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Image Frazer Hamilton.
© Frazer Hamilton.
Image Frazer Hamilton.
© Frazer Hamilton.
We actually have more in common with other people, other cultures and other races, than not. People need to make a conscious effort to try and find some common ground, rather than react to what they see as differences. -Viggo Mortensen
'activism is not a dirty word.'
Viggo Mortensen
SLU Commencement Address
May 21, 2006
'Not speaking something that you know or think is the truth is complicity.'
Viggo Mortensen
The Other Mortensen, by Mariana Enriquez - translated for V-W by Margarita
Página 12,
20 November 2005
Are you a politically-motivated person?
I don't know that I'm more politically motivated than anyone else. I'm curious about the world and I have a resistance to just assuming that what I see on TV is the gospel truth.
The Horse Whisperer
Daily Mirror, by Honie Stevens
16 April 2004
Can you be Aragorn again for a few days and bash the Spanish politicians like the orcs that they are?
I think that among the Spanish citizenry there already are a whole lot of Aragorns.
Web Chat with Viggo Mortensen
20 Minutos
Translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
6 September 2012
"I was pleased when they elected Obama, but I was nevertheless still concerned about the disasters that we would encounter, from environmental ones, as demonstrated by Copenhagen, to those tied to the decline of the American empire. People say I'm negative - not true. I'm aware. The spread of the internet leads us to think that people are more informed than ever. They're not. People are tired of scandals and corruption and want to know less than ever."
Viggo Mortensen
A Most Beautiful Mind
L'Uomo Vogue
September 2011
Here's wishing you continued satisfaction with your unrepentant retirement, and increased success with the Republican Party's campaign to rehabilitate your public image in the eyes of the blind and the blinding. If Reagan's myth-makers managed a total public relations reinvention in twenty years, yours can surely do it in two.
Viggo Mortensen addressing George Bush
Perceval Press
16 November 2010
"I saw Viggo Mortensen on the "Charlie Rose Show" wearing a T-shirt -- "Impeach, Remove, Jail" -- that made me think, "Oh, Viggo Mortensen -- he's a serious political thinker." (Laughs.) It just takes three words to make you a serious political thinker. ..."
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn tells us about Obama, Viggo and his love of eggs
ByJoe Garofoli
San Francisco Chronicle
28 February 2009
Mortensen has got himself onto the subject of politics and personal responsibility and he is quietly rapping away. It has rhythm, it has blues: you almost feel like tapping your feet. Not a grandiose oration, nor a preachy lecture (or one you can actually stop or interrupt) but his audience nevertheless starts to feel a creeping sense of guilty moral turpitude.
Viggo at the Rome Film Festival
Mr Good Bard
Sydney Morning Herald
28 February 2009
"... any government, whether it's a democracy--in principle, a good government or a bad government, no matter where it is in the world--all governments, no matter how good they are at any point in time, have a single purpose, a goal, and that is to survive, to stay in power. And, you stay in power by making people feel powerless. That's one of the ways: you make individual citizens feel, like, 'Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it. Don't sweat it. Truly, you are powerless, but it's okay. Just be powerless and vote for me. It's cool. Trust me.' You know what I mean?"
Viggo Mortensen
Capone has a GOOD chat with Viggo Mortensen about politics, THE ROAD, APPALOOSA, and THE HOBBIT!!!
Ain't it Cool News
3 December 2008
"I saw Viggo Mortensen on the "Charlie Rose Show" wearing a T-shirt -- "Impeach, Remove, Jail" -- that made me think, "Oh, Viggo Mortensen -- he's a serious political thinker." (Laughs.) It just takes three words to make you a serious political thinker. ..."
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn tells us about Obama, Viggo and his love of eggs
ByJoe Garofoli
San Francisco Chronicle
28 February 2009
"Look at the country I'm in right now and the administration, and what's happened to the judicial system, the laws, the standing of this country in the world, education, healthcare, the economy...There have been incredible changes, and if somebody said to you would you be willing to put up with all these things and have all these laws changed, you'd say: well, no. But, by having it happen little by little, it's like a death by a thousand cuts. Before you know it, you're bleeding to death."
Viggo Mortensen: A Man Apart
Dave Calhoun
AnOther Man
Issue 7 Autumn/Winter 2008
"That's the mistake we sometimes make in this country and probably other countries, too, where every four years or every two years, whatever, there's an election. You do the "Whew, that's done. We got the right guy in there. Now, we can relax." And, that's kind of like saying, "Yeah, we'll let them take care of it." No, we never can let them take care of it. That's the point. And, you don't have to be the PTA- or local politics-obsessive, crazy guy or woman in your community, but you can be involved on some level. At least read the paper, talk to your friends."
Viggo Mortensen
Capone has a GOOD chat with Viggo Mortensen about politics, THE ROAD, APPALOOSA, and THE HOBBIT!!!
Ain't it Cool News
3 December 2008
Mortensen even showed up to introduce a televised forum on Constitutional concerns where this reporter spoke about the need to restore a system of checks and balance. While the discussion of presidential accountability was surely bracing, one suspects that the dramatic moment of the evening belonged to Mortensen.
"One of the reasons why I support Dennis Kucinich is this...," said the actor.
Mortensen then pulled open his button-down shift to reveal a black t-shirt with the word "Impeach" emblazoned across the front.
Viggo supporting Dennis Kucinich
New Hampshire Presidential Primaries
January 2008
Of course, conservative Sean Hannity took a few swings. But Mortensen struck back at the dark lord of talk television. After complimenting Mortensen's film performances, Hannity said, "In spite of everything, I'm going to forgive your politics..."
"You don't have to," said Mortensen. " I'm not going to forgive yours."
That was typical of Mortensen's campaigning on behalf of Kucinich, which was a good deal sharper and more engaged than that of most of the absolutely exhausted contenders in New Hampshire.
Viggo supporting Dennis Kucinich
New Hampshire Presidential Primaries
Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" Show
January 2008
Viggo has a credo he lives by: Go see for yourself if you can.
On going to Crawford to meet Cindy Sheehan
Eats Roadkill, Speaks Danish, by Amy Wallace
Esquire magazine
March 2006
When he went to meet [Cindy] Sheehan, he says, he stopped at one of the many shops in Crawford devoted 'to Bush and all things Bush.' It was there that he spotted a big cardboard display of dozens of flag pins. He bought every one.
