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"Viggo is just... a great actor."

David Croneneberg interview, by Moriarty
Ain't it Cool News
November 6th, 2005



"We found that we were very much in sync," says the director. "Viggo does his homework and thinks about things a lot. He helped to create his character."

David Cronenberg, Director
Cannes Film Festival 2005 Press Kit



"Yes he's got the charisma and the looks of a leading man, but his attitude to acting and the way he is willing to disappear into a role, much more like a character actor. That's the kind of actor that I love, those are the kinds of actors I love the best because there are so many possibilities. Also he turns out to be an absolutely wonderful guy. I feel very close to him."

Talking With Film Director David Cronenberg
The Tech, by Yong-yi Zhu
September 23, 2005.



'I thought that he was certainly going to be an intense guy, from everything that I've read about him. (laughs) And he's not. He's so lovely and light. He's a beautiful human being.'

Maria Bello on working with Viggo
JoBlo.com, by Thomas Luepp
27 September 2005



...Was Viggo already attached to do [A History of Violence] when you were asked to be in it?

Bello: Yes, Viggo was already attached to it, and I've always been so excited to work with him. 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.

Bello on A History of Violence
Coming Soon!, by Edward Douglas
September 23, 2005



"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



"Viggo is a really nice guy, he's really bright, and he's a bit of a renaissance man. He paints, writes poetry and takes photos and speaks at least three languages. He's very generous and really was involved in this film. He likes to talk about it and make sure we're on the same page. I've enjoyed sharing time with him very much."

Ed Harris
Cannes Film Festival 2005 Press Kit



"He's not full of his own s---," notes Violence costar Ed Harris. "Which is so refreshing. He doesn't let the pressure of people wanting to pump him up into something get to him. He works hard, and is just a really good man."

Ed Harris
History Teacher, by Missy Schwartz
Entertainment Weekly, August 19, 2005



"Viggo's like an ambassador of the production. He is incredibly generous, and has a wonderful effect of involving everybody."

David Cronenberg, Director
Cannes Film Festival 2005 Press Kit



Interviewer: A lot of people lose their s**t completely over a couple of men you've worked with recently, so...Viggo Mortensen or Johnny Depp?

Maria Bello: Viggo, definitely Viggo. That's not to say that Johnny's not a wonderful actor and beautiful, but Viggo, I'd wanted to work with him since [Sean Penn's] Indian Runner. He's holy and ridiculous. I've never worked with anyone so determined to create an interesting character. He's a good human being, and he's very, very hot.

ThebookLA.com
January 2005



'Viggo Mortensen probably gave the best performance I have seen in a motion picture in as long as I can remember in A History of Violence .... Bill Hurt got a nomination for a rather bizarre, overly done performance in that film, but Viggo Mortensen is probably the premier actor in the business.'

Dale Olson, publicist
Oscar, You Insensitive Lout
by Sara Vilkomerson, New York Observer,
February 2006