1. Viggo Mortensen as Tony Lip in Green Book

    Viggo Mortensen, on ‘Green Book,’ red carpets and one memorable road trip

    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.
  2. Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali in Green Book

    Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali make odd-couple story shine in Green Book’: EW review

    EW rates Green Book a B+, with kudos to both Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. "It’s almost impossible to picture the fine-boned Danish-American actor as Tony “Lip” Vallelonga until you see him up there, all marinara-sauced vowels and Brylcreemed hair, working his bada bing like Joe Pesci’s chin-dimpled brother.... The movie wouldn’t work, though, without the elegant, understated balance of his counterpart."
  3. Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali in Green Book

    Viggo Mortensen’s Charm Is as Big as His Belly in One of the Best Films of the Decade

    Rex Reed gives Green Book 4/4 stars and names it "one of the best and most memorable films in a decade." He shares his own not particularly flattering memories of Dr. Don Shirley ("a pretentious Jamaican musician so improvisational he couldn’t play anything straight"), but delights in "the adventures of this unlikely odd couple [that] provide rich, hilarious and heartwarming material for a film that will leave you cheering." He applauds Mahershala Ali, who "more than lives up to his hype," and is effusive about Viggo Mortensen: "Words cannot describe how wonderful, real and three-dimensionally human he is.... Sporting a Bronx accent, a spare tire around his belly, a ton of gained weight and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, he’s a slob and a goon, but in no time you believe you know him from a thousand possible places, and he grows on you, like a tight shoe you can’t do without."
  4. Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali in Green Book

    ‘Green Book’ Is a Poorly Titled White Savior Film

    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."
  5. Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali in Green Book

    Green Book is a smart, nuanced story of two men thrown together by unlikely circumstance

    After sharing the way that Dr. Shirley and Tony Lip deal with the many challenges they encounter on their journey, the reviewer observes that "the joy of this movie hinges on the performances of its two central characters. Mortensen is a notoriously prepared performer, and I worried in the scene where Tony eats 26 hot dogs to win a bet that the actor might have done likewise. And Ali gets his first role since winning the Oscar for Moonlight that lets him show off his range."
  6. Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali in Green Book

    Finally, an Oscar for Viggo? Mortensen shines a light on 1960s-era racism in ‘Green Book’

    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.
  7. Viggo Mortensen (Getty Image)

    Viggo Mortensen Tells Us Why He Thinks ‘Green Book’ Is One Of The Best Stories Of The Year

    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."
  8. Mahershala Ali

    Mahershala Ali Talks New Film ‘Green Book,’ Which Takes Us On A Joyful Ride Tackling Race Along The Way

    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."
  9. Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali in Green Book

    Driving Mr. Shirley

    The reviewer acknowledges that Green Book's "charms are not insignificant," but criticizes it as a "race-themed feel-good movie" where the viewer is "stuck watching a white man make his first black friend." She wants to see more of Dr. Shirley, saying, "We’re too often forced to look at Donald through Tony’s eyes, rather than learn more about him on our own." She concludes that the film is not realistic about racism: "Friendships between people of different races can bring more joy to the world, but they alone won’t put an end to racism. You can certainly enjoy this heartwarming tale about Tony and Donald as an isolated event, even if it centers on a prejudiced white man granting humanity to an exceptional black man who, by his own admission, shares little in common with his fellow black Americans. But there’s something unseemly about singling out this story, about the seemingly narrow scope of racism and how easily it can be undone. Green Book decries those cultural pockets designed to make white people feel good, often at people of color’s expense. But that’s about all it does, too. "
  10. ‘Green Book’ is the rare Hollywood crowd-pleaser that triumphs on all counts

    The title of Green Book derives from a period when African Americans often traveled at their own risk, especially in the Jim Crow South. Unwelcome in many restaurants, hotels and other public establishments, they even faced death in “sundown” towns, where they were warned to get out before evening, or else. In response, a postal employee […]
  11. Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali in Green Book

    ‘Green Book’ Review: Odd-Couple Dramedy Is Timely Feel-Good Movie

    Peter Travers gives high marks to the Green Book director and cast: "Ali, a Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner for Moonlight, is superb at finding the buried rage in a refined artist challenging fellow Americans who never accepted the abolition of slavery.... The role is a game-changer for [Mortensen], whose dramatic chops are a given but proves he’s got a real flair for comedy that feels revelatory. He and Ali could take their own double act on the road." The reviewer concludes that "in a time when our nation is more divided than ever, the movie offers the possibility of redemption. Thanks to the dream team of Mortensen and Ali, audiences will be cheering."
  12. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali at Hollywood Film Awards

    Mahershala Ali Calls Viggo Mortensen ‘An Extraordinary Teammate’ Amid N-Word Scandal

    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."
  13. Viggo Mortensen, Peter Farrelly, Mahershala Ali - The Contenders

    ‘Green Book’ Team On The Drive To Change Minds

    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."
  14. portrait of Viggo Mortensen in Captain Fantastic

    Viggo Mortensen: ‘Do something, or get out of the kitchen.’

    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."
  15. Shree Crooks, Viggo Mortensen, Samantha Isler, Nicholas Hamilton, Annalise Basso, George MacKay, & Charlie Shotwell in Captain Fantastic

    Review: Captain Fantastic

    "Viggo Mortensen may be the most taciturn actor in American movies today. His weatherworn, handsome face ... communicates character with only the slightest of movement, with rarely a hint of premeditation. You can’t slack off while watching one of his performances; his delicate way of registering feeling requires your utmost attention."
  16. Viggo Mortensen, photo Suki Dhanda

    Viggo Mortensen: ‘Often people are desperate, so I do what needs to be done’

    Captivating interview with Viggo covers Jauja, his preparation and work as an actor, family, Perceval Press, and activism. Interviewer Alice Fisher concludes: "Whether he’s stumbling through a desert looking for life’s answers, bringing his own tea set to an interview or flying across the country for a 20-minute chat, the man knows what he wants.”
  17. Viggo Mortensen in The Two Faces of January

    The Two Faces of January: Viggo Mortensen and Hossein Amini interview

    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.'"