2002

Sometimes I wonder if Viggo missed his calling. He would have made a terrific Librarian. Books are an essential part of his life - he not only reads pretty much everything (is there a book he hasn't read yet?), he also publishes them, and it was great to see Perceval Press recently honoured by the Spanish Geographical Society for Hijos de la Selva. Books are also essential part of his preparation for roles. Heck, he also makes sure it's a part of fellow actor's preparation too, almost bringing a mobile library to the set.



Image Gregory Smith.
© MK2 Productions.


He publishes books—not just one or two every now and again, but consistently, through an actual publishing house he founded 15 years ago and continues to run.

Viggo Mortensen and the Art of Deliberate Living
By Michael Dunaway
Paste Magazine
3 August 2016



We just put out the books we want to. It's a kind of," he pauses searching for the word, "thoughtful anarchy."

Viggo Mortensen on Perceval Press
Little Press Shines With Star Power
Susan Salter Reynolds
Los Angeles Times
2004



Last Wednesday the star of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and one of my favorite movies, Hidalgo, donated a set of books to each of the 350 Sandpoint High School seniors… Each senior received two books written by Mike Davis: Land of the Mammoths and Pirates, Bats and Dragons. In addition, they received two bookmarks and a handwritten copy of a note from Viggo wishing the students well.

C-P reporter Becky Garrison talked with several students who were moved by the gift.

"I think it's great," said senior Nichole Rench. "I would hope it would be an inspiration. I thought it was really exciting to see him do stuff for our community."

Mortensen's Gift of Books Inspires Sandpoint High School Seniors
By David Keyes
Bonner County Daily Bee
10 February 2006



Mortensen -- in a well-tailored plaid jacket (no grunge look for him) and looking slighter than he does on screen -- leads the way upstairs to the poetry room. He immediately heads for the used-books bin. "I might find something out of print or something I haven't noticed before," he says, perusing titles with experienced eyes.

King of the big screen a champion of poetry: Blake's poetry makes an impression on Mortensen
By Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle
20 February 2004



"Viggo is such an amazing guy. He's the gentlest, kindest person you'll ever meet. All the 'family' members got along but I think the strongest bonds that were made were between the kids and Viggo. He would come on set every day with different books for all the kids to read. I ended up having about 10 books that I've never gotten around to reading. He really is a generous, amazingly kind man."

Nicholas Hamilton
Captain Fantastic and the Sundance Kid
By Matthew Lowe
Filmink.com
20 January 2015



'I tend to bring things to films. I find things that are useful for a movie and I usually end up getting along well with the prop man, or the designer. In this film, for example, there are the books that Chester finds in the market... I brought those books.'

Viggo Mortensen talks The Two Faces Of January, singing with Fassbender and throwing a nappy at Al Pacino
By Tom Ward
GQ
16 May 2014



'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 [who plays Old Bull Lee], 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



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. Much later, I discovered other writers such as Allen Ginsberg, Céline, Rimbaud, Camus ... But I find that Burroughs was the most original, an outsider, a pioneer of the language."

Viggo Mortensen: "Do I look sexy?"
By Simona Coppa - translated by Ollie
Grazia
9 October 2012



"Viggo will bring props to the set. I mean, he basically does his own set decoration. He'd come in with these rare books — editions that Freud actually had in his own study — and the production designer would say, 'Where did you find these?' "

David Cronenberg
Viggo Talks and Talks
By Zoe Heller
T Magazine
2 December 2011



How exactly does spending ages hunting down books Freud might have had in his library help his performance?

"It doesn't really help you act, but it helps you make believe. It's a more sophisticated way of doing what a child does when it says, 'I'm going to be a prince', or a milkman. A child doesn't have to be prompted – it has to be for real. As an actor, you have to find a way to believe it for yourself so that others can."

Viggo Mortensen
By Lucy Kellaway
Financial Times
10 February 2012



"I arrived on set and there was a library in my trailer."

