Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. (born October 20, 1958) is a Danish-American actor and filmmaker. He has received various accolades including an Actor Award and a Critics' Choice Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.
Also recorded as Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr.
Viggo Mortensen

Georges Biard · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Viggo Mortensen
- Birth Name
- Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr.
- Born
- 20 October 1958
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Education
- St.
- Occupation
- * Actor
- Awards
- Full list
- Full name
- Viggo Peter Mortensen.
- Nationality
- United States · Kingdom of Denmark
- Fields
- Western
- Known for
- Far from Men · Captain Fantastic · Green Book · The Lord of the Rings · Thirteen Lives
- Honours
- Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog · Bodil Honorary Award · Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture · Satellite Awards · Donostia Award · Golden Boot Awards
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Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. (born October 20, 1958) is a Danish-American actor and filmmaker. He has received various accolades including an Actor Award and a Critics' Choice Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.
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wikidata · Q171363 · wikipedia · Viggo Mortensen
In this article
Biography
Biography
Mortensen made his film debut with a role in Peter Weir's 1985 thriller Witness. Through the late 1990s, Mortensen played supporting roles in a variety of films, including the historical romance The Portrait of a Lady (1996), the action drama G.I. Jane (1997), the crime drama A Perfect Murder (1998), and the comedy 28 Days (2000). Mortensen gained international attention for his breakthrough role as Aragorn in the fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003). He later starred in several David Cronenberg films including A History of Violence (2005), Eastern Promises (2007), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, A Dangerous Method (2011) and Crimes of the Future (2022). He gained further Academy Award nominations for his leading roles as an anarchist father in Captain Fantastic (2016) and as Tony Lip in Green Book (2018). Mortensen made his directorial debut with Falling (2020), in which he also starred. He also starred in the movie Alatriste (2006), where he portrayed the main character, the movie being the most expensive Spanish language film ever produced. In addition to film, Mortensen has pursued a variety of artistic endeavors including painting, poetry, music, and photography. Mortensen composed and performed music for films including The Lord of the Rings soundtrack, and has collaborated with guitarist Buckethead on several albums. In 2002, Mortensen founded Perceval Press to publish his works and the works of little-known artists and authors.
Viggo Mortensen studied at St. Lawrence University and Watertown High School. The recorded working language is English, Spanish and Italian. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are Western. Residence is recorded at Spain and Denmark. Works named in the authority record are Far from Men, Captain Fantastic, Green Book, The Lord of the Rings and Thirteen Lives. Distinctions recorded are Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, Bodil Honorary Award, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and Satellite Awards.

Viggo Mortensen op Film Fest Gent 2020 bij de presentatie van 'Falling'
Joost Pauwels
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Viggo Mortensen • Honorific Suffix — R. • Birth Name — Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. • Born — 20 October 1958 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Citizenship — * United States • Canada • Denmark • Education — St. Lawrence University • Occupation — * Actor • artist • director • producer • Years Active — 1984–present • Partner — Ariadna Gil (2009–present) • Children — 1 • Awards — Full list
Early life
Early life
Mortensen was born in New York City, on October 20, 1958, to Grace Gamble (Atkinson) and Viggo Peter Mortensen Sr. His mother was American, while his father was Danish. They met in Norway. His maternal grandfather was a Canadian from Nova Scotia. His paternal grandmother was from Trondheim, Norway. In 1961, the family moved to Venezuela, then Denmark, and eventually settled in Argentina. They lived successively in the provinces of Córdoba, Chaco, and Buenos Aires. Mortensen attended primary school and acquired a fluent proficiency in Spanish while his father managed poultry farms and ranches. He was baptized Lutheran, the tradition of his father, though he now identifies as an atheist. When Mortensen was 11 and his brothers 8 and 6, their parents divorced. In 1969, the three boys returned with their mother to the United States, where Viggo spent the rest of his childhood in Northern New York State. He graduated from Watertown High School in 1976. He attended St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, earning a bachelor's degree in 1980 in Spanish studies and government. After graduating, Mortensen moved to Europe and lived in the United Kingdom and Spain before returning to Denmark. There he took various jobs such as driving trucks in Esbjerg and selling flowers in Copenhagen. In 1982, he returned to the United States to pursue an acting career.
