Article Tag: Hidalgo

View movie page for Hidalgo.

1. Viggo Mortensen Interview

   Extensive, in-depth interview focuses on political change, from Iraq, Cindy Sheehan and Katrina to Viggo's call for impeachment of Bush and Cheney. Mortensen also talks about the role of a hero and the his recent film work. A brief excerpt: "I think most Americans will look back on this period since 1980 as a morally bleak, intellectually fraudulent period of history. There will be a certain amount of shame, a feeling we were part of something wrong. People standing outside of this country can see this because it's very obvious. It's like looking at a spoiled brat, a kid who’s totally out of control, but because the parents are really rich and because they own the school, you have to put up with it. America is an empire in decay. But we don't have to lash out and do damage on the way down. We can reverse some of the damage we’ve done. It's possible."

2. A Visit with Viggo. . . .

   An expansion of the print version in Sandpoint Magazine's 2005 Winter Edition, this story includes talk of Viggo's connections with North Idaho, Lord of the Rings, Hidalgo, his love for horses (and especially TJ), and future plans.

3. Viggo after the reign

   Hidalgo junket interview focuses on the controversy around the legend of Frank Hopkins. The interviewer also decides that "someone should make Viggo Mortensen an honorary Canadian," based on his passion for the Montreal hockey team.

4. Comes a Horseman

   "The heroic action star follows up the Lord of the Rings saga with another epic that calls upon his equestrian skills. John Millar finds out just why Hidalgo became his best friend in the desert. 'It's not only an epic adventure story but it is moving and transcends national boundaries and points of view.'"

5. On Steeds and Sonnets

   Interview with Viggo Mortensen about Hidalgo, horses, poetry, the ephemeral nature of fame, and kindness. Excerpt: "Be kind. It’s worthwhile to make an effort to learn about other people and figure out what you might have in common with them."

6. Horse trading up by Viggo

   After devoting three years of his life to playing Aragorn in the Oscar-laden The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Viggo Mortensen was looking forward to a long rest and then taking a part in a movie that would be totally different from the Tolkien epic. The movie business rarely runs according to plan, however. Another […]

7. 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").

8. Viggo Mortensen: 60 Second Interview

   The interview quickly turns from Hidalgo and the cost of fame into ordeals (including the interview itself) and politics. "In accepting that [all life is sorrowful] and realising you can't change it, you can also change your attitude towards it and celebrate it in a sense by making the most of life, valuing people who have gone rather than forgetting and never paying attention. If George W Bush had read anything about Churchill's involvement in Iraq in the 1920s, maybe he wouldn't have done things quite the same way."
9. 

   Fearless

   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.

10. Viggo Mortensen in Munich

    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 […]

11. Reluctant hero riding high in the saddle

    Interview addresses Hidalgo, Viggo Mortensen's films, and his other pursuits: "As a kid, you wonder about all the adventures you are going to have and you imagine exploring the world," he says, in his soft, deliberate manner. "Most people, after a while, sort of repress that desire and instead live in a box and never attempt it but I wanted adventure, still do, and so I try a lot of things."

12. Viggo Mortensen

    Excellent interview with Viggo Mortensen about the Hidalgo, his version of "method" acting, and how painting, writing, and fishing can take the place of resting between takes. "People talk about Method actors... The right method is whatever works for you. And what works for me on any given day is going to be different."

13. “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 […]

14. Movie star tag not for Mortensen

    The subject is Hidalgo; the interviewer focuses on Viggo Mortensen's modest manner. "Mortensen is a bit like Aragorn, the Lord of the Rings character he imbued with warrior grace and more than a bit of ambivalence. He seems primed for a kingdom. Yet Mortensen doesn't appear to need the glory. He's happy forming alliances. He's comfortable doing the work. He's not quite as at ease promoting the work, or rather himself."

15. “King” star returns to the screen, riding high

    The king is fidgety. In an elegant, dimly lit ballroom in Dallas’ Adolphus Hotel, the light from a single heavily draped window illuminates Viggo Mortensen, star of multi-Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and the newly released Hidalgo. But he seems more interested in chatting about his book of photographs, […]

16. After Aragorn

    Interview about Hidalgo touches on mythology and philosophy of life. When asked about whether it troubles him that the facts behind the film are in question, he points out that "our identity as a nation is largely based on myth, on storytelling, making up stories, exaggerating the accomplishments of extraordinary individuals," and goes on to talk about the themes of tests and ordeals in the film.

17. Rings’ king Viggo Mortensen talks about celebrity, the cowboy mystique and starring solo in Hidalgo

    In his broken-in gray warm-up jacket, green flannel shirt and bare feet, he looks laid-back and easy-going. He sips a thick blend of green tea from a small, egg-shaped wooden cup through a silver straw. He speaks surprisingly softly and smiles easily and frequently. But then you remember that this is the same actor who […]

18. Review: Hidalgo

    Reviewer likes Viggo's performance more than he likes the film: "As an action hero, Mortensen is an acolyte of the Clint Eastwood/Kurt Russell school of stoic minimalism. His quietly virtuous über-cowboy speaks—in a steely rasp, of course—only when he needs to, and even then, he says only as much as he needs to say. Mortensen nicely underplays his role, offhandedly tossing off one-liners and making the script's sometimes purple dialogue sound a little less cheesy, but the rest of the film often lurches into hammy overdrive."
19. 

    IGN FilmForce interviews Viggo Mortensen

    A laid-back interview about the pleasures of learning Elvish and Lakotah, purchasing his equine co-stars, and his new book, The Horse is Good. He talks about Uraeus ("Brego"), Kenny ("Hasufel") and T.J. ("Hidalgo") as unique individuals who became good friends. About Uraeus: "He kind of came into the movie similar to the way I did. You know, didn't have much preparation and was just thrown in and had to swim, basically. And it was rough on him and it took a while for us to kind of get in sync and for him to be comfortable around the set. So we got to be close and I wanted to stay in touch with him. And, you know, by the end he became almost a real ham. He became so good at it that he was just relaxed and happy."

20. “Rings” actor riding horses in “Hidalgo”

    Interview about Hidalgo touches on politics and Viggo's choice of films. Excerpt: "I'm pretty long in the tooth," the 45-year-old says. "Money and fame don't seem very rewarding. Of course there is the 'iron is hot' argument. Who knows? Maybe in 10 years I'll look back and say I should have gone for the money," he adds with a grin.