'I found out that anyone can wear one of these things,' he says with mock surprise, handing me yet another gift.
Eats Roadkill, Speaks Danish, by Amy Wallace
Esquire magazine
March 2006
'I vote, and I pay close attention to what politicians say and even closer attention to what they do. I try to keep in mind the admonition of the great teacher Plato: "One of the penalties of refusing to be involved in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." We have certainly seen the proof of that statement in this country over the last five years or so.'
Viggo Mortensen's Watertown Speech in support of Dr. Bob Johnson,
Democratic party candidate for congress
Watertown, NY
9 September 2006
This year's first day of April was noticeably lacking in April Fool's jokes as far as mention in the media was concerned. Perhaps this is due to the fact that, with George Bush and Dick Cheney still at the helm of the ship of state, there is no need to single out a particular day for foolishness or nasty pranks in the United States: every day is April Fool's day in this country for the time being.
Viggo Mortensen
Perceval Press
April 1 2006
I consider myself very fortunate to have a platform. I don't take it lightly, and I don't abuse it. I don't speak up about something unless I feel strongly about it and until I've researched a subject extensively and have an informed decision about it. But I think if you don't say something it's lying by omission. I personally think it's immoral. Yeah, it might cost you a few fans, but you have to say something.
Viggo Mortensen on speaking up for his beliefs
By Nina Siegal
The Progressive
November 2005
'I am an actor, in case you did not know. I did not say: "I am just an actor". I said: "I am an actor." I do not need to apologise for my line of work, which in fact involves regular efforts to try and see the world we live in from points-of-view different than my own...........
.........It does not matter if I am an actor, a plumber, a teacher, or anything else. It does not matter if I am employed and relatively well-off, or under-employed and economically disadvantaged as so many people in this part of the country are. I am a citizen of the United States of America, whose government is meant to be "of the people, by the people, and for the people".'
Viggo Mortensen's Watertown Speech in support of Dr. Bob Johnson,
Democratic party candidate for congress
Watertown, NY
9 September 2006
'A couple of days ago, a man wrote a letter to the Watertown Daily Times saying, in effect, that he would not vote for Bob Johnson just because Viggo Mortensen thought he ought to. He was absolutely right.'
Viggo Mortensen's Watertown Speech in support of Dr. Bob Johnson,
Democratic party candidate for congress
Watertown, NY
9 September 2006
It would seem from even a cursory reading of world history that there is no new horror under the sun, that we will perhaps always have to contend with destructive impulses in ourselves and others. That does not prevent us from making an effort to change, from working to find a better way.
Viggo Mortensen
Introduction to The Two Towers Visual Companion
Storytellers and stories change, but the opportunity to do well or ill by others and ourselves will always be present. The right to choose how we coexist is ours unless we willingly surrender it. There can be no quick fix, no easy or permanent answer to the troubles of today or tomorrow. A sword is a sword, nothing more. Hope, compassion and wisdom born of experience are, for Middle-earth as for our world, the mightiest weapons at hand.
Viggo Mortensen
Introduction to The Two Towers Visual Companion
"The people in the empire of the United States live worse and worse' - Mortensen charges - 'but the State has the power and the propaganda...". Are you considered annoying over there? I want to know. "No more than here. I simply say what I feel like".
Nuevos Heroes
Marie Claire Magazine
Translated for V-W by Paddy
August 2006
'Among the most revered of teachings in any religion or spiritual code of ethics, including those attributed to Jesus Christ, is the admonition to care for the least fortunate among us. This lesson seems to have gone unheeded by any in the health care and insurance business, and, most tellingly, by the politicians who do their often uncharitable and obstructionist bidding.'
Viggo Mortensen
SLU Commencement Address
May 21, 2006
'People cannot be mentally focused, positive and actively engaged citizens if they are constantly worried that the only thing keeping them from financial ruin is to dangerously delay seeking or altogether deny themselves and their dependents necessary medical attention.'
Viggo Mortensen
SLU Commencement Address
21 May 2006
'Here's wishing you all a shining summer, and exemplary lives as citizens of the world. Go get 'em.'
Viggo Mortensen
SLU Commencement Address
21 May 2006
"By separating yourselves as Americans, as Frenchmen, as Iraqis, to separate yourselves from others and consider yourselves as special or different, that's to construct the walls of your own prison. That's a one-way road going the wrong way."
Viggo Mortensen,
by Jeffrey Overstreet, Steven D Greydanus, Bob Smithouser & Jeremy Landes,
Looking Closer, 2003
"We actually have more in common with other people, other cultures and other races, than not," he suggests. "People need to make a conscious effort to try and find some common ground, rather than react to what they see as differences."
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen, by Desmond Sampson
Pavement #62
2003
"Traveling is probably the number one most effective anti-war weapon there is. I've been to Tehran, for example. I happened to go to the city park there, and played a game of pick-up soccer with some Iranian men. I saw the sun come up and go down in Tehran, I saw the mountains, old people, dogs, pigeons, hospitals, things you can find anywhere in the world. It's much less likely that you're going to convince me that they are just this thing, that we must bomb Iran. I probably wouldn't agree that we should bomb anyplace, but those are people. Those are plants, those are animals. The weather changes there. People get up, they eat, they live, they die. It's much less likely when you know a place, you know?"
Viggo Mortensen on "Good"
By Aaron Hillis
IFC.com
31 December 2008
'If you don't think of Cubans or Iraqis as actual human beings with jobs and day-to-day lives, if you don't see them or hear their voices, then it's easier to be against them. They're faceless. It's a tried-and-true way of dealing with people or nations that the ruling elite finds troublesome or inconvenient, whether it's Native Americans, Germans, Russians, Iraqis, Cubans, even the French -- whoever gets in our way. They're simply lumped into the enemy pile.'
Viggo Mortensen
"Life's Too Short to Do All This Work and Not Do It Right":
An Interview with Viggo Mortensen
by Scott Thill
Morphizm.com
6 April 2004
'I think it should almost be a requirement that leaders in our world have self-doubt, that they display a certain hesitation in certain situations. I mean, the price of acting rashly in our times, because of the weaponry involved and because of the amount of people involved, is great. And if you don't hesitate or if you don't consider the effects of your thoughts and your actions and your words on others around you as an individual or as a leader of a nation, then it's a dangerous thing.'