2000s: The Lord of the Rings and breakthrough
2000s: The Lord of the Rings and breakthrough
• Illustration — Mortensen at the premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, December 1, 2003 Another major mainstream breakthrough came in 1999, when Peter Jackson cast him as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. According to the Special Extended Edition DVD of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Mortensen was a last-minute replacement for Stuart Townsend, and would not have taken the part of Aragorn had it not been for his son's enthusiasm for the J. R. R. Tolkien novel. He received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Aragorn, and was ranked No. 15 on a 2015 survey of "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" conducted by Empire. In The Two Towers DVD extras, the film's swordmaster, Bob Anderson, described Mortensen as "the best swordsman I've ever trained." Mortensen often performed his own stunts, and even the injuries he sustained during several of them, including two broken toes, did not dampen his enthusiasm. At one point during filming of The Two Towers, Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, and Brett Beattie (stunt double for John Rhys-Davies) all had painful injuries, which led to Peter Jackson jokingly referring to the three as "the walking wounded." Also, according to the Special Extended Edition DVD of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Mortensen purchased the two horses, Uraeus and Kenny, whom he had ridden and bonded with over the duration of the films. In 2004, Mortensen starred as Frank Hopkins in Hidalgo, the story of an ex-army courier who travels to Arabia to compete with his horse, Hidalgo, in a dangerous desert race for a contest prize. Mortensen starred in David Cronenberg's 2005 film A History of Violence as a family man revealed to have had an unsavory previous career. He was nominated for a Satellite Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for this role. In the DVD extras for A History of Violence, Cronenberg related that Mortensen is the only actor he had come across who would come back from weekends with his family with items he had bought to use as props on the set. • Illustration — Mortensen interviewed by eTalk Daily at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, for A History of Violence In 2006, he starred as Captain Diego Alatriste in the Spanish language film Alatriste, based on the series of novels The Adventures of Captain Alatriste, written by the Spanish writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte. In September 2007, the film Eastern Promises, directed by David Cronenberg, was released to critical acclaim for the film itself and for Mortensen's performance as a Russian gangster on the rise in London. His nude fight scene in a steam room was applauded by Roger Ebert: "Years from now, it will be referred to as a benchmark." Mortensen's performance in Eastern Promises resulted in his winning the Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film award from the British Independent Film Awards. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Mortensen appeared as himself in the 2009 film Reclaiming the Blade, in which he discussed his passion for the sword and his sword-work in films such as The Lord of the Rings and Alatriste. Mortensen also talked about his work with Bob Anderson, the swordmaster on The Lord of the Rings, Alatriste, Pirates of the Caribbean and many others. • Illustration — Mortensen at the 32nd Genie Awards in March 2012 In 2009, Mortensen performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Later that year, he joined the cast of The Road, a film adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name, and collaborated with David Cronenberg for a third time on A Dangerous Method.
2010s–present: Critical acclaim
2010s–present: Critical acclaim
After two years, Mortensen returned to theater in 2011, starring in Ariel Dorfman's Purgatorio ("Purgatory") in Madrid. Purgatorio is Mortensen's first play in Spanish. The play is about a man and woman confined either in a psychiatric hospital or prison together. During production, Mortensen's mother became ill and he pulled out of the initial premiere date, the first time he had ever done so for a project. The play premiered from November 4 to December 18. During production for the 2012 film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Mortensen was offered to reprise his role as Aragorn, but he declined because the character does not appear in the novel the film is based on. Mortensen starred in the 2016 film Captain Fantastic, for which he received his second Academy Award nomination. Alonso Duralde of TheWrap praised Mortensen's performance, saying, "The movie really belongs to Mortensen, who allows Ben to be exasperating, arrogant, and impatient but also warm, loving, and caring. He's a tough but adoring father, a grieving widower and a passionate defender of his wife's final wishes, and Mortensen plays all these notes, and more with subtlety and grace". In 2018, he starred in the film Green Book. Mortensen portrayed Tony Lip, an Italian-American bouncer hired to drive and protect pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a tour through the Jim Crow South from 1962 to 1963. Reflecting on the character, Mortensen stated, "I was attracted to playing Tony in part because it was a different kind of character, but the main thing I liked about him was his heart". Mortensen received his third Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Lip. In 2020, Mortensen released his directorial debut Falling, which he also wrote, produced, composed the score for and starred in alongside Lance Henriksen at the Sundance Film Festival. Mortensen had based the story on his own family's history, including his parents suffering from dementia. The film is dedicated to his brothers, Charles and Walter Mortensen. During the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, Mortensen along with fellow Lord of the Rings actors Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Karl Urban, Elijah Wood, writer Philippa Boyens, and director Peter Jackson joined actor Josh Gad's YouTube series Reunited Apart, which reunites the cast of popular movies through video-conferencing, and promotes donations to non-profit charities. Mortensen was cast as British cave diver Rick Stanton in the biographical film Thirteen Lives directed by Ron Howard which was released in July 2022. Mortensen was taught cave diving by Stanton personally to prepare for the role. Mortensen reunited with David Cronenberg in the horror sci-fi film Crimes of the Future in 2022. Mortensen reunited with Lisandro Alonso on the film Eureka. Mortensen and Caleb Landry Jones will star together in the Vietnam War thriller Two Wolves which will be directed by documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney. He wrote, directed, and stars in a Western film titled The Dead Don't Hurt. It also stars Vicky Krieps and it was shot in Mexico.
Literary and arts career
Literary and arts career
• Illustration — Mortensen in 2010
Perceval Press
Perceval Press
With part of his earnings from The Lord of the Rings, Mortensen founded the Perceval Press publishing house—named after the knight from the legend of King Arthur—to help other artists by publishing works that might not find a home in more traditional publishing venues. Perceval Press is also the home of Mortensen's many personal artistic projects in the area of fine arts, photography, poetry, song, and literature.
