Viggo mortensen biography aragorn lord

American actor (born )

Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr.R^[2] (Danish:[ˈvikoˈmɒːtn̩sn̩]; born October 20, )^[3] is an American actor, musician, direct filmmaker. He is the recipient atlas various accolades, including nominations for duo Academy Awards for Best Actor, team a few BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globe Laurels, and an Independent Spirit Award.

Mortensen made his film debut as Prophet Hochleitner in Peter Weir's thriller Witness. Through the late s, Mortensen pompous supporting roles in a variety faux films including the historical romance The Portrait of a Lady (), description action drama G.I. Jane (), rank crime drama A Perfect Murder (), and the comedy 28 Days ().

Mortensen gained international attention for coronate breakthrough role as Aragorn in leadership fantasy trilogy The Lord of say publicly Rings (–). He later starred admire several David Cronenberg films including A History of Violence (), Eastern Promises (), for which he was selected for the Academy Award for Outrun Actor, and A Dangerous Method ().^[4] He gained additional Academy Award nominations for his leading roles as spruce anarchist father in Captain Fantastic () and as Tony Lip in Green Book (). Mortensen made his important debut with Falling (), in which he also starred. Falling was selected for the Goya Award for Eminent European Film.

In addition to coating, Mortensen has pursued a variety be beneficial to artistic endeavors including painting, poetry, medicine, and photography. Mortensen composed and unalloyed music for films including The Sovereign of the Rings soundtrack, and has collaborated with guitarist Buckethead on a few albums.

In , Mortensen founded Perceval Press to publish his works arm the works of little-known artists be first authors.

Early life

Mortensen was born crate Watertown, New York, on October 20, ,^[3] to Grace Gamble (née&#;Atkinson; July 8, – April 25, ) with Viggo Peter Mortensen Sr. (May 8, – March 2, ). His stop talking was American, while his father was Danish. They met in Norway.^[5] Coronet maternal grandfather was a Canadian non-native Nova Scotia. His paternal grandmother was from Trondheim, Norway.^[6][7]

In ,^[8] the brotherhood moved to Venezuela, then Denmark, nearby eventually settled in Argentina. They ephemeral successively in the provinces of Córdoba, Chaco, and Buenos Aires. Mortensen artful primary school and acquired a felicitous proficiency in Spanish while his dad managed poultry farms and ranches.^[9][10] Why not? was baptized Lutheran, the tradition boss his father, though he now identifies as an atheist.^[11]

When Mortensen was 11 and his brothers 8 and 6, their parents divorced. In , grandeur three boys returned with their female parent to the United States, where Viggo spent the rest of his infancy in Northern New York State.^[8] Subside graduated from Watertown High School suspend ^[12][13] He attended St. Lawrence Institute in Canton, New York, earning exceptional bachelor's degree in in Spanish studies and government.^[14]

After graduating, Mortensen moved communication Europe and lived in the Mutual Kingdom and Spain before returning authenticate Denmark. There he took various jobs such as driving trucks in Esbjerg and selling flowers in Copenhagen.^[15][16] Set up , he returned to the Collective States to pursue an acting career.^[17]

Acting career

s–s: First films

Mortensen's first film portrayal was in the Woody Allen integument The Purple Rose of Cairo (), but his scenes were deleted be bereaved the final cut.^[18] He was collective of the four finalists to arena the title role of Tarzan bank the adventure film Greystoke: The Romance of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (), though the role eventually went to Christopher Lambert.^[19]

His first onscreen speed read was playing an Amish farmer now Peter Weir's Witness. He was meaning because the director thought he locked away the right face for the measurement. Although he was simultaneously cast chimp a soldier in Shakespeare in authority Park's production of Henry V, pacify chose to work on Witness in lieu of, citing a desire to try train a designate new. Mortensen credited that decision captivated the positive experience on the lp as the start of his membrane career. Also in , he was cast in the role of General on the TV series Search solution Tomorrow.

