Mortensen, Viggo 1958–
Mortensen, Viggo 1958–
PERSONAL
Full name, Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr.; born October 20, 1958, in New York, NY; son of Viggo Peter (a farm manager and in business) and Grace Mortensen; married Exene Cervenka (a singer, musician, composer, and actress), July 8, 1987 (divorced, March 13, 1998 [some sources cite 1997]); children: Henry Blake (an actor and musician). Education: St. Lawrence University, degree in government and Spanish literature, 1980; trained at Warren Robertson's Theatre Workshop, New York City. Avocational Interests: Horseback riding, ice hockey.
Addresses: Agent—Jenny Rawlings, Creative Artists Agency, 9830 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212-1825.
Career: Actor. Perceval Press, cofounder, owner, and publisher, 2002–. Poet, musician, photographer, painter, and mural artist, with work exhibited at various venues, including the Robert Mann Gallery, New York City, 2000, the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery, Canton, NY, 2003, the Fototeca de Cuba, Havana, Cuba, 2003, at galleries in Florence, Italy, and Los Angeles, and in the film A Perfect Murder; performer at various venues and at poetry readings; photography appeared on album covers. Also a political activist. Worked as a flower seller, truck driver, and dock worker. Some sources state that Mortensen worked as a translator for the Swedish Olympic hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, NY, 1980.
Member: Screen Actors Guild, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Awards, Honors: DramaLogue Award, c. 1987, for Bent; MTV Movie Award nomination (with Demi Moore), best fight, 1998, for G.I. Jane; Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination, favorite supporting actor—suspense, 1999, for A Perfect Murder; named one of the top entertainers of 2001, Entertainment Weekly; Empire Award nomination, best actor, 2002, Phoenix Film Critics Society Award, best acting ensemble, and Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, outstanding performance by the cast of a theatrical motion picture, both with others, both 2002, for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; Saturn Award nomination, best actor, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films, Golden Satellite Award nomination, best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a drama, International Press Academy, Empire Award nomination, best actor, and MTV Movie Award nomination, best actor, all 2003, Phoenix Film Critics Society Award, best acting ensemble, Online Film Critics Society Award, best ensemble, and Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, outstanding performance by the cast of a theatrical motion picture, all with others, all 2003, for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; honored with a retrospective of his photography, Museum of Photographic Art, Denmark, 2003; National Board of Review Award (with others), best acting by an ensemble, 2003, Saturn Award nomination, best actor, and Empire award nomination, best actor, both 2004, Screen Actors Guild Award, outstanding performance by the cast of a theatrical motion picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, best acting ensemble, and Phoenix Film Critics Society Award nomination, best ensemble acting, all with others, all 2004, all for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; Golden Satellite Award nomination, outstanding actor in a motion picture drama, 2005, Saturn Award nomination and Empire Award nomination, both best actor, both 2006, all for A History of Violence; named one of the twenty-five most intriguing people, Tropopkin magazine.
CREDITS
Film Appearances:
(Scenes deleted) Swing Shift, Warner Bros., 1984.
Moses Hochleitner, Witness, Paramount, 1985.
(Scenes deleted) The Purple Rose of Cairo, Orion, 1985.
Jerome Stample, Salvation! Have You Said Your Prayers Today? (also known as Salvation!), Circle Releasing, 1987.
Connie Burke, Prison, Eden/Empire Pictures, 1988.
Green, Fresh Horses, Weintraub Entertainment Group, 1988.
Let's Get Lost (documentary), Zeitgeist Films, 1988.
Cameron Dove, The Reflecting Skin (also known as L'enfant miroir), Fugitive Features, 1990.
Hans, Tripwire, New Line Cinema, 1990.
John W. Poe, Young Guns II (also known as Hell Bent for Leather and Young Guns II: Blaze of Glory), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1990.
Tex, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (also known as TCM 3 and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III), New Line Cinema, 1990.
Frank Roberts, The Indian Runner, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Pathe, 1991.
Carl Fraser, The Young Americans, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, 1993.
John E. "Johnny" Faro, Deception (also known as The Missing Link: Ruby Cairo and Ruby Cairo), Majestic Pictures, 1993.
Lalin, Carlito's Way, Universal, 1993.
Ronnie, Boiling Point (also known as L'extreme limite), Warner Bros., 1993.
Wes, Ewangelia wedlug Harry'ego (also known as Desert Lunch and The Gospel according to Harry), Propaganda Films, 1993.
Homeless man, Floundering, A-pix Entertainment, 1994.