Family and relationships
Family and relationships
Mortensen holds American, Canadian and Danish citizenships. He speaks English, Spanish and Danish fluently, he stated that he was raised speaking English and Spanish, and sometimes feels that, when speaking Spanish, he "can get to the heart of the matter better". Mortensen met singer Exene Cervenka in 1986 on the set of the comedy Salvation! The couple married on July 8, 1987. On January 28, 1988, Cervenka gave birth to their son, who later played his on-screen son in the film Crimson Tide. Mortensen and Cervenka lived in Idaho for three years. They separated in 1992 and divorced in 1997. Since 2009, he has been in a relationship with Spanish actress Ariadna Gil. Though the couple reside in Madrid, Mortensen spends much of his time in the United States, and has stated, "I am a citizen and longtime resident of the United States and am attached to its landscapes, history, and people." He has owned property in Sandpoint, Idaho, and spends time there when not filming movies. Mortensen founded Perceval Press, a publishing company, in 1995. Mortensen has talked about his family's struggles with dementia, seeing both of his parents, three of his four grandparents, aunts, uncles, and his stepfather battle the condition. In 2016, Mortensen traveled to New York to take care of his father, who died a year later. Two years earlier, Mortensen's mother had also died from complications of the condition. Mortensen was a close friend of Icelandic painter Georg Guðni Hauksson until the latter's death in 2011. He had long been an admirer of Georg Guðni's work as a landscape artist, and the two published books together.
Sports
Sports
Mortensen has expressed a liking for association football, ice hockey and baseball. His favorite teams include Argentine club San Lorenzo de Almagro, English team Fulham, Spanish team Real Madrid, Turkish team Beşiktaş, and both the Argentine and Danish national teams. His favorite football players are Diego Maradona and Héctor "Bambino" Veira. He is a fan of the Montreal Canadiens and wore a Canadiens shirt underneath his costume throughout the filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. During the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Montreal Canadiens, Mortensen introduced one of his idols, Guy Lafleur, to the crowd at the Bell Centre in Montreal. He is also a fan of the New York Mets and, in an interview promoting 2009 film The Road, was seen wearing apparel indicating his support for the Australian Football League's Collingwood Magpies. While appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman, he held a sign supporting the New York Giants of the NFL.
Political activities
Political activities
Mortensen volunteered for the Jesse Jackson 1988 presidential campaign. During the press tour for Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, which occurred between the September 11 attacks and the Second Gulf War, Mortensen appeared in an interview wearing a t-shirt on which he had written, "No More Blood for Oil." In 2009, Mortensen signed a protest stating that the Toronto International Film Festival's "Spotlight on Tel Aviv" program implicitly condoned the Israeli occupation and marginalization of Palestinians. In 2015 he donated $1,000 to Irish political party Sinn Féin. Mortensen endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for U.S. president during the primaries for the 2016 election. After Sanders failed to win the Democratic Party nomination, Mortensen endorsed Green Party candidate Jill Stein. He wrote an open letter just before Election Day 2016 in which he listed the reasons he disagreed with Hillary Clinton's policies and could not support her in the race against Donald Trump, though he thought that Clinton would be elected president. He went on to narrate a documentary, The Revolution Televised, about the 2016 presidential election and the protests in the aftermath of the Democratic National Convention. Since 2018, Mortensen has been a member of the Catalan NGO Òmnium Cultural, a pro-independence organization dedicated to promoting Catalan culture and language in the arts and the public sphere. After Vox, a far-right Spanish party, published a tweet depicting Mortensen as Aragorn fighting various social movements, including pro-Catalan separatists, during the campaign for the 2019 Spanish general election, Mortensen wrote a letter to the editor criticizing the depiction saying, "Not only is it absurd that I, the actor who embodied this character... and a person interested in the rich variety of cultures and languages that exist in Spain and the world, is linked to an ultra-nationalist and neo-fascist political party, it is even more ridiculous to use the character of Aragorn, a polyglot statesman who advocates knowledge and inclusion of the diverse races, customs and languages of Middle Earth, to legitimize an anti-immigrant, anti-feminist and Islamophobic political group." In May 2020, Mortensen signed an open letter urging Israel to end its blockade of the Gaza Strip. In October 2023, Mortensen signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter to President Joe Biden, calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. Mortensen condemned the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling the latter a "proud and proudly independent nation, and you should stay that way". In 2024, he and 34 activists and celebrities signed a petition urging Congress to continue sending aid to Ukraine. He also showed The Dead Don't Hurt at the Mykolaichuk Open in Chernivtsi and gave his opening speech in Ukrainian. In May 2024, Mortensen criticized Javier Milei's Argentine government, calling him a "clown" and "a puppet of the political right".
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1984 — George Washington — Fort Le Boeuf Lieutenant — Miniseries, 1 episode • 1985 — Search for Tomorrow — Bragg — Episode #1.8837 • ABC Afterschool Special — Tim — Episode: "High School Narc" • 1987 — Miami Vice — Eddie Trumbull — Episode: "Red Tape" • 1991 — Once in a Blue Moon — Failed pilot • 2020 — Cosmos: Possible Worlds — Nikolai Vavilov — Episode: "Vavilov"
Video games
Video games
• Year — Title — Voice role — Notes • 2002 — The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers — Aragorn • 2012 — Lego The Lord of the Rings — Archive audio
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
Viggo Mortensen was recorded at birth as Viggo Peter Mortensen. The authorities additionally record the heading Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. His recorded languages were English, Spanish, Italian and Danish. He was the child of Viggo Peter Mortensen and Grace Gamble Atkinson. He married Exene Cervenka. One child is recorded: Henry Mortensen.