Charlize Theron, The Road
Beautiful Dreamer
By Holly Millea
Elle (U.S.)
October 2009



"I read and re-read lots of German authors that someone would have read at the time. Not just German writers, but authors who a literary professor like John Halder might have taught at the time: Proust, Hamsun, American writers. In the movie, you see him in the classroom teaching Proust. I also spent time in Berlin, where I found all the books that you see in John Halder's house and office."

Viggo Mortensen talking about 'Good'
Play It As It Lays
By Philip Berk
Filmink
April 2009



"Viggo discovered a set of books called Russian Criminal Tattoo and a doc called Mark of Cain, which was about the tattooing subculture in Russian prisons, and when I saw them my mind was blown completely."

David Cronenberg
Ties that bind
by Melora Koepke, Hour CA
13 Sept 2007



He was the one who read the most about the Golden Century's history. He sent books and CDs for all his casting colleagues to savour that time - "not to seduce or control what the others did, but to share what I had found out," Mortensen informs.

Viggo Mortensen
The Court of Alatriste
By Rocío García, El País Semanal
Translated for V-W by Paddy
6 August 2006



"Life is short and the older you get, the more you feel it. Indeed, the shorter it is. People lose their capacity to walk, run, travel, think, and experience life. I realise how important it is to use the time I have. I respect people who want to do that by watching television. I happen to want to read books." He sighs and looks a bit sad. "But I know I can't read all the books or watch all the movies in one lifetime." Does he find that frustrating? Mortensen fixes me with his intense blue gaze. "Mostly no," he says. "If we could run out of books and movies, then we would be bored."

Viggo Mortensen is lord of all things
Chitra Ramaswamy
The Scotsman
24 May 2013

With Viggo looking startlingly different with his slicked back black hair in Green Book, I've been thinking quite a bit about A Dangerous Method recently, a film where Viggo transformed himself physically into a role we never could have expected – Sigmund Freud. Different eyes, different nose, different weight. It was a remarkable change and one that took place without his usual long preparation period when Viggo had to step in to replace Christopher Waltz.


© Hanway/Lago.


"…[Cronenberg] was in a jam. It was just last, not totally last minute, but pretty late in the pre-production. The actor that was supposed to play Sigmund Freud [Christoph Waltz] decided to do another movie so they had to recast. Fortunately I was available."

Viggo Mortensen
The Deliberate Method of Viggo Mortensen as Sigmund Freud in 'A Dangerous Method'
By Stuart Henderson
Pop Matters
17 November 2011



"The Freud in the story is not the Freud most people are accustomed to, the very thin, disease-ridden old man," he explains. "He was 50 and quite robust."

Mortensen believed he could pull him off, and so did the director. "That's the magic of casting," Cronenberg quips. "It's a black art."

'A Dangerous Method': David Cronenberg's Mild Manner and Outrageous Movies
By Stephen Galloway
Hollywood Reporter
7 September 2011



You underwent sort of a physical transformation to play the father of modern psychoanalysis.

Once we started talking about it, I thought with the help of a great makeup person—David's longtime makeup collaborator Stephan Dupuis who was nominated for an Oscar for "The Fly,"—it could work. He altered my nose. And one thing that's mentioned a lot by his contemporaries is that Freud had a particular type of penetrating brown-eyed gaze. I said "Montgomery Clift did it with his clear eyes in John Huston's movie," [the 1962 film, "Freud: The Secret Passion"] but I don't think if we're trying to be accurate that it would be right. So he started playing around with lenses that looked right but also didn't take away my own eyes' expressiveness.

How Viggo Mortensen Got Inside Sigmund Freud's Head
By Rachel Dodes
The Wall Street Journal: Speakeasy
18 November 2011



Do you think playing Freud was the biggest departure for you as an actor?

I eventually got used to the idea and I am really glad I got to play him. But it was a stretch for me, more so than playing the Russian character [in "Eastern Promises"]. Sometimes it's good to be put in a position where you're forced to try something that you didn't think you were capable of.

