Viggo Mortensen turns 65
Late bloomer, string player and unwilling superstar
Happy birthday, Aragorn! But wait: Viggo Mortensen is so much more than “just” the Middle-earth hero.
© imago images/Everett Collection
On October 20, 1958, Viggo Mortensen was born. His Hollywood star didn’t rise until much later.
From the Amish to the physical – his career before “Lord of the Rings”
Mortensen, as the last name suggests, has Scandinavian roots; In addition to his US citizenship, he also has Danish citizenship. Another advantage of his parents, who love to travel: In addition to English and Danish, he speaks numerous other languages. There are nine in total, including Spanish, Italian and Arabic.
However, his talent for languages did not serve as a catalyst for an acting career. It wasn’t until 1985 that Mortensen got his first small role in a movie – in the Harrison Ford thriller “The Only Witness” he played a young farmer from the Amish community at the age of 27.
In the 90s alone he appeared in 25 films, but in only a few of them was he able to leave a lasting impression. This was sometimes also due to the films themselves – “Texas Chainsaw Massacre III”, in which he played a member of Leatherface’s bloodthirsty murderer family, is not exactly considered a milestone in film history.
In contrast, Mortensen’s appearance in the 1995 fantasy horror film “God’s Army – The Last Battle” is much stronger. In it, as a real devil, he went on the hunt for the fallen angel Gabriel, played by Christopher Walken (80). In the years to come, however, Mortensen remained at best a cinematic side note – until he moved to Middle-earth.
Persuasion from the son
The fact that Mortensen was able to celebrate the greatest commercial and pop culture success of his career with “The Lord of the Rings” is thanks to his then eleven-year-old son Henry. He literally devoured JRR Tolkien’s books and when he found out that his father had been given the role of Aragorn as a last-minute replacement, he did a successful job of persuading him. His son’s pitch: “This guy will be king in the end! You have to do it!” as Mortensen later revealed in an interview.
The role of a vapid “Striker” who later turns out to be Aragorn and ultimately the rightful king of Gondor and Arnor “opened up numerous possibilities for me,” as Mortensen himself put it. In fact, it was only after “Lord of the Rings” that the role offers that were generally viewed as Oscar material began to arrive.
Much honor, little return
It wasn’t until 2008, when Mortensen was now approaching 50, that he received his first Oscar nomination. As a supposed member of the Russian mafia in “Deadly Promises – Eastern Promises” he not only impressed with his masterfully played inner conflict. He also had perhaps the most ruthless knife fight in film history in a sauna – staged by David Cronenberg (80) and completely naked.
Mortensen was also nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for the works “Captain Fantastic – Once Wilderness and Back” and “Green Book – A Special Friendship”. In all three cases, however, he lost out: in 2008 against “Mister Oscar” himself, Daniel Day-Lewis (66, “There Will Be Blood”). In 2017, Casey Affleck (48, “Manchester by the Sea”) triumphed in his place and in 2019 it was Rami Malek (42, “Bohemian Rhapsody”). The Golden Globes and the BAFTAs have so far only been nominations.
Like being in front of the camera, not like being in the spotlight?
Only he knows whether the calm character mime dealt with these blows in the neck better than many other stars. But the fact is: as busy as Mortensen is, not only on the screen, but also as a musician, poet and photographer, there is too much hustle and bustle around his person seems to put him off. “I often stay by myself,” he revealed in an interview a few years ago with Stephen Colbert (59) and pulled his Stone Age flip phone out of his jacket pocket as if to prove it.
In a way, Mortensen is similar to the man who snatched the Oscar from under his nose in 2008: Daniel Day-Lewis also always completely immersed himself in his roles, melting into them – but in conversations he surprised people with his gentle, almost shy manner to speak. And his flip phone is nothing short of legendary.
In one respect – apart from the Oscars they have won – the two exceptional actors hopefully differ: While Day-Lewis took early retirement from acting at the age of 60, the now 65-year-old Viggo Mortensen definitely has to take some time for it . At least until he can finally hold one of the long overdue golden boys in his hands.