Identity
Identity
Viggo Mortensen is recorded with the occupation photographer. Classed in the genre Western. Recorded as having received Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, Bodil Honorary Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1958
Viggo Mortensen was born on 20 October 1958.
2010
Viggo Mortensen: Winter Songs (2010) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Spain, Denmark and United States
Named but not plotted · 2
Viggo Mortensen was born at Watertown.
Birthplace
Watertown.
Birth place
1980s–1990s: First films
1980s–1990s: First films
Mortensen's first film role was in the Woody Allen film The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), but his scenes were deleted from the final cut. He was one of the two finalists to play the title role of Tarzan in the adventure film Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), though the role eventually went to Christopher Lambert. His first onscreen appearance was playing an Amish farmer in Peter Weir's Witness. He was cast because the director thought he had the right face for the part. Although he was simultaneously cast as a soldier in Shakespeare in the Park's production of Henry V, he chose to work on Witness instead, citing a desire to try something new. Mortensen credited that decision and the positive experience on the film as the start of his film career. Also in 1985, he was cast in the role of Bragg on the TV soap opera Search for Tomorrow, and played Tybalt opposite Michael Cerveris in a stage production of Romeo and Juliet at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. Mortensen's 1987 performance in Bent at the Coast Playhouse, Los Angeles, won him a Dramalogue Critics' Award. The play, which revolves around homosexual prisoners in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany, was known for the leading performance by Ian McKellen, with whom Mortensen later costarred in the film trilogy The Lord of the Rings. The same year, Mortensen had a supporting role as Jerome Stample in the black comedy Salvation!, and played a co-lead role as a convict in the horror film Prison. He also guest starred as a police detective on the hit TV series Miami Vice. In 1988, Mortensen played a minor part as Green, the abusive husband of Jewel (Molly Ringwald), in Fresh Horses. The following year, Mortensen appeared in a minor role as Hans in Tripwire. Mortensen made three film appearances in 1990: Edward "Tex" Sawyer, a member of a cannibalistic family in the horror film sequel Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, John W. Poe in Young Guns II, and Cameron Dove, a military veteran suffering from radiation poisoning in The Reflecting Skin. The Reflecting Skin was Mortensen's first film to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The following year, Mortensen starred as Frank Roberts in Sean Penn's directorial debut The Indian Runner. Sandy Dennis, who played Frank Roberts's mother in the film and was a personal friend of Mortensen, was dying of ovarian cancer during filming. Mortensen described the filming experience as having an "undercurrent of loss," and wrote the poem "For Sandy Dennis" in her honor. In 1992, Mortensen starred in Ruby Cairo alongside Liam Neeson and Andie MacDowell. Although Ruby Cairo was Mortensen's highest-budget film at this point in his career, it was a commercial failure, bringing in only 608,000 on its 24 million dollar budget. The next year, the film was recut and given the title Deception. Several scenes were reshot for Deception, including a sex scene between Mortensen and MacDowell, which was removed and replaced with a less intimate dialogue on a balcony. By the mid-1990s, Mortensen was consistently making several film appearances a year. During this time, Mortensen was frequently cast in crime dramas such as Lalin Miasso in Carlito's Way, Carl Frazer in The Young Americans, Nick Davis in American Yakuza, and Guy Foucard in Albino Alligator. Other films from that time include Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady, where he played Caspar Goodwood, a love interest of the film's protagonist, Isabel Archer (Nicole Kidman). He also acted in Crimson Tide, Daylight, A Walk on the Moon, The Passion of Darkly Noon, 28 Days, and The Prophecy, with Christopher Walken. With a budget of $50 million, G.I Jane (1997) was Mortensen's biggest budget film appearance prior to his role in Lord of the Rings. Although the film earned his co-star, Demi Moore, a Golden Raspberry Award for her role, Mortensen's performance as Command Master Chief John James 'Jack' Urgayle was favorably received. In 1998, Mortensen appeared in remakes of two Alfred Hitchcock movies: Psycho and A Perfect Murder (which was a remake of Dial M for Murder).
