Viggo Mortensen Quotes & Sayings

I'm an optimist; I always hope that each new script is going to be a great story. — Viggo Mortensen

As a kid I read Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and a few others. As an adult have admired Leonardo da Vinci's drawings and notebooks. — Viggo Mortensen

If in my twenties I'd gotten one of the two-dozen roles that I did screen tests for and almost got, I think I would have become bored with the awards circuit, the whole hype machine. — Viggo Mortensen

Some people who like dogs don't like cats, but I'm not like that. — Viggo Mortensen

When we shot 'The Lord of the Rings,' we had special permission to film in wild areas of New Zealand that could be accessed only by helicopter. They would drop us off and we would work all day, and they'd pick us up and take us out again. — Viggo Mortensen

You can't really go back to where you came from. I don't think any of us can. — Viggo Mortensen

I try to avoid conflict. I don't want people to be unhappy. — Viggo Mortensen

One of the main ways that leadership stays in power is by, in various ways, convincing people that they should just let those who are in government govern: 'Trust us. Trust me. Just let us take care of things. Stay out of it.' Your opinions don't really matter. You are isolated. You are insignificant. — Viggo Mortensen

Adult characters are all the things they've encountered over time. But kids haven't accumulated all the life experience, all the regrets. They tend to be more in the moment, more willing to play, to be joyful. — Viggo Mortensen

It's amazing to me that Glenn Beck can be on the cover of 'Time,' and there can be a whole article about him basically saying, 'Well, you know, he's controversial.' It's like, 'No, he's a dangerous idiot who needs the help of a good psychiatrist!' — Viggo Mortensen

It's always interesting to play a character that obviously has a secret. — Viggo Mortensen

I don't think Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell fear competition from me in their arena. — Viggo Mortensen

People talk about method actors, meaning someone that's prepared very, very well, or whatever they mean when they talk about it. But the right method is whatever works for you. And what works for me on any given day is going to be different. — Viggo Mortensen

I was born in New York but as a baby moved to Venezuela and Argentina. I've also lived in Denmark, where my father's from. I've traveled a lot, and having that sort of background probably increased the chance that I was going to remain curious as an adult about people who are different. — Viggo Mortensen

It's hard not to get depressed when you pay attention to the world and how strangely and corrupt the people in it sometimes behave. — Viggo Mortensen

You can't really divorce yourself and your life from the world you live in. — Viggo Mortensen

Any nominations a movie gets helps to raise the level of curiosity in the public, so in that sense awards and nominations are important. — Viggo Mortensen

In the end, the actor's main power is the power to say, 'No.' — Viggo Mortensen

This basic thing I always do: 'What happened between the character's birth, and page one of the script?' Anything that's not in the story, I'll fill in the blanks. — Viggo Mortensen

It's true that I have a wide range of interests. I like to write and paint and make music and go walking on my own and garden. In fact, gardening is probably what I enjoy doing more than anything else. — Viggo Mortensen

I hate divers, like Cristiano Ronaldo, who might be the greatest athlete in the sport, but he's a big baby. If things are going well he's great, but when things are going badly it's the ref's fault, it's his teammates' fault. — Viggo Mortensen

Each time I make a movie, it's like a paid scholarship to a different university course. — Viggo Mortensen

Having a mixed background and feeling a little bit like a fish out of water in most places can be a benefit. — Viggo Mortensen

We all experience many freakish and unexpected events - you have to be open to suffering a little. The philosopher Schopenhauer talked about how out of the randomness, there is an apparent intention in the fate of an individual that can be glimpsed later on. When you are an old guy, you can look back, and maybe this rambling life has some through-line. Others can see it better sometimes. But when you glimpse it yourself, you see it more clearly than anyone. — Viggo Mortensen

It's just like with people. You're going to get along better working with them - human or equine - if you ask politely rather than demand that they do things. — Viggo Mortensen

Kids accept where they are because they don't know the past. They know what they have; they know where they are. — Viggo Mortensen

Every year I hear people complain that the quality of screenplays and movies is declining. In my opinion, the vast majority of scripts written - as well as most movies that are released - are not very original, well-written, or interesting. It has always been that way, and I think it always will be. — Viggo Mortensen

You should always do the things in life that are both interesting and make you afraid. — Viggo Mortensen

I don't think you get to be pope without making some enemies, like you do when you're president. — Viggo Mortensen

I like naturally occurring film grain, and what happens to film when it's under- and over-exposed. — Viggo Mortensen

When people say that entertainers should "know your place," they might as well say the same thing about plumbers and teachers and cab drivers. We all should be able to express our views. — Viggo Mortensen

I think you have to be flexible above all as an actor; different characters have different demands, actors that you work with are different in their approach, or how you get along or don't get along with them. — Viggo Mortensen

The best thing an actor can be is flexible, because all directors are different and all actors are different. — Viggo Mortensen

Toronto Film Festival is one of those festivals where there are 400 movies, and unless you have a distributor who is super confident and puts a lot of money into it, sometimes movies can go unwatched or unnoticed. — Viggo Mortensen