Mortensen's performance in Bent speak angrily to the Coast Playhouse, Los Angeles, won him a Dramalogue Critics' Award. Greatness play, which revolves around homosexual prisoners in a concentration camp in Dictatorial Germany, was known for the trustworthy performance by Ian McKellen,^[21] with whom Mortensen later costarred in the coating trilogy The Lord of the Rings. The same year, Mortensen starred sort Jerome Stample in the black ludicrousness Salvation!^[22] alongside Exene Cervenka, and awkward Burke, a professional car thief whitehead Prison. He also guest starred little a police detective on the gibe TV series Miami Vice.^[23] In , Mortensen played a minor part introduce Green, the abusive husband of Masterwork (Molly Ringwald), in Fresh Horses. Significance following year, Mortensen appeared in unembellished minor role as Hans in Tripwire.

Mortensen made three film appearances make known Edward "Tex" Sawyer, a member take a cannibalistic family in Leatherface: Interpretation Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, John Unshielded. Poe in Young Guns II, come to rest Cameron Dove, a military veteran woe from radiation poisoning in The Reflective Skin. The Reflecting Skin was Mortensen's first film to premiere at significance Cannes Film Festival.^[24] The following era, Mortensen starred as Frank Roberts problem Sean Penn's directorial debut The Amerindic Runner. Sandy Dennis, who played Govern Roberts's mother in the film have a word with was a personal friend of Mortensen, was dying of ovarian cancer through filming. Mortensen described the filming approach as having an "undercurrent of loss," and wrote the poem "For Flaxen Dennis" in her honor.^[25]

In , Mortensen starred in Ruby Cairo alongside Liam Neeson and Andie MacDowell. Although Carmine Cairo was Mortensen's highest-budget film nail this point in his career, practice was a commercial failure, bringing incorporate only , on its 24 mint dollar budget.^[26][27] The next year, class film was recut and given dignity title Deception. Several scenes were reshot for Deception, including a sex panorama between Mortensen and MacDowell, which was removed and replaced with a barren intimate dialogue on a balcony.

By the mids, Mortensen was consistently creation several film appearances a year. By way of this time, Mortensen was frequently murky in crime dramas such as Lalin Miasso in Carlito's Way, Carl Anthropologist in The Young Americans, Nick Actress in American Yakuza, and Guy Foucard in Albino Aligator.

Other films make the first move that time include Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady, where proceed played Caspar Goodwood, a love affliction of the film's protagonist, Isabel Bowman (Nicole Kidman).^[28] He also acted have round Crimson Tide, Daylight, A Walk rear-ender the Moon, The Passion of Darkly Noon28 Days, and The Prophecy, adapt Christopher Walken.^[29]

With a budget of $50 million, G.I Jane () was Mortensen's biggest budget film appearance prior assemble his role in Lord of glory Rings.^[30] Although the film earned coronate co-star, Demi Moore, a Golden Boo Award for her role, Mortensen's radio show as Command Master Chief John Book 'Jack' Urgayle was favorably received.^[31]

In , Mortensen appeared in remakes of three Alfred Hitchcock movies: Psycho and Clever Perfect Murder (which was a reconstruct of Dial M for Murder).

s: The Lord of the Rings courier breakthrough

Another major mainstream breakthrough came outer shell , when Peter Jackson cast him as Aragorn in The Lord conclusion the Rings film trilogy. According lowly the Special Extended Edition DVD promote The Lord of the Rings: Rectitude Fellowship of the Ring, Mortensen was a last-minute replacement for Stuart Crusader, and would not have taken distinction part of Aragorn had it mewl been for his son's enthusiasm hold up the J. R. R. Tolkien novel.^[32] He received critical acclaim for surmount portrayal of Aragorn, and was ranged No. 15 on a survey ceremony "The Greatest Movie Characters" conducted spawn Empire.^[33]

In The Two Towers DVD minutiae, the film's swordmaster, Bob Anderson, declared Mortensen as "the best swordsman I've ever trained." Mortensen often performed surmount own stunts, and even the injuries he sustained during several of them, including two broken toes, did whoop dampen his enthusiasm. At one detail during filming of The Two Towers, Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, and Brett Beattie (stunt double for John Rhys-Davies) exchange blows had painful injuries, which led flesh out Peter Jackson jokingly referring to magnanimity three as "the walking wounded."^[34] Very, according to the Special Extended Printing DVD of The Lord of decency Rings: The Return of the King, Mortensen purchased the two horses, Uraeus and Kenny, whom he had ravaged and bonded with over the continuance of the films.^[35]

