See the new
Brego website

Viggo Mortensen

Viggo Mortensen Films

Lord of the Rings

About Brego.net

Viggo Mortensen News @ Brego.net

Monday, April 6, 2009

Viggo Mortensen taking a break from acting

Viggo Mortensen in GoodIn an interview with Kevin Maher published April 2, 2009, in the London Times, Viggo Mortensen talked about the grueling schedule of travel associated with film promotion and stated that he is taking an indefinite break from movie acting:

"In the past week I've been from LA to Japan to Korea to Poland to here," he hisses, describing in near disbelief the travel itinerary for his current promotional tour. "It's ridiculous! It's not a healthy way to be. But, as it happens, I'm taking measures to change that." Which are? "No more movies. I haven't said yes to one in over a year. I've been in all these well-received movies and it seems like I should be doing some more, but there's other things I want to do. It's not the right time."

When asked when it might be the right time to come back to film-making, he could only answer that he didn't know. This doesn't mean that Viggo will be idle.

He says that, of course, life goes on, and that he’s a busy man. As well as a new collection of published poems, called Songs of Winter, there is also a Spanish language production of Ariel Dorfman's play Purgatorio that he plans to perform in Madrid this winter. "I haven’t done theatre in 20 years," he says. "And that terrifies me more than death."

Viggo Mortensen also talks about the just-released Good, which he is currently promoting.

"Everywhere I've seen this movie play, it ends, the lights go on, and people are completely unsure," he says, beaming with pride. "They don't know what to think. And I'm like: 'That's OK. This movie doesn't give you that tragic finale so common in the Holocaust genre. That's because it’s as much about us, the viewers, as it is about Germany or the Germans.'"

Mortensen gets a kick out of this. He likes the way the movie tricks us, and asks us what we would have done, and at what point we would have said no to the Nazi war machine. He also likes the tricks that the movie plays with his image, how people expect a square-jawed hero on screen, and how shocked they are to find Middle Earth's unswerving Aragorn as a dithering Nazi puppet. "People have expectations of me, I suspect," he says. "And here those expectations are, um, subverted."

We suspect that anyone who has seen Viggo Mortensen in his wide range of roles, from the whiny Lalin in Carlito's Way to the seductive hippie Walker in Walk on the Moon to the tough, disciplined and even brutal Master Chief Urgayle in G.I. Jane, would not be at all surprised at his ability to play this character—or any character, for that matter.

For more on the film, visit our Good page. For the full interview (well worth reading), visit the Times Online.

Labels: , , ,

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Viggo - you are perfect for the role of Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar! It is being remade 2010. Man, I sure hope SOMEONE reads this post and that Viggo considers this role.

April 11, 2009 10:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree entirely with anonymous that Viggo would be perfect for Jesus Christ Superstar .... He would also be ideal for Shakesperares Hamlet, the brooding Danish Prince whose conscience is plagued by melancholic soliloquies. he is a genius our Viggo :-)

June 16, 2009 10:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I admire this person who longs to do great work and in the same time longs to be left alone. It is a fine line, I suppose. Do I accept all the compliments? Do I ignore the critics? Who would I like to be? Viggo has this choice...in this moment in time. He has the choice to be the theatrical version of himself...or he has the choice to be himself. I do not pity nor admire this position. I look upon him with great personal reward. My favorite actor with all the political views I possess...and understand his need to be respected in his art....and look upon him with hope to persuade the masses to fall upon the same lines. Pacifist is a hard road but not without great reward. I love him...from the most private parts of me to the most available. for he is not jesus christ. jesus christ is fictional in my own opinion....and he should not project that...and he won't. I just know it. Sometimes it is hard to accept one is just a man. A man with conviction....not sensationalism to woo the crowd. Conviction that lives in our heart and inspires us to be a better man. BUT...he is not a savior, nor jesus christ. Only a man with much influence and hope.

August 23, 2009 5:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

We prefer Viggo in "take it off " movies....us girls...we love the man...Viggo...

September 7, 2009 6:54 PM  
Blogger rosebud said...

Okay good things come to those who wait. he'll be back when he is ready. Then it will be like wow. He has a beatiful soul. Thats why people love him so. He just needs time to breath. You have to respect that. Peace.

January 5, 2010 4:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A REMARKABLE AND EXQUISITE ACTOR, VIGGO MORTENSEN.
"I WOULD NOT BE CAUGHT DEAD WITH KIDMAN ,THOUGH"
I saw the man and instantly liked him, now that's a king!

NOW BACK TO MY MACHIATO.

March 24, 2010 6:16 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Main News Page