People like to pigeonhole you. It's easier. — Viggo Mortensen

I like the detail work of telling a story in small pieces, as is done in movie-making, and also the long leap of faith needed to see a theatre performance through each night. Both require focus and self-discipline. — Viggo Mortensen

I don't speak up about something unless I feel strongly about it and until I've researched a subject extensively and have an informed decision about it. — Viggo Mortensen

To find a good story, you're generally going to find it in independent or lower budget movies ... I wouldn't mind doing a big budget movie if it had a great story. — Viggo Mortensen

If you daren't enter the forest, or cannot find it, then perhaps you might find one tree, or a place where a tree could be, and just stop for a quiet moment to see what happens. — Viggo Mortensen

As you get older, you get stuck in your ways; just as you become stiffer physically, you also become stiffer mentally and more narrow-minded unless you make a conscious effort to keep yourself flexible. — Viggo Mortensen

'The Road' is about that fear that all parents can have. What's going to happen to your child if you're not around? It takes those concerns to an extreme. In the film, without me the boy has no food, no shelter, no resources at all. — Viggo Mortensen

A lot of times, movies that are in the top 10 lists or maybe even win Baftas or Oscars, you then watch them a year later and you go, 'Maybe it wasn't so great.' — Viggo Mortensen

I'd like to, when it's all said and done, say that I have at least a few stories that I feel proud of. — Viggo Mortensen

I think maybe because I do other things and they mean as much to me as movie acting, it takes the onus off me. It's not the end of the world if I can't get a film job, or if a movie doesn't turn out well - even though I don't like it when that happens. — Viggo Mortensen

I think that every person has many, many people inside of them. We change our personality depending on who we are talking to or what situation we are in. — Viggo Mortensen

The only thing that I always do - is once I've taken on a job, even just to do one scene in a movie, I ask myself, "What's happened the moment the kid was born, until page one of the script?" To answer that simple question, I have an infinite amount of work to do. And I enjoy that part as much as I enjoy any part of making movies. — Viggo Mortensen

I'm optimistic about people and about the planet and about nature. I think it's resilient, like people are. — Viggo Mortensen

I think every family is dysfunctional, and some manage to control it better than others. — Viggo Mortensen

There's no sense in doing something, especially if it's a hard job, if you can't have a little fun. — Viggo Mortensen

I realise how important it is to use the time I have. I respect people who want to do that by watching television. I happen to want to read books. But I know I can't read all the books or watch all the movies in one lifetime. — Viggo Mortensen

I have never been in a natural place and felt that it was a waste of time. I never have. And it's a relief. If I'm walking around a desert or whatever, every second is worthwhile. — Viggo Mortensen

I'm just looking as always for something that's stimulating and I hope to find a good story that's a challenge, whether it's big or small. Or that it finds me. I don't have like a career plan. Maybe I should, but I don't. — Viggo Mortensen

It doesn't take that many years for a kid to realise that they're going to die. It's always there in the back of their mind the rest of their lives. — Viggo Mortensen

I try to research or make up for myself what happened in any character's life. From when he was born until the first page of the script. I fill in the blanks. — Viggo Mortensen

Yes, I would agree that America, just like Spain was in the 17th Century, is the main empire of the world and they are the ones who, on the surface, are the most pushy: pushing their language, pushing their culture - or what there is of it - pushing by force their system on others. — Viggo Mortensen

I have a publishing company of books by me and books of others. It drew people to poetry readings and photo exhibitions and painting exhibitions that I've been doing for years before that. — Viggo Mortensen

In terms of the movie business, being in a 'Lord of the Rings' has given me more interesting options as work. — Viggo Mortensen

I think, on a surface level, people are surprised to see me playing such a passive role in 'Good.' — Viggo Mortensen

I pursue the things I do because I'm interested in them. — Viggo Mortensen

Some actors learn the habit of promoting themselves as a brand - by dressing in a certain way, by going out with a certain person - it gives them what they obviously want, which is to keep a level of fame. I'm not putting it down. — Viggo Mortensen

I like a twisted sense of humour. On 'A History of Violence,' David Cronenberg and I would be doing the grimmest scenes and laugh a lot. — Viggo Mortensen

The money I earn from films means I can help the people I want to help - you can do a lot of good if you want to. — Viggo Mortensen

I like movies that leave you with something to think about, to discuss, to debate, you know? — Viggo Mortensen

I'm not that involved in personal grooming. But I try not to be offensive to people. — Viggo Mortensen

If you don't find some way to discuss what's going on inside you, it can come out in other ways that are self-destructive. — Viggo Mortensen

I've never played a Dane in a movie. I've had offers to be in Danish movies, including for some good directors, but I either had a job at the time or, when I was available, the movie just didn't happen. Hopefully someday I'll do one. — Viggo Mortensen

For 'Hidalgo,' I just spent as much time around horses as I could, which made sense. — Viggo Mortensen

When I make a movie, I don't break it down and analyze it. I could but it would get in the way of doing a job - on instinct based on all the research we did going in. you want to trust yourself and your director and your acting partners in the circumstances you're shooting. I don't like to have any kind of overview. — Viggo Mortensen