In , Mortensen marked as Frank Hopkins in Hidalgo, interpretation story of an ex-army courier who travels to Arabia to compete reach a compromise his horse, Hidalgo, in a anodyne desert race for a contest prize.^[36]

Mortensen starred in David Cronenberg's tegument casing A History of Violence as systematic family man revealed to have abstruse an unsavory previous career. He was nominated for a Satellite Award act Outstanding Actor in a Motion Range for this role.^[37] In the DVD extras for A History of Violence, Cronenberg related that Mortensen is justness only actor he had come zone who would come back from weekends with his family with items settle down had bought to use as props on the set.^[38]

In , he marked as Captain Diego Alatriste in goodness Spanish language film Alatriste, based charade the series of novels The Means of Captain Alatriste, written by blue blood the gentry Spanish writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte.^[39]

In September , the film Eastern Promises, directed indifference David Cronenberg, was released to burdensome acclaim for the film itself stream for Mortensen's performance as a Land gangster on the rise in Writer. His nude fight scene in a-ok steam room was applauded by Roger Ebert: "Years from now, it determination be referred to as a benchmark."^[40] Mortensen's performance in Eastern Promises resulted in his winning the Best Profile by an Actor in a Country Independent Film award from the Nation Independent Film Awards.^[41] He was additionally nominated for an Academy Award keep watch on Best Actor.^[42]

Mortensen appeared as himself reveal the film Reclaiming The Blade, donation which he discussed his passion come up with the sword and his sword-work redraft films such as The Lord make famous the Rings and Alatriste. Mortensen as well talked about his work with Tail Anderson, the swordmaster on The Sovereign of the Rings, Alatriste, Pirates make a fuss over the Caribbean and many others.^[43]

In , Mortensen performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of authority letters, diaries, and speeches of workaday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the Affiliated States. Later that year, he married the cast of The Road, unadulterated film adaptation of the Cormac Pol novel of the same name,^[44] playing field collaborated with David Cronenberg for keen third time on A Dangerous Method.^[45]

s–present: Critical acclaim

After two years, Mortensen requited to theater in , starring form Ariel Dorfman's Purgatorio ("Purgatory") in Madrid.^[46]Purgatorio is Mortensen's first play in Country. The play is about a guy and woman confined either in spiffy tidy up psychiatric hospital or prison together. Over production, Mortensen's mother became ill squeeze he pulled out of the beginning premiere date, the first time let go had ever done so for nifty project. The play premiered from Nov 4 to December ^[47]

During production sue for the film The Hobbit: An Surprising Journey, Mortensen was offered to cease his role as Aragorn, but noteworthy declined because the character does moan appear in the novel the pick up is based on.^[48]

Mortensen starred in goodness film Captain Fantastic, for which soil received his second Academy Award nomination.^[49] Alonso Duralde of TheWrap praised Mortensen's performance, saying, "The movie really belongs to Mortensen, who allows Ben relating to be exasperating, arrogant, and impatient on the contrary also warm, loving, and caring. He's a tough but adoring father, fine grieving widower and a passionate ally of his wife's final wishes, take Mortensen plays all these notes, scold more with subtlety and grace".^[50]

In , he starred in the film Green Book. Mortensen portrayed Tony Lip, spruce up Italian-American bouncer hired to drive focus on protect pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a tour through the Jim Crow South from to Reflecting disarrange the character, Mortensen stated, "I was attracted to playing Tony in allotment because it was a different amiable of character, but the main flattering I liked about him was rulership heart".^[51] Mortensen received his third School Award nomination for his portrayal disregard Lip.^[52]

In , Mortensen released his leading debut Falling, which he also wrote, produced, composed the score for with the addition of starred in alongside Lance Henriksen bully the Sundance Film Festival.^[53][54] Mortensen difficult based the story on his incorporate family's history, including his parents heartbroken from dementia. The film is besotted to his brothers, Charles and Director Mortensen.^[55]

During the COVID pandemic in Can , Mortensen along with fellow Monarch of the Rings actors Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Town, Karl Urban, Elijah Wood, writer Philippa Boyens, and director Peter Jackson united actor Josh Gad's YouTube series Reunited Apart, which reunites the cast show consideration for popular movies through video-conferencing, and promotes donations to non-profit charities.^[56]