Viggo Mortensen
How Viggo Mortensen Got Inside Sigmund Freud's Head
By Rachel Dodes
The Wall Street Journal: Speakeasy
18 November 2011



Viggo Mortensen is the champ. Hands down. Of all the "say what?" performances some of us first heard about at last fall's Toronto International Film Festival — and which characterized 2011 as a hugely surprising year for film — none of them surprised me more than Mortensen playing Sigmund Freud in David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method."

In other words, not even the bracing successes of Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover or Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe shocked me the way Mortensen did playing Freud in Cronenberg's elegant, altogether surprising film.

Freud, for most of us, is a wild guess in speech and manner. Which is why Mortensen's cool, slow, contemplative version of Freud is — for the purpose of a movie anyway — brilliantly credible.

Jeff Simon
Buffalo News
26 January 2012



It's possible that in lusting after Mortensen all these years, we've taken his talent for granted. Of course, we really didn't know how talented he was until he started working with Cronenberg. This is the best thing Mortensen's ever done. His slow, paunchy, hairy Freud has a cavalier authority and a capacity for drollery…I don't know where Mortensen found this physical and psychological heaviness, this expressive inexpressiveness, but now isn't the time to start a diet.

Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
23 December 2011



Freud, played by the perpetual shape-shifter Viggo Mortensen, slinks around like a silent old Zen master. Mortensen is a calmer, gentler Freud, not the dogmatic tyrant of psychological thought imagined by the common populace.

By Matthew D'Abate
Your Beautiful New York
14 December 2011



…if there's one thing that the critics can agree on, it's that Viggo Mortensen, in his third film on the trot with the Canadian maverick, gives another brilliant turn. Buried beneath a prosthetic nose, and playing older than he's usually allowed to, he's easily the highlight of the film, giving a beguiling turn worlds away from the professional killers he played for Cronenberg in "A History of Violence" and "Eastern Promises."

Five Things We Learned In Toronto From The 'A Dangerous Method' Star
Oliver Lyttelton
The Playlist
14 September 2011



Almost serenading the audience with his Austrian accent, Mortensen is instantly Sigmund Freud without a shadow of a doubt. With a calm, cool and elegant demeanor he walks with confidence, cane at his side and cigar always hanging from his mouth. He seduces the audience and he seduces Jung…

Brad Brevet
Rope of Silicon
10 September 2011



Mr. Mortensen again reveals his amazing skills of self-transformation…

Roderick Conway Morris
New York Times
6 September 2011



…Mortensen, certainly the most physically imposing Sigmund Freud to ever insinuate itself on the public imagination.

Jim Slotek
Toronto Sun
11 September 2011



"It was a lot of fun. A lot of times that happens, though. The thing that seems like the biggest challenge, and the most: This is not going to work, I don't know how to do it… Once you crack it and get comfortable, it ends up being more enjoyable than the things that come easier."

Viggo Mortensen
The Deliberate Method of Viggo Mortensen as Sigmund Freud in 'A Dangerous Method'
By Stuart Henderson
Pop Matters
17 November 2011



DC: As I look at his nose, it appears much more Freudian than it used to.

VM: It's getting bigger, isn't it?

DC: Yeah, it is.

Cronenberg and Mortensen - Dangerous Minds
Shortlist.com
10 February 2012

A lovely comment about Viggo from Charlize Theron turned up this week: "every moment with Viggo is memorable". I think that's a cue to look at Viggo's other leading ladies and their memorable Viggo moments.



Image Macall Polay. © 2929/Dimension Films.


"Pretty much every moment with Viggo is memorable. He's an incredibly powerful actor".

Charlize Theron Video Interview On 'The Road
Uinterview.com
24 November 2009



"He's surprisingly hilarious. The first time I met him, he was reserved. It was in an elevator. I was like, 'Hi.' He was like, 'Oh, hi.' I learned later he was very shy. So I was nervous, even a little scared, to work with him. I thought, 'This is going to be intense.' Then I got the whole other side, which I don't think many people know. He should do comedy, I've told him that... I'm sure he wouldn't be happy with people knowing how funny he is."

