Hollywood star Viggo Mortensen is known to most viewers as Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. But in the life of this outstanding actor there are enough other bright and famous projects.
Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. (Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr.) was born on October 20, 1958 in New York, Manhattan in the family of a Scottish American and Dane.
Biography of Viggo Mortensen
The parents of the future celebrity met in Norway, then after the birth of Viggo they moved to the north of South America, to Venezuela. The family changed their place of residence several more times. The Mortensens lived in Denmark for two years, after which they returned to South America. In Argentina, Viggo's father had a poultry farming business in several provinces.
The Mortensens had three sons, Viggo was the oldest child. The brothers received their primary education at a local school, which allowed them to master the Spanish language perfectly. After the divorce, Viggo's father continued to wander around the world, and the mother took her sons and returned to New York, where the children graduated from high school. During his studies, Viggo was actively involved in sports, was the captain of the swim team and a successful tennis player. At the same time, the young man became interested in photography and drawing. After graduating from school in 1980, Viggo continued his studies at the University of St. Lawrence (New York, Canton). The actor has a BA in Spanish Studies and Politics. The urge to change places in Mortensen's blood and he is poisoned to travel around Europe. In his father's homeland, in Denmark, Viggo worked as a truck driver and flower seller, in England and Spain he was a lifter and a waiter. Traveling, Mortensen studied languages and now he is fluent in English, Spanish and Danish, knows French, Norwegian, Swedish, as well as Elvish.
Viggo Mortensen's acting career
In 1982, Viggo decided to become an actor and went to Hollywood, where he studied for two years at Warren Robertson's theater studio, working part-time in Broadway productions and theater.
The drama "Witness" (1985) became the first full-length film with the participation of Viggo Martenson in a cameo role, the picture received two "Oscars" and the actor was noticed by agents.
At first, the actor gets minor negative characters - the bandit Frank Robbins in "The Fugitive Indian", the informer Lalin in "Carlito's Way", Lucifer in the "Prophecy" tape.
The next stage was the role of romantic heroes. Viggo starred with Demi Moore in the action movie Soldier Jane and Nicole Kidman in Portrait of a Lady. Hitchcock's remake of The Perfect Murder starred not only Mortensen, but also his paintings. Photography and painting still have a big place in Viggo's life.
Aragorn and The Lord of the Rings: The Rise of Viggo Mortensen's Career
The director of the stellar trilogy, Peter Jackson, planned another actor for the role of tracker Aragorn, but in the end he considered him too young and offered Viggo Mortensen to participate in the project. Since the actor was not familiar with Tolkien's work, the prospect of going to New Zealand to shoot a "fairy tale" for a whole year did not inspire him too much. Viggo's son persistently urged his father to act, and the artist signed a contract.
The role of Aragorn brought Mortensen worldwide fame. On the set, the famous actor gave all his best, he performed all the stunts personally. Not without injuries - the actor broke a toe and lost his front tooth after an unsuccessful sword strike. Mortensen learned the Elvish language so well that he dispensed with the prompter and memorized text.
After "The Lord of the Rings" Viggo was forced to refuse many offers and scenarios of the same type, because he had already played the king.
Mortensen began collaborating with renowned director David Cronenberg in 2005, and his first collaboration, Justified Violence, was critically acclaimed and garnered many nominations. The second joint film "Vice for Export" made a splash among the audience and earned Mortensen's first Oscar nomination. To get used to the role, Viggo not only studied Russian and prison jargon, but also lived in Russia for two months incognito. The actor's shooting day began with 50 tattoos on his body.
After reincarnating as Sigmund Freud in the biopic Dangerous Method, Mortensen received a Golden Globe nomination.
Viggo Mortensen's personal life
Despite the worldwide fame, not much is known about the actor's personal life. On the set of the comedy Salvation, Viggo Mortensen met Iksen Cervenok. The future wife of the actor was the lead singer of the punk band "X". The couple signed on July 8, 1987. The family moved to live in Idaho, and on January 28, 1988, they had a son, Henry Blake Mortensen. Since 1992, the Viggo and Iksen family began to live separately, in 1997 they filed for a divorce, remaining on good terms.
Viggo Mortensen's next famous love also turned out to be an actress. Gil Viggo met Ariadne on the set of Captain Alatriste. The couple is in a romantic relationship, but they do not formally formalize their relationship.
Not Hollywood alone
Viggo Mortensen proved himself to be a capable musician with 3 jazz albums. He has his own publishing house, Perceval Press, which publishes aspiring authors and works by Viggo himself.