Visual arts and discography
Visual arts and discography
• Illustration — Mortensen's 1983 Paintings Submission Inquiry Mortensen is a painter and photographer. His paintings are frequently abstract and often contain fragments of his poetry therein. His paintings have been featured in galleries worldwide, and many of the paintings of the artist he portrayed in A Perfect Murder are his own. Mortensen experiments with his poetry and music by mixing the two art forms. He has collaborated with guitarist Buckethead on several albums, mostly released on his own label (Perceval Press) or TDRS Music. Viggo was first introduced to Buckethead's work while working on sounds for an educational CD on Greek mythology. The finished product included a guitar part by Buckethead, which caught Viggo's ear and led him to initiate contact with the guitarist. The collaboration grew from there. Mortensen's discography includes: • 1994: Don't Tell Me What to Do • 1997: One Less Thing to Worry About • 1998: Recent Forgeries • 1999: The Other Parade • 1999: One Man's Meat • 1999: Live at Beyond Baroque • 2003: Pandemoniumfromamerica • 2004: Live at Beyond Baroque II • 2004: Please Tomorrow • 2004: This, That, and the Other • 2005: Intelligence Failure • 2006: 3 Fools 4 April • 2007: Time Waits for Everyone • 2008: At All • 2010: Canciones de Invierno • 2011: Reunion • 2013: Acá • 2015: Under the Weather • 2016: Seventeen Odd Songs • 2017: Preguntas Desde la Orilla • 2018: Godzilla Sleeps Alone Mortensen is featured on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King soundtrack, singing "Aragorn's Coronation" (the name of the extended version of this song in the 3rd original sound track is "The Return of the King"), the words by Tolkien and the music composed by Mortensen. In the extended DVD edition of the first Lord of the Rings movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, he sings the song "The Lay of Beren and Lúthien".
Film
Film
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1985 — Witness — Moses Hochleitner • 1987 — Salvation! — Jerome Stample • Prison — Burke • 1988 — Fresh Horses — Green • 1989 — Tripwire — Hans • 1990 — Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III — Edward "Tex" Sawyer • Young Guns II — John W. Poe • The Reflecting Skin — Cameron Dove • 1991 — The Indian Runner — Frank Roberts • 1992 — Ruby Cairo — John E. "Johnny" Faro • 1993 — Boiling Point — Ronnie • Carlito's Way — Lalin Miasso • The Young Americans — Carl Frazer • 1994 — The Crew — Phillip • Floundering — Homeless Man • Gospel According to Harry — Wes • American Yakuza — Nick Davis / David Brandt • 1995 — Gimlet — Hombre • Crimson Tide — LT. Peter Ince, WEPS • The Passion of Darkly Noon — Clay • Black Velvet Pantsuit — Junkie • The Prophecy — Lucifer • 1996 — Albino Alligator — Guy Foucard • Daylight — Roy Nord • The Portrait of a Lady — Caspar Goodwood • 1997 — Vanishing Point — Jimmy Kowalski • G.I. Jane — CMC Jack Urgayle • My Brother's Gun — Juanito • 1998 — A Perfect Murder — David Shaw • Psycho — Samuel "Sam" Loomis • 1999 — A Walk on the Moon — Walker Jerome • 2000 — 28 Days — Eddie Boone • 2001 — The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — Aragorn • 2002 — The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers • 2003 — The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King • 2004 — Hidalgo — Frank Hopkins • 2005 — A History of Violence — Tom Stall / Joey Cusack • 2006 — Alatriste — Diego Alatriste y Tenorio • 2007 — Eastern Promises — Nikolai Luzhin • 2008 — Appaloosa — Everett Hitch • Good — John Halder • 2009 — The Road — The Man • 2011 — A Dangerous Method — Sigmund Freud • 2012 — On the Road — Old Bull Lee • Everybody Has a Plan — Agustín / Pedro — Also producer • 2014 — The Two Faces of January — Chester MacFarland • Jauja — Gunnar Dinesen — Also producer and composer • Far from Men — Daru — Also co-producer • 2016 — Captain Fantastic — Ben Cash • 2018 — Green Book — Tony Lip • 2020 — Falling — John Petersen — Also director, producer, writer and music composer • 2022 — Crimes of the Future — Saul Tenser • Thirteen Lives — Richard Stanton • 2023 — Eureka — Murphy • The Dead Don't Hurt — Holger Olsen — Also director, producer, writer and music composer • 2026 — I Love Boosters — Heine Schlumpf — Voice cameo • TBA — Embers — Konrad — Filming
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q171363: Viggo Mortensen
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Viggo Mortensen”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
scholarly publication
- Cinéma : Jusqu’au bout du monde, western féministe de Viggo Mortensen, France Forum, 2024
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2024
Awards and nominations
• Illustration — Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee, screenwriter Joe Penhall, director John Hillcoat and producer Steve Schwartz at the 2009 Venice Film Festival for The Road Mortensen has received numerous accolades throughout his career. His portrayal of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy earned him nominations for the SAG Award for Outstanding Cast, winning for the final installment The Return of the King (2003). His performances in Eastern Promises (2007), Captain Fantastic (2016) and Green Book (2018) earned him nominations for the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe and SAG Award for Best Actor. The first and last of these, as well as The Road (2009), also earned him nominations for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor. He also received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in A Dangerous Method (2011), which won him the Canadian Screen Award. Following his appearance in the Lord of the Rings, in 2006 he was granted an honorary doctorate by his alma mater, St. Lawrence University. On October 13, 2006, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Province and the City of León, Spain. On April 16, 2010, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Stone, Andrew. Lonely Planet Denmark. Lonely Planet. 46. 2008. 978-1-74104-669-4.
- 2.Viggo Mortensen on his return to directing with 'The Dead Don't Hurt'. November 30, 2024.
- 3.UPI Almanac for Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020. United Press International. October 20, 2020.
- 4." Flawed father role a test for Viggo Mortensen" . Toronto Star, Michael O'Sullivan, July 16, 2016.