Kirsten Dunst
By Ajesh Patalay
Harper's Bazaar
May 2014



Can you talk about that very fateful moment in the cave, or would you prefer not to spoil it.

KD: Well, Viggo had to illuminate that scene with a lighter, and he was holding it and he burnt me and he was wailing and being emotional, and I couldn't say anything. The light was out was out but it was still so hot. I think I still have a scar. I didn't want to mess with Viggo.

VM: Scarred her for life.

Kirsten Dunst & Viggo Mortensen Talk Bonding On Set, Paparazzi, & 'The Two Faces of January'
by Hillary Weston
Black Book
1 October 2014



"I find peace in Viggo´s eyes. Confronted with the giddiness of the text, you can take risks with him, walk the tightrope."

Carme Elías
Viggo Mortensen And Forgiveness
By Ulises Fuente - translated by Ollie and Rio
La Razón
1 November 2011



"He is a person with enormous warmth and great honesty. We rehearsed, we read the script, we got to know each other a bit and build up a relationship as people…I like him as an actor, he goes beyond the screen. He has an impressive level of communication. I was interested to know how he faces work, someone who comes from filming with Cronenberg. And the truth is he is very professional, very serious on the set, and he knows very well how to control his energy."

Soledad Villamil
Soledad's Gaze
translated by Ollie
Clarín
8 July 2011



"I have no idea what this jersey is. Viggo just told me it would wind David up."

Keira Knightly on wearing a Montreal Canadians sweater at the Press Conference
TIFF Press Conference Diaries: It's game on for the stars of A Dangerous Method
Ben Kaplan
National Post
10 September 2011



"There's rarely a day he doesn't show up bearing gifts of some sort from his different weekend jaunts, where he'll go find some really obscure village behind Taos somewhere and visit an artists' colony and bring back some wares to share. And there was never a day that he wasn't plying us with dark chocolate. It was ridiculous. Bags full. Bags full! Bacon-covered truffles. Where was he getting it? He was the chocolate crack dealer."

Renée Zellweger
The Great Dane
By Phoebe Eaton
[I]Men's Vogue
March 2008



LWLies: How would you describe Viggo Mortensen?

Whittaker: A dude. An absolutely brilliant, brilliant guy. He's really soft, he's really generous – in all senses of the word: as an actor, as a human being. I don't know anyone who's met him during filming Good or any of the press we did afterwards that could find anything pretentious or starry in him. He's just a really passionate actor and he's a proper actor, he really works hard and he picks his films. He's not in it for money, he's not in the magazines being papped everywhere, he's a very focused guy and he's incredibly multi-talented…

Jodie Whittaker talking about Viggo
by Ellen E Jones
Little White Lies



"Viggo blew me away on a daily basis..…He spent time in Russia and every day he would come to the set with something interesting: a piece of writing or a Russian chocolate or a photo album. I think he stayed in character pretty much the whole time. And that's great. It really helped me… I saw Viggo yesterday for the first time since we finished the film and it was like a whole different person. I almost didn't recognise him."

Naomi Watts
Matt Mueller
Total Film
October 2007



I knew "Vig" as an artist before I knew he was an actor, like eight or nine years ago, I went to an art show in L.A. and saw these incredible paintings and photographs and said "Who is this man?" and found out he was an actor. So I've always had an artistic, intellectual crush on him, and people told us throughout the years, we'd be friends, and when we met, it was certainly like that.

Maria Bello on A History of Violence
by Edward Douglas
Coming Soon!
23 September 2005



"He has a great physical ability coupled with a real sensitivity. It's sort of a contradiction between the two, that he can kill so many orcs and ride a horse like he can. But he's taken an anti-hero approach to playing Aragorn. He's so much an artist that he takes everything very seriously."