Viggo Mortensen
A Sense of Finality, by Markus Tschiedert
Green Cine
2003
'...this doesn't have to do with left wing, right wing, it doesn't have to do with democrat, republican, it's about honesty.'
Viggo Mortensen on his call to impeach Bush
In Contention
Chris Tapley's In Contention blog
6 October 2005
'I believe in this nation and I think that , you know, as Howard Zinn, paraphrasing him, being patriotic is not supporting your government, being patriotic is supporting your country, your nation.'
Charlie Rose Show Interview
Transcription for V-W by Chrissie
22 September 2005
'With each step, each bad step that the Bush administration takes, in my opinion, it doesn't seem like it can get much worse but they seem to top themselves at every opportunity.'
Viggo Mortensen
Charlie Rose Show Interview
Transcription for V-W by Chrissie
22 September 2005
'I'm not anti-Bush; I'm anti-Bush behaviour.'
Viggo Mortensen on his call to impeach Bush
By Nina Siegal
The Progressive
November 2005
Viggo is wearing a green jacket on which he has stitched with light blue thread a vintage United Nations patch. "I just like both the words," he says to the audience, explaining this clothing choice. "United and Nations. I think they go well together. A lot better than separately."
Viggo Mortensen at the Midnight Special reading
The Rebel King
By Chris Heath
GQ magazine
2004
MT: May I ask you, why the United Nations?
VM: Why not? That's the point. Why not? That's the problem.
A Sense of Finality, by Markus Tschiedert
Green Cine
2003
The United States, by evading responsibility to the environment in the case of, say, the Kyoto Protocol - which obviously, there are problems with just as there are with any idea, but the idea is good - by disregarding the United Nations, or feeling it doesn't apply to them - it's self-destructive. There's no future in that. So the United Nations is, I feel, a good concept and one that ought to be improved rather than disregarded completely.
MT: So it's a humanistic stance rather than a political one.
VM: I don't think you need to separate those ideas.
Viggo Mortensen
A Sense of Finality, by Markus Tschiedert
Green Cine
2003
"As many problems as the U.N. has had and as much hypocrisy as it has displayed, I would rather have them taking care of business over there as opposed to our government's piecemeal, self-serving efforts. To see the president of the United States and his administration admonish the U.N. and individual wealthy nations to pitch in with reconstruction now that such a mess has been made by the U.S. government - which, as everyone knows, chose to deride and completely ignore the grave concerns expressed by the community of nations when invading Iraq in the first place - displays a degree of arrogance that's as frightening as it is ridiculous. For the American citizen, real dialogue and balanced information about these matters has been largely choked off. In some way, I think that small companies or individuals that are willing to help draw a broader picture, offer more information and contrasting views, are especially valuable at this time. They're worth their weight in oil! [Laughs.]"
Viggo Mortensen
The Man Who Would be King
By Scott Thill
Salon.com, 2003
".....I don't think the United States has any more of a right to police the world than any other country. Where we go wrong is in saying that we do not have to adhere to the principles or the ideals of the community of nations ... we just spat on that, and did what we wanted, and walked right over that, and did what we wanted out of self-interest. That is really what we did. That cannot be questioned. We denied what the U.N. was saying. We said, 'No... what's good for us might not be good for you, but we don't care.' That's what we did."
Viggo Mortensen,
by Jeffrey Overstreet
Steven D Greydanus, Bob Smithouser & Jeremy Landes,
Looking Closer
2003
'...People can feel in this country that they are righteous, even by virtue of just being attacked. There's an understandable anger at wanting to do something. You want to see things simply. You want to have an enemy to attack. And when you look at it too simply, you tend to adhere to the notion of 'the others' and that they are different and that they are not good. I don't think it's that simple.
Viggo Mortensen
The Human: Viggo Mortensen
Pavement Magazine #50
2001
"Since 9-11, more people have died in Afghanistan and Iraq than in New York that day - and for not a very good reason. Yet, you are looked down upon in the U.S. if you recommend dialogue before military action. Our country was founded on the principle of free speech and I say to go ahead with war without openly discussing it is morally wrong and dangerous."
Viggo Mortensen
Don't Look For Analogies In 'Rings', Says Mortensen
By Chris Betros
Japan Today
2003
At a recent press conference, Mortensen appeared in a T-shirt reading "No More Blood For Oil," while Urban's jacket sported a peace symbol. When asked about their fashion statement (by a Shukan Kinyobi journalist, naturally), Mortensen softly but adamantly made his views clear.
"It's not something I've done before, in connection to working on a movie," said the actor. "For me, it was more or less a reaction to comparisons that have been made repeatedly, for the first movie and a lot now for the second one. I don't think it should be compared to current events anyway, and neither did Tolkien: It's not allegorical, is what he said. But if the comparisons are made, and they are, comparing the people who are defending the various races at Helm's Deep against this 10,000-strong army [to] the United States against [laughs incredulously] the world, or against the supposed 'bad' people in the world, that's an incorrect comparison."
Viggo Mortensen
The Fellowship vs. The Empire
By Giovanni Fazio
The Japan Times, 2003
Why he took an anti-war stance while promoting Rings: "It is not something I would normally go out of my way to do at all. But it was in response to what I'd been hearing in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, and what happened the year following when The Two Towers came out. A lot of people misrepresented what we had done in the films and Tolkien's work, saying they justified the actions of the U.S. government and war in general. I didn't think that was the case."
It's Good to be "King"
By Susan Wloszczyna
USA Today
2003
Press: You've passed over a Rubicon from being an actor to being a celebrity. Do you feel a responsibility to use that platform that you have to share your political beliefs, or do you just do that out of who you are?
Viggo: No. I've never really done that before. It is really just a reaction that comes out of being told over and over-not asked-but told, as if it is an accepted fact, that in the case of this story there is a direct parallel. In other words, we, 'the Fellowship' are the United States, and the bad guys are the faceless or brown-faced nameless Islamic terrorists. It's a dangerous comparison to make. It's just as faulty as what Tolkien objected so strongly to, which was to knowingly misapply Nordic cosmology, literature, mythology, to justify the military actions or the racist policies of the Third Reich. It bothered me, so I reacted.