- 5.Viggo Mortensen gets nude for 'Eastern Promises' fight scene. HamptonRoads.com.
- 6.St. Lawrence University: Commencement. stlawu.edu. May 21, 2006.
- 7.Vg.no. Film: Viggo Mortensen magret seg ned 15 kilo for drømmerollen VG Nett. May 20, 2009.
- 8.Grace Wright. NNY360. April 27, 2015.
- 9.Pearlman, Cindy. Superstar Viggo's a serious soul at heart. Chicago Sun-Times. September 9, 2007.
- 10.Dwyer, Brian. Father of Viggo Mortensen Passes Away. ny1.com. March 6, 2017.
- 11.How Viggo Mortensen Got Inside Sigmund Freud's Head. The Wall Street Journal. 2011.
- 12.Doyle, Macreena A. Viggo Mortensen '80 REMEMBERS. St. Lawrence Magazine. St. Lawrence University. 2003.
- 13.DePaulo, Lisa. Why Viggo Mortensen Is Off the Grid. Esquire. May 25, 2016.
- 14.The Great Dane. Men's Vogue. 4. 2. 2008.
- 15.Brooks, Xan. The happy trails of Viggo Mortensen. The Guardian. April 17, 2009.
- 16.Lane, Harriet. My mother is very happy about it. The Guardian. February 22, 2008.
- 17.Viggo Mortensen. denmark.dk.
- 18.Valiente, Alexa. Viggo Mortensen Once Didn't Know He Was Cut From a Woody Allen Film Until Its Release. ABC News. July 20, 2016.
- 19.Galloway, Stephen. The Secrets Behind That Other Tarzan Movie — The One That Earned a Dog a Screenwriting Oscar Nomination. The Hollywood Reporter. July 1, 2016.
- 20.Paramount Pictures. Witness. 2005. 949729643.
- 21.Viggo Mortensen. About the Artists.
- 22.Arkatov, Janice. A GAY GROUND-BREAKER. Los Angeles Times. April 3, 1987.
- 23.Canby, Vincent. TV Evangelism is satirized in "Salvation!". The New York Times. May 31, 1987.
- 24.Otterson, Joe. 'Miami Vice' Reboot in Works at NBC From Vin Diesel. Variety. August 2, 2017.
- 25.Volmers, Eric. Reflecting on Alberta's strangest movie, 1990's The Reflecting Skin. Calgary Herald. March 11, 2016.
- 26.Mortensen, Viggo. Missing Sandy Dennis. www.focusfeatures.com. Focus Features. August 7, 2008.
- 27.Ruby Cairo (1993) - Financial Information. The Numbers.
- 28.Elley, Derek. Ruby Cairo. Variety. 5 May 1993.
- 29.Maslin, Janet. Henry James, not too literally. The New York Times. December 27, 1996.
- 30.Applebaum, Stephen. Mortensen's battle scars. BBC News. December 5, 2002.
- 31.G.I. Jane (1997) - Financial Information. The Numbers.
- 32.Malsin, Janet. 'G.I. Jane': A Heroine Who's More Like Tarzan. The New York Times. 22 August 1997.
- 33.Kempley, Rita. 'A Perfect Murder': Dial M for Mediocre. The Washington Post. 5 June 1998.
- 34.Wallace, Amy. Eats Roadkill, Speaks Danish. Esquire. February 27, 2006.
- 35."The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" . Empire, June 29, 2015
- 36.New Line Cinema. Cameras in Middle-earth: Filming The Two Towers. 2003.
- 37.New Line Cinema. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Special Extended DVD Edition). 2004.
- 38.Interviews: Viggo Mortensen on Hidalgo. ComingSoon.net. February 25, 2004.
- 39.2005-B 10th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards - December 2005. International Press Academy.
- 40.New Line Cinema. A History of Violence (DVD Extra). 2006.
- 41.Holland, Jonathan. Alatriste. Variety. September 25, 2006.
- 42.Ebert, Roger. Eastern Promises. Chicago Sun-Times. September 14, 2007.
- 43.British Independent Film Awards. British Independent Film Awards 2007 nominations.
- 44.Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 80th Academy Awards.
- 45.Galatia Films Home Entertainment. Reclaiming the Blade. 2009.
- 46.Shoard, Catherine. Viggo Mortensen to star in Walter Salles's On the Road. The Guardian. August 6, 2010.
- 47.Lodderhose, Diana. UPI to distribute new Cronenberg pic. Variety. April 22, 2010.
- 48.Viggo Mortensen vuelve al teatro con Carme Elias en una obra sobre la capacidad de perdón (in Spanish). El País.
- 49.Viggo and Carme explore forgiveness. El País. November 4, 2011.
- 50.DeSalvo, Robert B. Dialogue: Viggo Mortensen on Playing Sigmund Freud in 'A Dangerous Method,' the Motivation of Dreams and His Chances of Appearing in 'The Hobbit'. Movies.com. November 21, 2011.
- 51.Sandberg, Bryn. Oscars: Viggo Mortensen on 'Captain Fantastic,' Donald Trump and That 'Lord of the Rings' Reunion. The Hollywood Reporter. February 10, 2017.
