1. Viggo Mortensen on cowboys

    Interview in a German magazine. Topics include mate ("terribly bitter"), hippies ("if you equate closeness to nature and a certain openness with being a hippie, then I was a hippie and I still am."), becoming older, riding, goat families, the truth or fiction behind Reynolds' story, and cowboys ("a cowboy is knightly").
  2. “Rings” Star Now Changing Horses

    Is there life after The Lord of the Rings? Viggo Mortensen thinks so. Having played Aragorn, the reluctant king-to-be in all three movies, Mortensen is switching horses (literally) and genres–from fantasy to history. In his new movie, Hidalgo, Mortensen plays Frank T. Hopkins, a real-life 19th-century cowboy and endurance rider who’s invited by a sheik […]
  3. Jeffrey Overstreet’s Interview with Viggo Mortensen

    Round-table interview focuses on the moral aspects of Aragorn's character, on the philosophical and political implications of the Lord of the Rings, and on the need for dissent. Viggo: "You saw in the Vietnam war, where the government would say things or the media would reinforce that, [saying]: 'Let the congressmen, let the people in government judge the moral course of the country. There were placed there to judge these things. Let them do it.' That’s not what this country is about. This government is a government by the people, for the people."
  4. The man who would be king

    In an exclusive interview, Viggo Mortensen, who plays Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, talks about Miyelo and his other photography, his indie publishing house, and why Bush will go down in history as the Sauron of American presidents. Some of the most extensive political statements we have seen from Viggo.
  5. Playing the hero suits Mortensen fine

    A barefoot Viggo Mortensen talks about Tolkien's work and his role as Aragorn. "He was the greatest traveler and huntsman of his age," Mortensen says about his quiet, stoic role. "There is no character in this story, in these books, that has traveled more extensively and had more contact with other cultures, races, languages, and an appreciation and understanding of the differences of all the free peoples of Middle-earth.... He has an understanding that the most precious thing that any intelligent being possesses is free choice."
  6. “Ring” actor tuned in to warrior spirit

    Nearly every young actor in Hollywood wanted the role of Frodo Baggins in The Fellowship of the Ring. Viggo Mortensen is looking every bit the bohemian, barefoot and sipping a special Argentine tea, as he talks about his role in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of three Lord of the Rings films. Actually, […]
  7. Taking it in his Stride

    With The Lord of the Rings‘ forthcoming release on the big screen, Viggo Mortensen shares his excitement with Ian Spelling on portraying the role of Aragorn in the trilogy. Viggo Mortensen, to hear his co-stars, director and producer tell it, took his Lord of the Rings role as Aragorn/Strider about as seriously as he possibly […]