Viggo Mortensen
By Jeffrey Overstreet, Steven D Greydanus, Bob Smithouser & Jeremy Landes,
Looking Closer
2003
Not surprisingly, Mortensen has strong political beliefs. On The Charlie Rose Show, while promoting The Two Towers, he wore a T-shirt that read, NO MORE BLOOD FOR OIL, and he is happy to be wound up and set loose on the subject of Iraq. "I think we're in a very dark period," he says as surfers glide and dolphins leap in the waves in front of us. "At what point do you admit it was a mistake and get the hell out of there? How much damage has to be done? How much damage has to be done to the credibility of the United States? This is a disturbing time, and you don't have to be of any political persuasion to be disturbed or troubled by it. I think we're in a time of deliberate cruelty and deliberate lying, and, frankly, I think it's the very bottom of humanity."
Finding Viggo
By Alex Kuczynski
Vanity Fair magazine
January 2004
20th March, 2.35 am GMT
After a 48-hour ultimatum, President George Bush announces the start of military operations against Iraq:
'I have not failed to notice that, while the occupying troops prevented the looters from entering the Ministerie for Oil, nothing was done to protect the libraries, the museums, the hospitals."
Viggo Mortensen
AYear in the Life of Viggo Mortensen
by Sophie Benamon
Studio Magazine
2003
A fierce critic of U.S. foreign policy, Mortensen says, "It was obvious to everybody there that the Iraq invasion was a movie that was greenlit. It was going to happen in spite of the charade.
"I wouldn't have been surprised to deal with animosity from the people there, but mostly what I heard was, 'We like Americans and their culture. What we don't understand is why you can't control your government.'"
Viggo Mortensen on filming Hidalgo in Morocco
Cash Isn't King - Viggo Just Wants A Good Script
By Jim Slotek
The Toronto Sun
2004
'I mean it's the same in some sense of argument as during Vietnam. It would be irresponsible to pull out completely. We owe it to them. No we don't frankly. We don't owe them anymore pain and suffering than we have indirectly caused them. Even though there are a lot of good Americans you know. Americans mean well, they want to do well. I support our troops and I think the best way to support our troops is to bring them home immediately. This is the wrong place to be.'
Viggo Mortensen on the Iraqi occupation
Charlie Rose Show Interview
Transcription for V-W by Chrissie
22 September 2005
"There's a well-promoted notion: "Why are you speaking about things you don't know anything about? You're not in politics, you're not a senator or a congressman. You have no right to speak about these things. You are an actor, or a teacher, a cab driver, a nurse, and therefore you have no right to worry about or express concern over the moral decision-making of the government you have elected to represent you." Which is absurd, of course."
Viggo Mortensen
The Man Who Would be King
By Scott Thill
Salon.com
2003
"Last year, I had made plans to visit Iraq and Israel. I was interested in seeing those places a little for myself, to take pictures, get to know people. Unfortunately, due to professional and personal obligations, I was unable to go. Later I read that Sean Penn and others were going. The mainstream media in the United States were highly critical of Sean for having gone to Iraq, calling him "Baghdad Sean" and the like. Those who run this country and hand-feed carefully crafted propaganda to the media will immediately and automatically label a show of genuine curiosity about the world and the role of the U.S. government in it - which is how I view Sean's trip - as unpatriotic.
How is it unpatriotic for him or anyone else to want to go to Iraq or any other place to educate themselves? How is it unpatriotic to want to go visit other people, other human beings, on this planet? By all means, go find out the truth for yourself, if you are fortunate enough to be able to! Bring back your observations and share them."
Viggo Mortensen
The Man Who Would be King
By Scott Thill
Salon.com
2003
25th October:
Thousands on people take part in the first great pacifist demonstration in Washington since George Bush announced, on May 1st, the end of military operations in Iraq. Viggo speaks, following veterans and activists. After distributing his anti-war teeshirts and protesting against the occupation of Iraq, he addresses Congress with a fierce: "God isn't angry, you are." Then he reads one of his poems, written for publication on the poetsagainstwar.org website, Back to Babylon, from which an extract follows:
"Accept and forget difference and desire that separates and leaves us longing or repelled. Why briefly return to playing broken places, to mock the ground, to collect infant shards, coins, fossils, or the familiar empty cannisters and casings that glint from poisoned roots in the blackened dust?"
A Year in the Life of Viggo Mortensen
By Sophie Benamon
Studio Magazine
2003
1st to 15th January 2003:
"Public personalities who express themselves against the war are given the finger. It is revealing about the 'values' on which America herself is founded. Expressing an opinion may be considered unpatriotic. Me, I believe it is worse to lie to and manipulate your people - and the rest of the world.'
Viggo Mortensen
A Year in the Life of Viggo Mortensen
By Sophie Benamon
Studio Magazine
2003
"With regard to history, Bush's record with regard to foreign relations, the environment, the economy, concern for the average citizen ... I can't think of any accomplishment that will put him anywhere else than in last place historically as a president. Of all the presidents in the history of the United States, it's hard to think that there's anything other than public relations - getting people to swallow huge lies so you can get your dirty work done - that this president will be considered remarkable for."
Viggo Mortensen
The Man Who Would be King
By Scott Thill
Salon.com
2003
"You read about Bush saying just the other day that he knows Hussein is not connected to 9/11? Well, it's nice that you say that now, so long after the fact, after all the needless suffering, destruction and ill will generated toward the United States. I mean, I can't count how many times he has consciously linked Hussein and al-Qaida in his speeches before, during and after the war. He kept doing it and didn't retract any of it until after we'd already done incredible damage, to not only Iraq but also America's credibility, image and standing in the world. To say nothing of the ordinary American and Iraqi lives lost or irrevocably harmed. It's a little too late to say that."
Viggo Mortensen
The Man Who Would be King
By Scott Thill
Salon.com
2003
Viggo Mortensen didn't want to miss out on Election Day while filming his latest flick, "The History of Violence,'' in Canada so he staged a polling station on the set. People Maggie reports that the "Lord of the Rings" hottie rigged up a mock voting booth and producer Chris Burns used his dog, Rosie, to monitor the voters. Not surprisingly, cast and crew voted for John Kerry though the write-in candidate, Rosie the canine, made a strong showing in second place. Have these people never heard of absentee ballots?
Own Private Idaho
Boston Herald
5 November 2004
"Nooooo! Arnold Schwarzenegger already did that."