- 52.Duralde, Alonso. Captain Fantastic' Sundance Review: Viggo Mortensen Raises an Off-the-Grid Family in This Touching Dramedy. TheWrap. January 24, 2016.
- 53.Fernández, Alexia. See How Viggo Mortensen Transformed Into His Oscar-Nominated Role of Tony Lip in 'Green Book'. People. February 20, 2019.
- 54.Hipes, Patrick. 'Green Book' Caps Wild Oscar Year With Best Picture Win. Deadline Hollywood. February 24, 2019.
- 55.Hammond, Pete. Viggo Mortensen On 'Falling' Into A New Phase Of His Career With Directing Debut Set To World Premiere At Sundance. Deadline. January 23, 2020.
- 56.Thompson, Simon. Viggo Mortensen And Lance Henriksen Talk Powerful Dementia Drama 'Falling'. Forbes. February 4, 2021.
- 57.Topel, Fred. Viggo Mortensen, Lance Henriksen relive family trauma in 'Falling'. United Press International. February 4, 2021.
- 58.O'Kane, Caitlin. Actor Josh Gad reunites stars of 'Lord of the Rings' while raising money for kids in need. CBS News. June 1, 2020.
- 59.Fleming, Mike Jr. Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton Head Ensemble Of Ron Howard-Directed MGM Thai Cave Rescue Pic 'Thirteen Lives'. Deadline. March 11, 2021.
- 60.Stanton, Richard. Guest Column: Teaching Viggo Mortensen 40 Years of Thai Cave Diving for 'Thirteen Lives'. The Hollywood Reporter. December 5, 2022.
- 61.Galuppo, Mia. Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Stewart to Star in 'Crimes of the Future' From David Cronenberg. The Hollywood Reporter. April 29, 2021.
- 62.Hopewell, John. Viggo Mortensen, Chiara Mastroianni, Maria de Medeiros Set for Lisandro Alonso's 'Eureka' (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. August 4, 2020.
- 63.Ravindram, Manori. Viggo Mortensen, Caleb Landry Jones Headline 'Two Wolves' From Alex Gibney, Altitude to Produce and Sell Globally – AFM. Variety. October 28, 2021.
- 64.Monagle, Matthew. Vicky Krieps Says She'll Star Next In A Viggo Mortensen-Directed Western Set In Mexico. The Playlist. May 22, 2022.
- 65.Ntim, Zac. Viggo Mortensen to Direct Vicky Krieps in Western 'The Dead Don't Hurt'. Deadline Hollywood. October 6, 2022.
- 66.Salter Reynolds, Susan. Little press shines with star power. Los Angeles Times. March 3, 2004.
- 67.About Perceval Press. Perceval Press.
- 68.Viggo editará la obra de Branislava Susnik . ABC Color (Paraguay)
- 69.Viggo Mortensen's Books. Alveni.
- 70.SKOVBO. Perceval Press.
- 71.SÅDANSET. Perceval Press.
- 72.CANCIONES DE INVIERNO / WINTER SONGS. Perceval Press.
- 73.Berriman, Mark. That Turned Ugly Fast. North Star Press. 2015. 978-0878398157.
- 74.RAMAS PARA UN NIDO. Perceval Press.
- 75.LOOK. Perceval Press.
- 76.Mueller, Matt. Viggo Mortensen. Wonderland. February 24, 2009.
- 77.Callahan, Dan. The Art of American Screen Acting, 1960 to Today. McFarland & Company. 87. 2019. 978-1-4766-7695-1.
- 78.Viggo & Buckethead", March 5, 2004, IGN Music.
- 79.Viggo Mortensen Albums, Songs. Album of The Year.
- 80.Adams, Doug. The Music of The Lord of the Rings Films. 350–352. 2010. 978-0-7390-7157-1.
- 81.West, Richard C. Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy. McFarland & Company. 230. 2011. 978-0-7864-4636-0.
- 82.10 Questions for Viggo Mortensen. Time. December 17, 2008.
- 83.Trucks, Rob. Interview: Exene Cervenka of X. The Village Voice. May 20, 2008.
- 84.Heller, Zoe. Viggo Talks and Talks. The New York Times. December 2, 2011.
- 85.Paiella, Gabriella. Viggo Mortensen on Falling and the Time He Was Found in the Woods as a Baby. GQ. February 1, 2021.
- 86.Love, Marianne. A Visit with Viggo. Sandpoint Magazine. Winter 2004.
- 87.Zagier, Alan Scher. Exene Cervenka: Exile in the Ozarks. LA Weekly. June 11, 2008.
- 88.Here. Poetry Super Highway.
- 89.Busis, Hillary. Prime Time for Barnard Theater. Columbia Daily Spectator.
- 90.Hom, Marc. Why Viggo Mortensen Is Off the Grid. Esquire. May 25, 2016.
- 91.Ryan, Patrick. 'It feels like a horror film': New dementia dramas 'Falling,' 'Supernova' aim for truthfulness over tears. USA Today. February 5, 2021.
- 92.DV ehf. Viggo Mortensen kveður Georg Guðna. DV.is.
- 93.Iglesias, Fernanda. "Me gustaría filmar en la Argentina". Clarín. November 15, 2005.