Miranda Otto
It's Good to be "King"
By Susan Wloszczyna
USA Today
16 December 2003



"For our love scenes, he would come to me the night before and say he wanted to change all the lines to the Elvish language. He was trying to make that connection stronger, and I thought it was beautiful that they'd speak Elvish to each other because it adds a layer to their history that you wouldn't otherwise see."

Liv Tyler
Mellow Warrior
By Anthony Breznican
South Coast Today
15 December 2003



"He's mysterious. He reminds me of Daniel Day-Lewis, who I'm working with now – you know there's an enormous interior life." Kidman met Mortensen on Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady in 1996. "He was a little awkward, which was sweet. He has all that humor and bravado, but that gave him a fragility. Viggo's a Campion man. Her favourite men are Byron-esque."

Nicole Kidman
Beautiful Dreamer
By Holly Millea
Elle (U.S.)
October 2009



"You've taught me a lot. I remember I was agonizing over a character once and you said, 'Look you're the only person in the world who's playing her, and nobody knows how she's suposed to react. You're the only one who knows, and so whatever you do, you're right." That's a very liberating way of looking at things."

Patricia Arquette interviewing Viggo
By Patricia Arquette
Interview magazine
June 1995



'Viggo is a real artist. He lives for creating art and be absorbed by it - not for talking.'

Gwynneth Paltrow
By Cindy Pearlman
The Chicago Sun-Times
1998



"I think he has a quality of self-knowing that challenges everyone that he meets - perhaps unwittingly. But the electrical charge of that challenge of 'How well do you know yourself? Cause I know myself real well.' You know, that's kind of the unspoken Viggo experience. He's also fascinated by other people. And when you combine those elements, it's very charismatic. It can definitely be interpreted as sexy."

Diane Lane
The Hero Returns
By Tom Roston
Premiere 2003



'If Viggo and I convince people we're enjoying every second of that encounter we've really done our job as actors. It was freezing in that river. The water was filled with debris and cigarette butts and the rocks were covered in little worms.'

Diane Lane on the Waterfall scene
Calgary Sun,
10 April 1999

From the few Green Book photos we've seen it's clear that once again Viggo has managed to transform himself physically, bulked up with slicked back black hair. And no doubt we will see an even bigger transformation through his acting when the film is eventually released. Always the chameleon, the mixture of reviews shows that he can play almost anything and keeps surprising the film critics with a range of outstanding performances. Is 'Aragorn' really also 'Captain Gunnar Dinesen'? Well yes, he is.



© 4L Productions.


...The beauty of the film lies in its refusal to paint Ben as a deluded tyrant or principled pioneer. He doesn't have two faces — thanks to the script, as well as Mortensen's squirrely brilliance, he has hundreds.

Captain Fantastic
Charlotte O'Sullivan
Evening Standard
9 September 2016



As he progresses through this limbo-like landscape we watch him gradually transforming, Mortenson's weathered features becoming akin to the rocks surrounding him. As he emerges from within dark cracks, kneels to sip dripping streams or dozes underneath the stars, he melts into the environment, the boundaries of Dineson's self slowly eroding into the Patagonian dirt.

Jauja
David James
wegotthiscovered.com
6 April 2015



Mortensen has always seemed to be an underutilized chameleon in film despite acclaimed and recognized performances in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and Eastern Promises. As Chester, he lavishes in a new type of slimy demeanor that stands out as one of the actors most dynamic. He enjoys the aura and demeanor of Chester, unrelenting and unwilling to compromise on an escape but driven by jealousy and rage, Mortensen displays some of his most authentic and creative ticks.

Two Faces of January
Clayton Davis
Awards Circuit
29 August 2014



It's possible that in lusting after Mortensen all these years, we've taken his talent for granted. Of course, we really didn't know how talented he was until he started working with Cronenberg. This is the best thing Mortensen's ever done. His slow, paunchy, hairy Freud has a cavalier authority and a capacity for drollery. He's also seductively wise in a way that makes both Fassbender and Knightley, as very good as they are, also seem uncharacteristically callow. I don't know where Mortensen found this physical and psychological heaviness, this expressive inexpressiveness, but now isn't the time to start a diet.