Viggo Mortensen on being asked if he thought of going into politics
"I'm permanently dissatisfied."
by Amelia Enríquez, Lecturas Magazine
30 August 2006
Translated for V-W by Margarita
Viggo Mortensen
SLU Commencement Address
May 21, 2006
'Not speaking something that you know or think is the truth is complicity.'
Viggo Mortensen
The Other Mortensen, by Mariana Enriquez - translated for V-W by Margarita
Página 12,
20 November 2005
Are you a politically-motivated person?
I don't know that I'm more politically motivated than anyone else. I'm curious about the world and I have a resistance to just assuming that what I see on TV is the gospel truth.
The Horse Whisperer
Daily Mirror, by Honie Stevens
16 April 2004
Can you be Aragorn again for a few days and bash the Spanish politicians like the orcs that they are?
I think that among the Spanish citizenry there already are a whole lot of Aragorns.
Web Chat with Viggo Mortensen
20 Minutos
Translated by Ollie, Rio and Zoe
6 September 2012
"I was pleased when they elected Obama, but I was nevertheless still concerned about the disasters that we would encounter, from environmental ones, as demonstrated by Copenhagen, to those tied to the decline of the American empire. People say I'm negative - not true. I'm aware. The spread of the internet leads us to think that people are more informed than ever. They're not. People are tired of scandals and corruption and want to know less than ever."
Viggo Mortensen
A Most Beautiful Mind
L'Uomo Vogue
September 2011
Here's wishing you continued satisfaction with your unrepentant retirement, and increased success with the Republican Party's campaign to rehabilitate your public image in the eyes of the blind and the blinding. If Reagan's myth-makers managed a total public relations reinvention in twenty years, yours can surely do it in two.
Viggo Mortensen addressing George Bush
Perceval Press
16 November 2010
"I saw Viggo Mortensen on the "Charlie Rose Show" wearing a T-shirt -- "Impeach, Remove, Jail" -- that made me think, "Oh, Viggo Mortensen -- he's a serious political thinker." (Laughs.) It just takes three words to make you a serious political thinker. ..."
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn tells us about Obama, Viggo and his love of eggs
ByJoe Garofoli
San Francisco Chronicle
28 February 2009
Mortensen has got himself onto the subject of politics and personal responsibility and he is quietly rapping away. It has rhythm, it has blues: you almost feel like tapping your feet. Not a grandiose oration, nor a preachy lecture (or one you can actually stop or interrupt) but his audience nevertheless starts to feel a creeping sense of guilty moral turpitude.
Viggo at the Rome Film Festival
Mr Good Bard
Sydney Morning Herald
28 February 2009
"... any government, whether it's a democracy--in principle, a good government or a bad government, no matter where it is in the world--all governments, no matter how good they are at any point in time, have a single purpose, a goal, and that is to survive, to stay in power. And, you stay in power by making people feel powerless. That's one of the ways: you make individual citizens feel, like, 'Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it. Don't sweat it. Truly, you are powerless, but it's okay. Just be powerless and vote for me. It's cool. Trust me.' You know what I mean?"
Viggo Mortensen
Capone has a GOOD chat with Viggo Mortensen about politics, THE ROAD, APPALOOSA, and THE HOBBIT!!!
Ain't it Cool News
3 December 2008
"I saw Viggo Mortensen on the "Charlie Rose Show" wearing a T-shirt -- "Impeach, Remove, Jail" -- that made me think, "Oh, Viggo Mortensen -- he's a serious political thinker." (Laughs.) It just takes three words to make you a serious political thinker. ..."
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn tells us about Obama, Viggo and his love of eggs
ByJoe Garofoli
San Francisco Chronicle
28 February 2009
"Look at the country I'm in right now and the administration, and what's happened to the judicial system, the laws, the standing of this country in the world, education, healthcare, the economy...There have been incredible changes, and if somebody said to you would you be willing to put up with all these things and have all these laws changed, you'd say: well, no. But, by having it happen little by little, it's like a death by a thousand cuts. Before you know it, you're bleeding to death."
Viggo Mortensen: A Man Apart
Dave Calhoun
AnOther Man
Issue 7 Autumn/Winter 2008
"That's the mistake we sometimes make in this country and probably other countries, too, where every four years or every two years, whatever, there's an election. You do the "Whew, that's done. We got the right guy in there. Now, we can relax." And, that's kind of like saying, "Yeah, we'll let them take care of it." No, we never can let them take care of it. That's the point. And, you don't have to be the PTA- or local politics-obsessive, crazy guy or woman in your community, but you can be involved on some level. At least read the paper, talk to your friends."
Viggo Mortensen
Capone has a GOOD chat with Viggo Mortensen about politics, THE ROAD, APPALOOSA, and THE HOBBIT!!!
Ain't it Cool News
3 December 2008
Mortensen even showed up to introduce a televised forum on Constitutional concerns where this reporter spoke about the need to restore a system of checks and balance. While the discussion of presidential accountability was surely bracing, one suspects that the dramatic moment of the evening belonged to Mortensen.
"One of the reasons why I support Dennis Kucinich is this...," said the actor.
Mortensen then pulled open his button-down shift to reveal a black t-shirt with the word "Impeach" emblazoned across the front.
Viggo supporting Dennis Kucinich
New Hampshire Presidential Primaries
January 2008
Of course, conservative Sean Hannity took a few swings. But Mortensen struck back at the dark lord of talk television. After complimenting Mortensen's film performances, Hannity said, "In spite of everything, I'm going to forgive your politics..."
"You don't have to," said Mortensen. " I'm not going to forgive yours."
That was typical of Mortensen's campaigning on behalf of Kucinich, which was a good deal sharper and more engaged than that of most of the absolutely exhausted contenders in New Hampshire.
Viggo supporting Dennis Kucinich
New Hampshire Presidential Primaries
Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" Show
January 2008
Viggo has a credo he lives by: Go see for yourself if you can.
On going to Crawford to meet Cindy Sheehan
Eats Roadkill, Speaks Danish, by Amy Wallace
Esquire magazine
March 2006
When he went to meet [Cindy] Sheehan, he says, he stopped at one of the many shops in Crawford devoted 'to Bush and all things Bush.' It was there that he spotted a big cardboard display of dozens of flag pins. He bought every one.
'I found out that anyone can wear one of these things,' he says with mock surprise, handing me yet another gift.