I'm not afraid of death, but I resent it. I think it's unfair and irritating. Every time I see something beautiful, I not only want to return to it, but it makes me want to see other beautiful things. I know I'm not going to get to all the places I want to go. — Viggo Mortensen

What art does is it makes you feel alive and makes you feel like you're connected. — Viggo Mortensen

I would literally climb out of the cradle while my parents slept, go and crawl off. I did this a couple of times apparently. I'd cross the road and into someone's house, wake them up banging pots and pans in the kitchen. — Viggo Mortensen

I prefer the smaller acting than big histrionics. It's about reacting and looks, which is often underestimated. — Viggo Mortensen

Jung viewed Freud as a mentor, but he never wanted to be anybody's disciple. — Viggo Mortensen

Travel is one of the best anti-war weapons that there are. I've been to Iran, and if you're there you see little kids, cops, old people, cemeteries. Once you see that, you can't say, 'Oh, Iran, let's bomb them.' — Viggo Mortensen

With few exceptions, one ought always do what one is afraid of. — Viggo Mortensen

Further devastation of the air, land and sea is obviously a very real possibility, unless the attitudes of politicians and all who irresponsibly exploit our natural resources change significantly in the very near future and all collaborate and sacrifice for the good of the planet. — Viggo Mortensen

You know, 'Viggo' is a pretty dorky name in Denmark. It's like 'Oswald' or something. It's a very old Scandinavian name, at least 1,000 years old. — Viggo Mortensen

Can you join, ask sincerely for affection
without sweaty hand of expectation,
understanding and accepting
if it never is given? — Viggo Mortensen

On a practical level, poetry isn't something anybody has really made a great living at. I might sell some books and, once in a while, someone might pay to hear me read. — Viggo Mortensen

I know I said I wanted to live forever and I would never be bored, but the reality is, it's probably kind of sad to live forever if you're the only one sticking around. — Viggo Mortensen

When I heard Puerto Ricans in New York City, it sounded very strange. And the first time I heard someone from Spain, I thought they had a speech impediment! — Viggo Mortensen

I love rehearsing, but a lot of directors don't, and some actors don't. — Viggo Mortensen

Like most people - unless they're very practised at it or have no warm blood at all in their veins - I feel a little apprehensive about the red carpet. It's always a bit bewildering when people are taking pictures and asking questions before the ceremony. — Viggo Mortensen

I've never been conscious of having any real career plan, and I do not have a wish-list of actors, directors, screenwriters, or cameramen I'm hoping to work with. Life, I feel, has a way of leading us to the right situations and people, or at least to interesting ones. — Viggo Mortensen

I don't like the 'must', the 'always', and the 'never' words. I don't like 'no' either. — Viggo Mortensen

The Holocaust movie is almost a genre in itself these days. — Viggo Mortensen

There might be people out there who wouldn't hire me because they thought I should keep my mouth shut, but I'm not aware of that. Even if I saw evidence of that, it wouldn't really concern me. — Viggo Mortensen

Freud was the son of a Jewish merchant who had to move his whole family to Vienna because he couldn't get work. He, as a boy, had to watch his father be mocked and abused on the street for being Jewish ... You develop a thick skin and you develop a certain kind of wit to defend yourself. — Viggo Mortensen

A lot of people can forget about you in Los Angeles. — Viggo Mortensen

In principle, I think the idea of rewarding a good effort is interesting, but movies are generally different from each other as are performances and the conditions on how the performances are given and how they're edited and so forth. — Viggo Mortensen

People are becoming more intimately acquainted with people who are different than them - it's not so unusual anymore. — Viggo Mortensen

I'm not a great fan of monarchy in general, but I have to say the Danish monarchy is closer to the people; it's not as stuffy as the English one. — Viggo Mortensen

I really enjoyed working with New Zealanders as crew members, as teammates. They're great, and it's a beautiful country. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, and I've traveled quite a bit. — Viggo Mortensen

Most actors can't make any kind of living. — Viggo Mortensen

Photography, painting or poetry - those are just extensions of me, how I perceive things; they are my way of communicating. — Viggo Mortensen

In a lot of places in the United States and certainly even more places around the world, the image of the cowboy has become, for some people, a negative one. The word 'cowboy' implies a strong, stubborn individual whose individualism depends on pulling down other people's individualism. — Viggo Mortensen

I'm sort of contrary and stubborn sometimes. When everybody says, 'You have to read this book! You have to read this book!' I'm like 'Oh, I'll get around to it.' — Viggo Mortensen

Awards for arts, where you make comparisons, don't make much sense. — Viggo Mortensen

When I was 11, I moved to the United States with my two brothers and my mom. We moved to northern New York, up near the Canadian border, from Argentina, and there was nobody there that spoke Spanish, and because there was no internet at the time, not even cable TV yet, I lost the connection with my childhood friends and the culture I had been brought up with for my first decade completely. — Viggo Mortensen

Those who have the power and should be the most responsible are often the least responsible. — Viggo Mortensen