A Dangerous Method
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
23 December 2011



Mortensen's performance is astounding. Looking a lot more like Gollum than Aragorn, he's shaggily bearded, smeared in grime and shockingly thin, with cheekbones like lemon juicers and teeth like the visual aids in a school anti-smoking lecture…Viggo Mortensen gives a three-dimensional performance in 'The Road' that needs no 3D glasses.

The Road
Nicholas Barber
The Independent
10 January 2010



Mortensen comes off best. Not only does he seem like a genuine artifact of the late 19th Century, his plain-spoken charisma is well-suited to the western genre. ….But with or without that fantastic mustache, Mortensen should certainly do another western, soon.

Appaloosa
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
2 October 2008



Viggo Mortensen continues to display his brilliance in front of the camera with another chameleon turn in his representation of the shy and humble Hadler. The gradual moral corruption is wonderfully and convincingly portrayed and the entire film would fail in the hands of a less capable thespian. Mortensen is truly a master of his art.

Good
Sebastian Cordoba
TheVine
7 April 2009



The visceral and gritty performance of Viggo Mortensen is like a tornado. It knocks us off our feet, and swallows us whole. His accent is pitch perfect and absolutely never falters. This was not just a role he could sink his teeth into. Mortensen clamps down and never lets go….… Mortensen is almost unrecognizable as a Russian mobster, and this dogged job is a testament to his acting ability.

Eastern Promises
Chad Webb
411mania.com
25 Sept 2007



Viggo Mortensen continues to surprise. He is not only a great actor in English — and a muse for Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg — but he can carry a Spanish film. Without dubbing. Mortensen is fluent in several languages and the historical adventure, Capitaine Alatriste, proves Spanish is among them.... As written in the original novel by Arturo Perez-Reverte, and as played with such robust conviction by Mortensen, our anti-hero is flawed yet worthy. Through him, we enter a period of European history rarely portrayed from a uniquely Spanish point-of-view. The film sheds the romanticism of costume dramas. Battle scenes are brutal and bloody. Regular life is dirty and desperate. Heroism is found in intimate human gestures — and in Mortensen's soulful eyes.

Alatriste
Bruce Kirkland DVD review
Toronto Sun
10 June 2010



Viggo's got a lot of his plate here, playing a character almost constantly at war with himself, and he nails it. There's no stupid tricks, where he changes his hairstyle or something when he goes back to being Joey. It's all done with the set of his shoulders, and his walk, and the look in his eyes, and it's chilling.

A History of Violence
Anton Sirius
Ain't it Cool News
15 September 2005



When there's action to be had, Mortensen looks like a real pro. He's got the cowboy drawl down pat; shoots a Colt .45 with confidence; delivers sharp one-liners like a kinder, gentler Clint Eastwood; and has a great seat on a horse. Even when the movie gets a little slow--and it does, a 3000-mile desert race will do that to a movie--Mortensen's onscreen appeal saves the day.

Hidalgo
Leigh Johnson
Hollywood.com



Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn easily dons the mantle of epic hero that used to be worn by Charlton Heston, and he's a lot sexier.

The Two Towers
Christopher Tookey
The Daily Mail
December 20, 2002



Viggo Mortensen undergoes an interesting transformation in his key scene with Douglas; we believe him when he's a nice guy, and we believe him even more when he's not; he doesn't do a big style shift, he simply turns off his people-pleasing face.

A Perfect Murder
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-times
June 5, 1998



The most refreshing performance is by Mortensen as her commanding officer. He espouses the usual military-sadism spiel, including excusing apparent cruelty with the explanation that it saves lives. Mortensen, who appeared in Portrait of a Lady and Crimson Tide, has rarely looked so sleek, appealing and ready to play romantic leads as he does this time, gleaming out from behind a clipped mustache and a dangerous attitude. This ought to launch his career into the highest spheres.