Eats Roadkill, Speaks Danish, by Amy Wallace
Esquire magazine
March 2006
'I vote, and I pay close attention to what politicians say and even closer attention to what they do. I try to keep in mind the admonition of the great teacher Plato: "One of the penalties of refusing to be involved in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." We have certainly seen the proof of that statement in this country over the last five years or so.'
Viggo Mortensen's Watertown Speech in support of Dr. Bob Johnson,
Democratic party candidate for congress
Watertown, NY
9 September 2006
This year's first day of April was noticeably lacking in April Fool's jokes as far as mention in the media was concerned. Perhaps this is due to the fact that, with George Bush and Dick Cheney still at the helm of the ship of state, there is no need to single out a particular day for foolishness or nasty pranks in the United States: every day is April Fool's day in this country for the time being.
Viggo Mortensen
Perceval Press
April 1 2006
I consider myself very fortunate to have a platform. I don't take it lightly, and I don't abuse it. I don't speak up about something unless I feel strongly about it and until I've researched a subject extensively and have an informed decision about it. But I think if you don't say something it's lying by omission. I personally think it's immoral. Yeah, it might cost you a few fans, but you have to say something.
Viggo Mortensen on speaking up for his beliefs
By Nina Siegal
The Progressive
November 2005
'I am an actor, in case you did not know. I did not say: "I am just an actor". I said: "I am an actor." I do not need to apologise for my line of work, which in fact involves regular efforts to try and see the world we live in from points-of-view different than my own...........
.........It does not matter if I am an actor, a plumber, a teacher, or anything else. It does not matter if I am employed and relatively well-off, or under-employed and economically disadvantaged as so many people in this part of the country are. I am a citizen of the United States of America, whose government is meant to be "of the people, by the people, and for the people".'
Viggo Mortensen's Watertown Speech in support of Dr. Bob Johnson,
Democratic party candidate for congress
Watertown, NY
9 September 2006
'A couple of days ago, a man wrote a letter to the Watertown Daily Times saying, in effect, that he would not vote for Bob Johnson just because Viggo Mortensen thought he ought to. He was absolutely right.'
Viggo Mortensen's Watertown Speech in support of Dr. Bob Johnson,
Democratic party candidate for congress
Watertown, NY
9 September 2006
It would seem from even a cursory reading of world history that there is no new horror under the sun, that we will perhaps always have to contend with destructive impulses in ourselves and others. That does not prevent us from making an effort to change, from working to find a better way.
Viggo Mortensen
Introduction to The Two Towers Visual Companion
Storytellers and stories change, but the opportunity to do well or ill by others and ourselves will always be present. The right to choose how we coexist is ours unless we willingly surrender it. There can be no quick fix, no easy or permanent answer to the troubles of today or tomorrow. A sword is a sword, nothing more. Hope, compassion and wisdom born of experience are, for Middle-earth as for our world, the mightiest weapons at hand.
Viggo Mortensen
Introduction to The Two Towers Visual Companion
"The people in the empire of the United States live worse and worse' - Mortensen charges - 'but the State has the power and the propaganda...". Are you considered annoying over there? I want to know. "No more than here. I simply say what I feel like".
Nuevos Heroes
Marie Claire Magazine
Translated for V-W by Paddy
August 2006
'Among the most revered of teachings in any religion or spiritual code of ethics, including those attributed to Jesus Christ, is the admonition to care for the least fortunate among us. This lesson seems to have gone unheeded by any in the health care and insurance business, and, most tellingly, by the politicians who do their often uncharitable and obstructionist bidding.'
Viggo Mortensen
SLU Commencement Address
May 21, 2006
'People cannot be mentally focused, positive and actively engaged citizens if they are constantly worried that the only thing keeping them from financial ruin is to dangerously delay seeking or altogether deny themselves and their dependents necessary medical attention.'
Viggo Mortensen
SLU Commencement Address
21 May 2006
'Here's wishing you all a shining summer, and exemplary lives as citizens of the world. Go get 'em.'
Viggo Mortensen
SLU Commencement Address
21 May 2006
"By separating yourselves as Americans, as Frenchmen, as Iraqis, to separate yourselves from others and consider yourselves as special or different, that's to construct the walls of your own prison. That's a one-way road going the wrong way."
Viggo Mortensen,
by Jeffrey Overstreet, Steven D Greydanus, Bob Smithouser & Jeremy Landes,
Looking Closer, 2003
"We actually have more in common with other people, other cultures and other races, than not," he suggests. "People need to make a conscious effort to try and find some common ground, rather than react to what they see as differences."
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen, by Desmond Sampson
Pavement #62
2003
"Traveling is probably the number one most effective anti-war weapon there is. I've been to Tehran, for example. I happened to go to the city park there, and played a game of pick-up soccer with some Iranian men. I saw the sun come up and go down in Tehran, I saw the mountains, old people, dogs, pigeons, hospitals, things you can find anywhere in the world. It's much less likely that you're going to convince me that they are just this thing, that we must bomb Iran. I probably wouldn't agree that we should bomb anyplace, but those are people. Those are plants, those are animals. The weather changes there. People get up, they eat, they live, they die. It's much less likely when you know a place, you know?"
Viggo Mortensen on "Good"
By Aaron Hillis
IFC.com
31 December 2008
'If you don't think of Cubans or Iraqis as actual human beings with jobs and day-to-day lives, if you don't see them or hear their voices, then it's easier to be against them. They're faceless. It's a tried-and-true way of dealing with people or nations that the ruling elite finds troublesome or inconvenient, whether it's Native Americans, Germans, Russians, Iraqis, Cubans, even the French -- whoever gets in our way. They're simply lumped into the enemy pile.'
Viggo Mortensen
"Life's Too Short to Do All This Work and Not Do It Right":
An Interview with Viggo Mortensen
by Scott Thill
Morphizm.com
6 April 2004
'I think it should almost be a requirement that leaders in our world have self-doubt, that they display a certain hesitation in certain situations. I mean, the price of acting rashly in our times, because of the weaponry involved and because of the amount of people involved, is great. And if you don't hesitate or if you don't consider the effects of your thoughts and your actions and your words on others around you as an individual or as a leader of a nation, then it's a dangerous thing.'
Viggo Mortensen
A Sense of Finality, by Markus Tschiedert
Green Cine
2003
'...this doesn't have to do with left wing, right wing, it doesn't have to do with democrat, republican, it's about honesty.'
