Article Tag: interview

Viggo Mortensen shares some of the personal experiences behind his upcoming film, Falling, and the process of creating the work. And a bit of politics.

How the film Green Book came together, from interviews with Viggo Mortensen and others involved in the project. Several interesting anecdotes, including Viggo describing how he first met Mahershala Ali when they both sought out the same corner to take a break from yet another award-season event around the end of 2016. "I go, 'Hey, man, I love your work!' It was like we were both blurting it out at the same time," Mortensen said, chuckling at the memory. After talking, they parted, saying, "Well, it would be great if we could do something together sometime." The chance came when Peter Farrelly decided to take on Green Book.

The reviewer asks us to "imagine having a queer Black protagonist in the '60s, a literal prodigy, living lavishly above the actual performance hall of the most iconic prodigies, who has his own throne room, and choosing to tell the story of his life from the racist white guy's perspective. Oh, what Ali could've done with a Dr. Shirley movie!" The review is accompanied by video clips where Peter Farrelly is asked why he chose to tell the story from Tony Lip's perspective, and Mahershala Ali is asked to explain how this is not a "White Savior" movie. She concludes, "we don't see Dr. Shirley's story in Green Book without Lip's lens. Without Lip, there is literally no movie. And perhaps that would've been best."

Video and article cover a lighthearted interview in which Viggo talks about how he put on 40-50 pounds for his role as Tony Lip in Green Book—and then had to take it off afterward, the cast's research into The Green Book (travel guide) and the era, the relationship between Lip and Shirley, and the cast and crew's delight in the reception the film has received at early screenings.

The interview summarizes: "We spoke to Viggo Mortensen about why he didn’t even want to play [Tony Lip] at first (mostly because he’s not of Italian descent), why he gets along so well with his co-star, Mahershala Ali, and why he thinks Green Book is the best screenplay of 2018. Also, on the day this interview took place, it was the day before the midterm elections, and Mortensen made sure I was voting."

Insightful interview with Mahershala Ali. "Don Shirley had the capacity to play extraordinarily complicated music that was deemed white music. And it’s not that he’s not good enough to play it, he’s just not white enough to play it." When asked about combating racism, Ali pointed out that "You need to be able to have diversity in conversations about race. You can have Barry Jenkins and Spike Lee, but you all need to include a story like Green Book that may play a little lighter, where people don’t realize at first that they’re being challenged, because they may be laughing."

Mahershala Ali talked about how well he and Viggo Mortensen worked together on Green Book: “Viggo was great because he’s an extraordinary teammate. He was somebody who felt supportive of me doing my best work. I believe I tried to do the exact same thing with him." After Mortensen uttered the N-word while talking about race relations in a joint interview, he apologized, and Ali "accepted his castmate’s apology in a statement ... but noted that he did not condone his use of the controversial word."

In-depth interview explores the roots of Viggo Mortensen's art, poetry, music, and publishing. The interviewer and Viggo talk about the scene at Beyond Baroque and other Venice venues in the 1980s, where he says, "musicians and poets mixed freely and performed together," his art exhibitions at LA galleries, and about the genesis and current activities of Perceval Press. And of course he is still creating, writing poetry, reverting to film photography, and writing the screenplay for Falling.

Interesting video interview with Viggo Mortensen, Peter Farrelly, and Mahershala Ali focuses on the true story behind Green Book and how they hope it will impact the viewers. As Ali points out, Shirley didn’t have to tour the segregated American South. “Going down through the segregated South during this time was really a choice to put himself on the front line and expose the South and that community to a man that was educated, cultured and intelligent in a manner that went beyond the stereotypical point of view of a white Southerner at that time. He was there trying to push the boundaries by his sheer presence.” Mortensen says he expects people who watch the film will be "affected by what Mahershala’s character goes through, what we go through, and the lessons my character learns on this journey."

The article discusses Captain Fantastic in light of Viggo Mortensen's international childhood, politics and the state of the world. "The character this versatile actor most closely resembles offscreen is the title role in his latest film, Captain Fantastic, a.k.a. Ben Cash, who pursues an alternative lifestyle with his children deep in the woods of Washington State."

Viggo Mortensen and Hossein Amini talk about the genesis of the project and how their partnership helped it come together; Viggo talks about how he has been choosing which project to take on, and his character in the film. "Mortensen was attracted to the mystery of Chester. 'As an actor, it’s nice to have a secret,' he says. 'Even when there’s no secret in the screenplay I always try to find one.'"

This brief report from the LA Film Festival quotes director Hossein Amini about his "affection for novelist Patricia Highsmith and the film's male star Viggo Mortensen -- and their ability to bring the dark side of human nature to the fore. 'I love the cruelty in her writing,' he told the audience at the festival. 'Viggo really embraces the ugly side of characters... Not a lot of stars do.'"

"There is no doubt that the Danish / American world star Viggo Mortensen's heart beats for Denmark. This he once again demonstrated when he presented his photographs this afternoon at an exhibition at Palæfløjen in Roskilde." (translated from Danish by Google)

Viggo Mortensen can swing a broadsword as Aragorn or neatly fillet a Russian mobster. But off-screen, the Oscar contender is a life-giving force, playing big brother to a band of poets, painters, and searchers like him.

Brief interview with Cronenberg and Mortensen explores the bathhouse scene, tattoos, and the polonium poisoning that occurred nearby while they were filming. “"We hear the Russian criminals are loving the movie because of the accuracy,"” Cronenberg said. “"The moral aspect of it is not really the issue for them. The issue is are we being mocked and did we get it right? Or did we get it wrong? And so far we have passed.”"

"Some actors inhabit a role so perfectly that it can go on to haunt their careers – Christopher Reeve’s Superman, Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones and Sean Connery’s Bond, to take three examples. With Viggo Mortensen, it will be hard to shake his barnstorming performance as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings. He took a shadowy, unlikely hero from the pages of fairytale and created a fully formed man."

Interview topics range from mate to the diversity of Viggo's interests, with focus on Hidalgo and the Native American history and culture that are touched on in the film. Viggo talks about the challenge of remaining his own person, finding space and time for art, and his love for Henry.

Barbara is a reviewer who got the opportunity to interview Viggo Mortensen recently. She sent in this report: “Okay. I admit that I was beginning to get a bit tired of all those stories that describe Viggo Mortensen as the proverbial Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes. But the thing is — he is. He did a day of […]

Tom Roston spent two days driving from Montana to Idaho with Viggo Mortensen and his son Henry. The resulting article includes conversations on LOTR, fame, commitment, exhaustion, sex appeal, eating roadkill, and philosophy. "You know, there are freakish and unexpected events that make up our lives. You have to be open to suffering a little."

"If one day he should abandon the movie business he wouldn't be too upset. Viggo Mortensen tell Ciak how painting, taking photographs or making music are the most stimulating passions in his life."