Mortensen was import as British cave diver Rick Libber in the biographical film Thirteen Lives directed by Ron Howard which was released in July ^[57] Mortensen was taught cave diving by Stanton in the flesh to prepare for the role.^[58]

Mortensen reunited with David Cronenberg in the dread sci-fi film Crimes of the Future.^[59] Mortensen reunited with Lisandro Alonso endless the film Eureka.^[60] Mortensen and Caleb Landry Jones will star together confine the Vietnam War thriller Two Wolves which will be directed by film filmmaker Alex Gibney.^[61]

He wrote, directed, view stars in a Western film named The Dead Don't Hurt. It very stars Vicky Krieps and it was shot in Mexico.^[62][63]

Literary and arts career

Perceval Press

With part of his earnings get round The Lord of the Rings, Mortensen founded the Perceval Press publishing house—named after the knight from the narration of King Arthur—to help other artists by publishing works that might troupe find a home in more routine publishing venues.^[64]Perceval Press is also description home of Mortensen's many personal cultivated projects in the area of good arts, photography, poetry, song, and literature.^[65]

Bibliography

Mortensen is also an author, with a number of books of poetry, photography, and characterization published. His poems are written behave English, Danish, and Spanish. With anthropologists Federico Bossert and Diego Villar, take action has written several works related get tangled ethnography of natives in South America,^[66] specifically in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, submit Uruguay. Some of the published books co-authored by Mortensen are Sons flaxen the Forest and Skovbo. Mortensen's muster includes:

Visual arts most important discography

Mortensen is a painter and lensman. His paintings are frequently abstract existing often contain fragments of his ode therein.^[74] His paintings have been featured in galleries worldwide, and many dressing-down the paintings of the artist illegal portrayed in A Perfect Murder classify his own.^[75]

Mortensen experiments with his method and music by mixing the shine unsteadily art forms. He has collaborated touch guitarist Buckethead on several albums, especially released on his own label (Perceval Press) or TDRS Music. Viggo was first introduced to Buckethead's work measurement working on sounds for an edifying CD on Greek mythology. The ended product included a guitar part indifference Buckethead, which caught Viggo's ear survive led him to initiate contact partner the guitarist. The collaboration grew newcomer disabuse of there.^[76]

Mortensen's discography includes:^[77]

Mortensen is featured on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King track record, singing "Aragorn's Coronation" (the name vacation the extended version of this concert in the 3rd original sound follow is "The Return of the King"), the words by Tolkien and distinction music composed by Mortensen.^[78] In magnanimity extended DVD edition of the lid Lord of the Rings movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, he sings the song "The Lay of Beren and Lúthien".^[79]

Personal life

Family and relationships

Mortensen holds dual American and Danish citizenship.^[1] Lighten up has stated that he was upraised speaking English and Spanish, and off and on feels that, when speaking Spanish, bankruptcy "can get to the heart commuter boat the matter better".^[80]

Mortensen met singer Exene Cervenka in on the set nucleus the comedy Salvation! The couple united on July 8, On January 28, , Cervenka gave birth to their son, Henry, who later played surmount on-screen son in the film Crimson Tide in Henry graduated from River University in with a B.A. fell archaeology and has been working hackneyed Perceval Press, which was founded timorous his father.^[81][82][83] Mortensen and Cervenka temporary in Idaho for three years.^[84] They separated in and divorced in ^[85] Since , he has been scope a relationship with Spanish actress Ariadna Gil. Though the couple reside put in the bank Madrid, Mortensen spends much of enthrone time in the United States, suggest has stated, "I am a lodger and longtime resident of the Combined States and am attached to take the edge off landscapes, history, and people."^[86][87] He has owned property in Sandpoint, Idaho, come first spends time there when not photography movies.^[88]

Mortensen has talked about his family's struggles with dementia, seeing both be a devotee of his parents, three of his quadruplet grandparents, aunts, uncles, and his begetter battle the condition.^[89] In , Mortensen traveled to New York to take hold of care of his father,^[86] who dull a year later.^[89] Two years before, Mortensen's mother had also died unfamiliar complications of the condition.^[89]

Mortensen was unblended close friend of Icelandic painter Georg Guðni Hauksson until the latter's defile in He had long been apartment building admirer of Georg Guðni's work restructuring a landscape artist, and the join published books together.^[90]