GI Jane
Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner
22 August 1997

Viggo may love all things Spanish and Latin American, and he may be the greatest San Lorenzo fan in the history of fandom, but he's also Viking through-and-through. A guy who had a picture of the Queen of Denmark up in his A Dangerous Method trailer. Whose name has come from the Norse sagas. Who took Jauja to Denmark on a wonderful magical mystery tour. A star who will always be 'Viggo from Ringsted'.



Image Jens Oster-Mortensen.
© SN.dk.


What do you think of when you think of Denmark?

'I think about a beautiful landscape, I think of a country where I can be myself and meet my family, where my cousin's think of me as Viggo from Ringsted.

Viggo from Hollywood
By Poul Hoi
M/S
August 2001



Denmark is also a home for me. I have travelled a lot and lived in many places, but Denmark is of course one of the places I feel at home because of the years I have lived and worked here and also because of my family, says Viggo Mortensen.

Viggo interview on Danish TV2
3 March 2015



'There is no doubt that my heart beats heavily for Denmark and, during my current visit to Denmark, the first thing I did was visit my aunt Tulle in Ringsted to have 'Biksemad'.'

My Heart Beats For Denmark
By Kim Kastrup - translated by Rosen
Ekstra Bladet
25 September 2007



'In Denmark, I dine at 6 pm and I'm Danish. In Spain, where I live now, I dine at 10 pm and I'm Latin.'

Viggo Mortensen: "Travelling is the best anti-war weapon"
By Yetty Hagendorf - translated by Donna Marie
Le Soir (Belgium)
2 February 2015



"… for many years, I'd dreamt of working, in Danish, under the helm of one of the great Scandinavian film directors. And so the occasion finally arrived. It took place deep in Patagonia."

Viggo's Best Actor Acceptance Speech at the Fénix Awards
transcribed and translated by Ollie and Zoe
30 October 2014



Are there concrete situations, where you feel "the Danishnes" surfacing in your behavior?

I noticed it during the shooting of Jauja. In the interaction with Vilbjørk Malling and Ghita Nørby. And also as I wander sort of aimlessly around in Patagonia as "Captain Gunnar Dinesen" it was fun to use Danish irony and humor. Generally speaking, I think I have inherited my family's ability to tease and be teased. It is not always the case that team mates in other countries understand that kind of fun."

Euroman
11 August 2015



I'd like to know about the origin of the name Viggo; do you know anything about that?

It's a name that's been in all the generations of my family, in the Danish part of my family. Like all names, it comes and goes. Right now, it's relatively common but when I was born, it was seen as an odd name, an old-fashioned one. Viggo is a name that can be found in Norse sagas; it's a very old name.

Web Chat with Viggo Mortensen
20 Minutos
Translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
6 September 2012



"I very strongly feel that I share a common past with my family in Denmark. And feel connected to the Scandinavian mythology, when I walk in the forest at Jystrup, where there are many tales told of what has happened. The Danish woods look like Tolkien's, they are the kind that doesn't look dangerous, but if you walk alone by night in the forests of Denmark, you can feel the energies of the past. I felt that already as a child, back then when I played with swords there outside my uncle's farm, played and felt like a Viking."

Viggo Mortensen
The American Dane
By Susanne Johansson - Translation by Majken Steen Thomassen
Berlingske Tidender
28 November 2001



Mortensen, one of the few Danes who can get away with a cowboy hat…

A History of Violence is David Cronenberg's Western
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
March 2006



You have been described as the Robert De Niro of your generation, what are your views on that? And how much are you looking forward to becoming a Lego figure?

I already am a Lego figure! Very proud to be a part of Danish industry in that way. I'm not sure that Robert De Niro is a Lego figure yet, so he's got some catching up to do.