Viggo Mortensen on his call to impeach Bush
In Contention
Chris Tapley's In Contention blog
6 October 2005
'I believe in this nation and I think that , you know, as Howard Zinn, paraphrasing him, being patriotic is not supporting your government, being patriotic is supporting your country, your nation.'
Charlie Rose Show Interview
Transcription for V-W by Chrissie
22 September 2005
'With each step, each bad step that the Bush administration takes, in my opinion, it doesn't seem like it can get much worse but they seem to top themselves at every opportunity.'
Viggo Mortensen
Charlie Rose Show Interview
Transcription for V-W by Chrissie
22 September 2005
'I'm not anti-Bush; I'm anti-Bush behaviour.'
Viggo Mortensen on his call to impeach Bush
By Nina Siegal
The Progressive
November 2005
Viggo is wearing a green jacket on which he has stitched with light blue thread a vintage United Nations patch. "I just like both the words," he says to the audience, explaining this clothing choice. "United and Nations. I think they go well together. A lot better than separately."
Viggo Mortensen at the Midnight Special reading
The Rebel King
By Chris Heath
GQ magazine
2004
MT: May I ask you, why the United Nations?
VM: Why not? That's the point. Why not? That's the problem.
A Sense of Finality, by Markus Tschiedert
Green Cine
2003
The United States, by evading responsibility to the environment in the case of, say, the Kyoto Protocol - which obviously, there are problems with just as there are with any idea, but the idea is good - by disregarding the United Nations, or feeling it doesn't apply to them - it's self-destructive. There's no future in that. So the United Nations is, I feel, a good concept and one that ought to be improved rather than disregarded completely.
MT: So it's a humanistic stance rather than a political one.
VM: I don't think you need to separate those ideas.
Viggo Mortensen
A Sense of Finality, by Markus Tschiedert
Green Cine
2003
"As many problems as the U.N. has had and as much hypocrisy as it has displayed, I would rather have them taking care of business over there as opposed to our government's piecemeal, self-serving efforts. To see the president of the United States and his administration admonish the U.N. and individual wealthy nations to pitch in with reconstruction now that such a mess has been made by the U.S. government - which, as everyone knows, chose to deride and completely ignore the grave concerns expressed by the community of nations when invading Iraq in the first place - displays a degree of arrogance that's as frightening as it is ridiculous. For the American citizen, real dialogue and balanced information about these matters has been largely choked off. In some way, I think that small companies or individuals that are willing to help draw a broader picture, offer more information and contrasting views, are especially valuable at this time. They're worth their weight in oil! [Laughs.]"
Viggo Mortensen
The Man Who Would be King
By Scott Thill
Salon.com, 2003
".....I don't think the United States has any more of a right to police the world than any other country. Where we go wrong is in saying that we do not have to adhere to the principles or the ideals of the community of nations ... we just spat on that, and did what we wanted, and walked right over that, and did what we wanted out of self-interest. That is really what we did. That cannot be questioned. We denied what the U.N. was saying. We said, 'No... what's good for us might not be good for you, but we don't care.' That's what we did."
Viggo Mortensen,
by Jeffrey Overstreet
Steven D Greydanus, Bob Smithouser & Jeremy Landes,
Looking Closer
2003
'...People can feel in this country that they are righteous, even by virtue of just being attacked. There's an understandable anger at wanting to do something. You want to see things simply. You want to have an enemy to attack. And when you look at it too simply, you tend to adhere to the notion of 'the others' and that they are different and that they are not good. I don't think it's that simple.
Viggo Mortensen
The Human: Viggo Mortensen
Pavement Magazine #50
2001
"Since 9-11, more people have died in Afghanistan and Iraq than in New York that day - and for not a very good reason. Yet, you are looked down upon in the U.S. if you recommend dialogue before military action. Our country was founded on the principle of free speech and I say to go ahead with war without openly discussing it is morally wrong and dangerous."
Viggo Mortensen
Don't Look For Analogies In 'Rings', Says Mortensen
By Chris Betros
Japan Today
2003
At a recent press conference, Mortensen appeared in a T-shirt reading "No More Blood For Oil," while Urban's jacket sported a peace symbol. When asked about their fashion statement (by a Shukan Kinyobi journalist, naturally), Mortensen softly but adamantly made his views clear.
"It's not something I've done before, in connection to working on a movie," said the actor. "For me, it was more or less a reaction to comparisons that have been made repeatedly, for the first movie and a lot now for the second one. I don't think it should be compared to current events anyway, and neither did Tolkien: It's not allegorical, is what he said. But if the comparisons are made, and they are, comparing the people who are defending the various races at Helm's Deep against this 10,000-strong army [to] the United States against [laughs incredulously] the world, or against the supposed 'bad' people in the world, that's an incorrect comparison."
Viggo Mortensen
The Fellowship vs. The Empire
By Giovanni Fazio
The Japan Times, 2003
Why he took an anti-war stance while promoting Rings: "It is not something I would normally go out of my way to do at all. But it was in response to what I'd been hearing in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, and what happened the year following when The Two Towers came out. A lot of people misrepresented what we had done in the films and Tolkien's work, saying they justified the actions of the U.S. government and war in general. I didn't think that was the case."
It's Good to be "King"
By Susan Wloszczyna
USA Today
2003
Press: You've passed over a Rubicon from being an actor to being a celebrity. Do you feel a responsibility to use that platform that you have to share your political beliefs, or do you just do that out of who you are?
Viggo: No. I've never really done that before. It is really just a reaction that comes out of being told over and over-not asked-but told, as if it is an accepted fact, that in the case of this story there is a direct parallel. In other words, we, 'the Fellowship' are the United States, and the bad guys are the faceless or brown-faced nameless Islamic terrorists. It's a dangerous comparison to make. It's just as faulty as what Tolkien objected so strongly to, which was to knowingly misapply Nordic cosmology, literature, mythology, to justify the military actions or the racist policies of the Third Reich. It bothered me, so I reacted.