- 94.MacKenzie, Steven. Viggo Mortensen: "It's good to have your world turned upside down". The Big Issue. June 10, 2015.
- 95.Lord of the Rings star says he 'loathes' Mourinho. ESPN. March 22, 2015.
- 96.Hollywood'da doğdu Beşiktaşlı oldu – Hürriyet Magazin Hattı. Hürriyet Daily News. November 12, 2012.
- 97.Harp, Justin. Viggo Mortensen stopped by airport security over football celebration. Digital Spy. May 30, 2012.
- 98.Gilsdorf, Ethan. Viggo Mortensen's heroes — yes, all of them. Boston.com. March 1, 2012.
- 99.Ryan, Andrew. 'Hockey is my religion, the Canadiens are my god'. The Globe and Mail. January 23, 2009.
- 100.Guy Lafleur présenté par Viggo Mortensen. December 4, 2009.
- 101.The final seduction. The Age. April 4, 2009.
- 102.74. January 13, 2012.
- 103.Horst, Carole. ‘Captain Fantastic’ Star Viggo Mortensen Recalls Early Acting Role in CBS Miniseries. Variety. 2016-12-02.
- 104.McFarland, Melanie. Two decades after "The Return of the King," we still remember Aragorn's warning about US militarism. Salon. December 18, 2023.
- 105.Film Makers, Actors, And Activists Protest Toronto Film Fest For Tel Aviv Spotlight. Amnesty International USA. September 10, 2009.
- 106.McQuinn, Cormac. Hollywood stars among Sinn Fein donors who pledged $12m to party. Irish Independent. March 4, 2015.
- 107.Norton, Ben. 'That's tyranny': Viggo Mortensen blasts U.S. militarism, criticises both parties for 'hawkish' foreign policy. Salon. November 6, 2015.
- 108.Stern, Marlow. Viggo Mortensen Goes Green: 'I Trust Hillary About as Much as I Trust Donald Trump'. The Daily Beast. July 16, 2016.
- 109.Anderson, Ariston. Rome Film Fest: Viggo Mortensen, Matt Ross "Shocked" Anyone Would Vote for Trump. The Hollywood Reporter. October 17, 2016.
- 110.Raimo, Veronica. The Revolution Televised, un documentario su quello che i media non dicono. Rolling Stone. November 1, 2016.
- 111.Serra, Xavi. Viggo Mortensen: "Soc d'Òmnium perquè m'interessen la història, la cultura i la llengua catalanes". Ara.cat. October 1, 2020.
- 112.Mortensen, Viggo. La torpeza política y mediática de Vox. El País. May 7, 2019.
- 113.Hundreds of artists urge Israel to end Gaza blockade. Al Jazeera. May 16, 2020.
- 114.Artists4Ceasefire.
- 115.Yegor, Bobrytskyi. Viggo Mortensen presented his film at Mykolaichuk OPEN. Don't Take Fake. June 17, 2024.
- 116.Camacho, Pedro. Rosario Dawson, Viggo Mortensen Join Open Letter Urging Support for Ukraine Funding. Latin Times. IBT Media. April 11, 2024.
- 117.Viggo Mortensen llamó "payaso" a Javier Milei y consideró que sus políticas son "un desastre". La Nación. May 10, 2024.
- 118.McNary, Dave. Viggo Mortensen to Star, Make Directorial Debut in Family Drama 'Falling'. Variety. October 15, 2018.
- 119.Ravindran, Manori. Viggo Mortensen to Direct Western 'The Dead Don't Hurt,' Starring Vicky Krieps. Deadline. October 6, 2022.
- 120.Kay, Jeremy. Production Begins in Hungary on Embers starring Ralph Fiennes, Viggo Mortensen. ScreenDaily. 22 April 2026.
- 121.Palmer, Rob. Exploring 'Possible Worlds' With Ann Druyan. Skeptical Inquirer. CFI. March 31, 2020.
- 122.Hersko, Tyler. 'Cosmos: Possible Worlds' to Premiere on National Geographic in 2020 — Exclusive. IndieWire. November 7, 2019.
- 123.Viggo Mortensen Tells Grads 'Activism Not A Dirty Word'. Newswise. May 21, 2006.
- 124.Nepomuceno, Miguel Ángel. Viggo Mortensen recibe mañana las insignias de oro de León y provincia. Diario de León. October 12, 2006.
- 125.Viggo Mortensen recibe las insignias de oro de la ciudad y de la provincia de León por 'Alatriste'. El Mundo. October 13, 2006.
- 126.Bysted A/S. Kongehuset – Forside. Kongehuset.dk.
References
Citations
References
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scholarly publication
Cinéma : Jusqu’au bout du monde, western féministe de Viggo Mortensen, France Forum, 2024Crossref registry
Verifiedreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q171363: Viggo MortensenWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
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Work and production. Works recorded as notable number 5: Far from Men, Captain Fantastic, Green Book, The Lord of the Rings and Thirteen Lives. His recorded genre is Western. Mortensen received Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, Bodil Honorary Award, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Satellite Awards, Donostia Award and Golden Boot Awards.
Recognition and collections
Lawrence University and Watertown High School.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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