Empire On-line Web Chat
31 January 2012



"[His] poetry works because Mortensen is Scandinavian (Danish father, American mother), says Manhire, "and there is this Scandinavian myth about how poetry is a mixture of blood and honey - his poetry has that mixture."

Bill Manhire, Victoria University, NZ
"I'm a poet" - Rings star Mortensen
by Josie McNaught
Sunday Star-Times 2003



So who would Viggo side with if, for example, Denmark and Argentina met in the next World Championship final?

"Oh, that's a very difficult question that I have often asked myself. It's not unthinkable at all, because both Denmark and Argentina play good football," Mortensen says, and adds: "But if they really met each other in the World Championship final, I'd buy both countries national team jumpers and cut them through the middle. And then I'd sew them together again to make one jumper. In that way I could cheer both Denmark and Argentina. But I think it would be very difficult as far as I can see if the two teams play against each other."

I Love Danish Football
By Kim Kastrup - translated by Chrissie
Ekstra Bladet
24 July 2007



If you could go back in time, where would you go?

To the first Viking ship to land in North America.

Q&A: Viggo Mortensen
By Rosanna Greenstreet
The Guardian
2 January 2010

In 2012 Viggo played the small cameo part of 'Old Bull Lee' in On The Road but made a HUGE impact. Reading through the reviews recently I was struck again by how completely he inhabited the part and how much the critics loved his voice and every 'completely smoky' moment. While I'm sure Viggo would be horrified at the idea of 'stealing the show', we can enjoy the recognition of his work here.



Image Gregory Smith.
© MK2 Productions.


…spare attention too for Viggo Mortensen. He gets two minutes in which to draw a spot-on caricature of William Burroughs.

Nigel Andrews
Financial Times
26 May 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



Show-stealer Viggo Mortensen channels William Burroughs with relish.

Tara Brady
The Irish Times
12 October 2012



Viggo Mortensen, priceless in Old Bull Lee / William Burroughs, highly intelligent and completely smoky.

Norbert Creutz
Le Temps
26 May 2012



Of those men, all the Beat icons, only Viggo Mortensen's William Burroughs makes a strong impression, albeit only fleetingly in a brief cameo. Unlike the others, Burroughs is a stay-at-home fellow at this point, but what a home (a crumbling abode in the Louisiana bayou) and what a fellow (by turns brilliantly incisive and demonstrably unhinged). Again, the balance inadvertently shifts – we'd rather forego the highway to stick with William and his William Tell act.

Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
18 January 2013



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



Viggo Mortensen's Old Bull Lee is perfect in his grizzly, strung-out-on-heroin brand of isolation.

Julien Hawthorne
Colombia Spectator
13 January 2013



Viggo Mortensen… does an uncanny job of reproducing Burroughs' well-known voice, while capturing the whole of the character as well as (or better than) Peter Weller in "Naked Lunch." Very little of the book's humor comes across on screen, and Mortensen manages to provide what little there is.

Andy Klein
Glendale News
5 January 2013



… Viggo Mortensen amusingly nails William Burroughs' dry, paint-chip voice in the role of Old Bull Lee, a Burroughs-esque junkie already deep into violence and paranoia.

Owen Gleiberman's
Entertainment Weekly
23 May 2012



Viggo Mortensen makes things jump with his sepulchral growl as Old Bull Lee (William S. Burroughs)

Manohla Dargis
The New York Times
23 May 2012



One could watch an entire movie of Viggo Mortensen playing Bull, a sharp-dressed heroin addict who nods off with his child in his arms and strips off his clothes to get in an orgone accumulator he built in his backyard.

Jenni Miller
Hollywood.com
10 December 2012



Mortensen steals the show with a perfect Bill Burroughs drawl....

Jonathan Romney
The Independent
14 October 2012



…Viggo Mortensen is purely glorious playing a thinly-veiled William Burroughs, the trio's wise but wonky mentor.

Xan Brooks
The Guardian
23 May 2012