Viggo Mortensen
By Jeffrey Overstreet, Steven D Greydanus, Bob Smithouser & Jeremy Landes,
Looking Closer
2003
Not surprisingly, Mortensen has strong political beliefs. On The Charlie Rose Show, while promoting The Two Towers, he wore a T-shirt that read, NO MORE BLOOD FOR OIL, and he is happy to be wound up and set loose on the subject of Iraq. "I think we're in a very dark period," he says as surfers glide and dolphins leap in the waves in front of us. "At what point do you admit it was a mistake and get the hell out of there? How much damage has to be done? How much damage has to be done to the credibility of the United States? This is a disturbing time, and you don't have to be of any political persuasion to be disturbed or troubled by it. I think we're in a time of deliberate cruelty and deliberate lying, and, frankly, I think it's the very bottom of humanity."
Finding Viggo
By Alex Kuczynski
Vanity Fair magazine
January 2004
20th March, 2.35 am GMT
After a 48-hour ultimatum, President George Bush announces the start of military operations against Iraq:
'I have not failed to notice that, while the occupying troops prevented the looters from entering the Ministerie for Oil, nothing was done to protect the libraries, the museums, the hospitals."
Viggo Mortensen
AYear in the Life of Viggo Mortensen
by Sophie Benamon
Studio Magazine
2003
A fierce critic of U.S. foreign policy, Mortensen says, "It was obvious to everybody there that the Iraq invasion was a movie that was greenlit. It was going to happen in spite of the charade.
"I wouldn't have been surprised to deal with animosity from the people there, but mostly what I heard was, 'We like Americans and their culture. What we don't understand is why you can't control your government.'"
Viggo Mortensen on filming Hidalgo in Morocco
Cash Isn't King - Viggo Just Wants A Good Script
By Jim Slotek
The Toronto Sun
2004
'I mean it's the same in some sense of argument as during Vietnam. It would be irresponsible to pull out completely. We owe it to them. No we don't frankly. We don't owe them anymore pain and suffering than we have indirectly caused them. Even though there are a lot of good Americans you know. Americans mean well, they want to do well. I support our troops and I think the best way to support our troops is to bring them home immediately. This is the wrong place to be.'
Viggo Mortensen on the Iraqi occupation
Charlie Rose Show Interview
Transcription for V-W by Chrissie
22 September 2005
"There's a well-promoted notion: "Why are you speaking about things you don't know anything about? You're not in politics, you're not a senator or a congressman. You have no right to speak about these things. You are an actor, or a teacher, a cab driver, a nurse, and therefore you have no right to worry about or express concern over the moral decision-making of the government you have elected to represent you." Which is absurd, of course."
Viggo Mortensen
The Man Who Would be King
By Scott Thill
Salon.com
2003
"Last year, I had made plans to visit Iraq and Israel. I was interested in seeing those places a little for myself, to take pictures, get to know people. Unfortunately, due to professional and personal obligations, I was unable to go. Later I read that Sean Penn and others were going. The mainstream media in the United States were highly critical of Sean for having gone to Iraq, calling him "Baghdad Sean" and the like. Those who run this country and hand-feed carefully crafted propaganda to the media will immediately and automatically label a show of genuine curiosity about the world and the role of the U.S. government in it - which is how I view Sean's trip - as unpatriotic.
How is it unpatriotic for him or anyone else to want to go to Iraq or any other place to educate themselves? How is it unpatriotic to want to go visit other people, other human beings, on this planet? By all means, go find out the truth for yourself, if you are fortunate enough to be able to! Bring back your observations and share them."
Viggo Mortensen
The Man Who Would be King
By Scott Thill
Salon.com
2003
25th October:
Thousands on people take part in the first great pacifist demonstration in Washington since George Bush announced, on May 1st, the end of military operations in Iraq. Viggo speaks, following veterans and activists. After distributing his anti-war teeshirts and protesting against the occupation of Iraq, he addresses Congress with a fierce: "God isn't angry, you are." Then he reads one of his poems, written for publication on the poetsagainstwar.org website, Back to Babylon, from which an extract follows:
"Accept and forget difference and desire that separates and leaves us longing or repelled. Why briefly return to playing broken places, to mock the ground, to collect infant shards, coins, fossils, or the familiar empty cannisters and casings that glint from poisoned roots in the blackened dust?"
A Year in the Life of Viggo Mortensen
By Sophie Benamon
Studio Magazine
2003
1st to 15th January 2003:
"Public personalities who express themselves against the war are given the finger. It is revealing about the 'values' on which America herself is founded. Expressing an opinion may be considered unpatriotic. Me, I believe it is worse to lie to and manipulate your people - and the rest of the world.'
Viggo Mortensen
A Year in the Life of Viggo Mortensen
By Sophie Benamon
Studio Magazine
2003
"With regard to history, Bush's record with regard to foreign relations, the environment, the economy, concern for the average citizen ... I can't think of any accomplishment that will put him anywhere else than in last place historically as a president. Of all the presidents in the history of the United States, it's hard to think that there's anything other than public relations - getting people to swallow huge lies so you can get your dirty work done - that this president will be considered remarkable for."
Viggo Mortensen
The Man Who Would be King
By Scott Thill
Salon.com
2003
"You read about Bush saying just the other day that he knows Hussein is not connected to 9/11? Well, it's nice that you say that now, so long after the fact, after all the needless suffering, destruction and ill will generated toward the United States. I mean, I can't count how many times he has consciously linked Hussein and al-Qaida in his speeches before, during and after the war. He kept doing it and didn't retract any of it until after we'd already done incredible damage, to not only Iraq but also America's credibility, image and standing in the world. To say nothing of the ordinary American and Iraqi lives lost or irrevocably harmed. It's a little too late to say that."
Viggo Mortensen
The Man Who Would be King
By Scott Thill
Salon.com
2003
Viggo Mortensen didn't want to miss out on Election Day while filming his latest flick, "The History of Violence,'' in Canada so he staged a polling station on the set. People Maggie reports that the "Lord of the Rings" hottie rigged up a mock voting booth and producer Chris Burns used his dog, Rosie, to monitor the voters. Not surprisingly, cast and crew voted for John Kerry though the write-in candidate, Rosie the canine, made a strong showing in second place. Have these people never heard of absentee ballots?
Own Private Idaho
Boston Herald
5 November 2004
"Nooooo! Arnold Schwarzenegger already did that."
Viggo Mortensen on being asked if he thought of going into politics
"I'm permanently dissatisfied."
by Amelia Enríquez, Lecturas Magazine
30 August 2006
Translated for V-W by Margarita
Last edited: 14 January 2013 15:26:02