Viggo Mortensen's book signing at Virgin Megastore in New York (Union Square) last Thursday (4/18) was quite remarkable in a quiet kind of way. Most memorable for his bold, swashbuckling role as Aragorn in the smash hit film, Lord of the Rings, few know Mortensen as the photographer and artist who was at the store to sign copies of his new art book, Signlanguage. In its striking pages, the book contains numerous paintings and photographs by the actor that range in subject matter from landscape to portrait to abstractions.

At Virgin Megastore, a mostly female line started to wrap around the block early for the 6pm signing. And when the actor-artist turned up, he was surprisingly timid yet personal with everyone, and was more than happy to take pictures with all. Mortensen even brought some postcards that featured his artwork, which he carefully displayed on the table for fans to take on the way out.

When asked about signing other items besides his book, he told Marketing Coordinator Tom Fornario that he didn't mind signing Lord of the Rings merchandise, but he needed to personalize whatever he signed. Either he's the nicest guy on the planet, or it was his way of nipping eBay sales in the bud.