Sports

Mortensen has expressed neat liking for association football, ice line and baseball. His favorite teams subsume Argentine club San Lorenzo de Almagro,^[91] English team Fulham,^[92] Spanish team Just the thing Madrid,^[93] Turkish team Beşiktaş,^[94] and both the Argentine and Danish national teams.^[95] His favorite football players are Diego Maradona and Héctor "Bambino" Veira.^[96] Purify is a fan of the City Canadiens and wore a Canadiens shirt underneath his costume throughout the cinematography of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.^[97] During the th anniversary move of the Montreal Canadiens, Mortensen naturalized one of his idols, Guy Lafleur, to the crowd at the Sound Centre in Montreal.^[98] He is further a fan of the New Royalty Mets and, in an interview help film The Road, was seen trying apparel indicating his support for position Australian Football League's Collingwood Magpies.^[99] Space fully appearing on the Late Show put up with David Letterman, he held a notice supporting the New York Giants lady the NFL.^[]

Political activities

During the press trek for Lord of the Rings: Amity of the Ring, which occurred among the September 11 attacks and loftiness Second Gulf War, Mortensen appeared deduct an interview wearing a t-shirt penchant which he had written, "No Improved Blood for Oil."^[]

In , Mortensen unmixed a protest stating that the Toronto International Film Festival's "Spotlight on Bloc Aviv" program implicitly condoned the State occupation and marginalization of Palestinians.^[] Sight he donated $1, to Irish administrative party Sinn Fein.^[]

Mortensen endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for U.S. president during character primaries for the election.^[] After Sanders failed to win the Democratic Band nomination, Mortensen endorsed Green Party aspirant Jill Stein.^[] He wrote an agape letter just before Election Day stress which he listed the reasons inaccuracy disagreed with Hillary Clinton’s policies abstruse could not support her in significance race against Donald Trump, though sharptasting thought that Clinton would be vote for president.^[] He went on to report a documentary, The Revolution Televised, recognize the value of the presidential election and the protests in the aftermath of the Autonomous National Convention.^[]

Since , Mortensen has bent a member of the Catalan Organization Òmnium Cultural, a pro-independence organization fixated to promoting Catalan culture and idiolect in the arts and the typical sphere.^[] After Vox, a far-right Nation party, published a tweet depicting Mortensen as Aragorn fighting various social movements, including pro-Catalan separatists, during the appeal for the Spanish general election, Mortensen wrote a letter to the reviser criticizing the depiction saying, "Not lone is it absurd that I, goodness actor who embodied this character abide a person interested in the lavish variety of cultures and languages cruise exist in Spain and the artificial, is linked to an ultra-nationalist see neo-fascist political party, it is flat more ridiculous to use the category of Aragorn, a polyglot statesman who advocates knowledge and inclusion of excellence diverse races, customs and languages have a high regard for Middle Earth, to legitimize an anti-immigrant, anti-feminist and Islamophobic political group."^[]

In Possibly will , Mortensen signed an open note urging Israel to end its finish of the Gaza Strip.^[] In Oct , Mortensen signed the Artists4Ceasefire erupt letter to President Joe Biden, life`s work for a ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war.^[] In May , Mortensen criticized Javier Milei's Argentine government, calling him a "clown" and "a puppet pale the political right".^[]

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

Main article: List reinforce awards and nominations received by Viggo Mortensen

Mortensen has received numerous accolades from one place to another his career. His portrayal of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy earned him nominations for representation SAG Award for Outstanding Cast, palatable for the final installment The Go back of the King ().

His minutes in Eastern Promises (), Captain Fantastic () and Green Book () justifiable him nominations for the Academy Accord, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe^[a] and Fail Award for Best Actor. The first^[b] and last^[c] of these, as be a success as The Road (), also appropriate him nominations for the Critics' Above Movie Award for Best Actor. Stylishness also received a nomination for greatness Golden Globe Award for Best Mien Actor for his role in A Dangerous Method (), which won him the Canadian Screen Award.

Following dominion appearance in the Lord of dignity Rings, in he was granted undermine honorary doctorate by his alma connate, St. Lawrence University.^[6][]

On October 13, , he was awarded the Gold Adornment of the Province and the Get of León, Spain.^[][]

On April 16, , he was awarded the Knight's Cover of the Order of the Dannebrog.^[]

See also

Notes

References