Phillip, The Crew, Cineville International/LIVE Entertainment, 1994.
Oh, What a Day! 1914 (short film), 1994.
Clay, The Passion of Darkly Noon (also known as Darkly Noon and Die Passion des Darkly Noon), Turner Home Entertainment, 1995.
Hombre, Gimlet, Buena Vista International, 1995.
Lucifer, The Prophecy (also known as God's Army and God's Secret Army), Dimension Films/Miramax, 1995.
Nick Davis/David Brandt, American Yakuza, First Look Pictures Releasing, 1995.
Weapons officer Lieutenant Peter "Weps" Ince, Crimson Tide, Buena Vista, 1995.
Worthless drug user, Black Velvet Pantsuit, Hodge Podge Productions, 1995.
Caspar Goodwood, The Portrait of a Lady, Gramercy Pictures, 1996.
Guy Foucard, Albino Alligator, Miramax, 1996.
Roy Nord, Daylight, Universal, 1996.
Juanito, La pistola de mi hermano (also known as My Brother's Gun), Intra Films, 1997.
Master chief John James "Jack" Urgayle, G.I. Jane, Buena Vista, 1997.
David Shaw, A Perfect Murder (also known as Dial M for Murder), Warner Bros., 1998.
Samuel "Sam" Loomis, Psycho, Universal, 1998.
Walker Jerome, A Walk on the Moon (also known as Blouse Man, Kiss the Sky, Over the Moon, and La tentacion), Miramax, 1999.
Eddie Boone, 28 Days, Columbia, 2000.
Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (also known as The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: The Motion Picture), New Line Cinema, 2001.
Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (also known as The Two Towers and Der Herr der Ringe: Die zwei Tuerme), New Line Cinema, 2002.
Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (also known as The Return of the King and Der Herr der Ringe: Die Rueckkehr des Koenigs), New Line Cinema, 2003.
Frank T. Hopkins, Hidalgo (also known as Dash), Buena Vista, 2004.
(In archive footage) Himself, Cheshmane John Malkovich 1: Viggo Mortensen, P&P Productions, 2004.
Himself, Ringens disipler (short documentary), SF Norge, 2004.
Narrator, Wild Horse Preservation (short documentary), 2005.
Tom Stall, A History of Violence, New Line Cinema, 2005.
Himself, As Smart as They Are: The Author Project (documentary), pbnoj productions, 2005.
Himself, Ringers: Lord of the Fans (documentary), Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2005.
Capitan Diego Alatriste (title role), Alatriste, Estudios Piccaso/Origen Producciones Cinematograficas, 2006.
Television Appearances; Series:
Bragg, Search for Tomorrow, NBC, 1985.
Television Appearances; Miniseries:
Lieutenant at LeBoeuf, George Washington, CBS, 1984.
Television Appearances; Movies:
Delroy, Once in a Blue Moon, 1990.
James "Jimmy" Kowalski, Vanishing Point, Fox, 1997.
Television Appearances; Specials:
Tim, "High School Narc," ABC Afterschool Specials, ABC, 1985.
Himself, Aragon, and Strider, Quest for the Ring, Fox, 2001.
Himself, A Passage to Middle-Earth: Making of "Lord of the Rings," Sci-Fi Channel, 2001.
(In archive footage) Aragorn, Lord of the Piercing, MTV, 2002.
Himself, Making the Movie (also known as Making the Movie: "The Lord of the Rings"), MTV, 2002.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Return to Middle Earth, The WB, 2002.
Himself, The Lord of the Rings: The Quest Fulfilled, 2003.
(In archive footage) Himself and Aragorn, DNZ: The Real Middle Earth, TVN2 (New Zealand), 2004.
Himself, America's First Horse: Hidalgo and the Spanish Mustang, 2004.
Journey to Middle Earth: The Lord of the Rings, the Return of the King, Arts and Entertainment, 2004.
Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:
First Annual Spaceys, Space Channel, 2003.
2003 MTV Movie Awards, MTV, 2003.
Television Appearances; Episodic:
Eddie Trumbull, Red Tape, Miami Vice, NBC, 1987.
El informal, 2001.
Charlie Rose (also known as The Charlie Rose Show), PBS, 2002, 2005.
Caiga quien caiga—CQC, 2003.
Frids film, TV3 (Denmark), 2003.
God kveld Norge, 2003.
Otro rollo con: Adal Ramones (also known as Otro rollo), 2003.
Tinseltown TV, International Channel, 2003.
Filmland, 2003, 2004.
4Pop, 2003, 2004.
Comme au cinema (also known as Comme au cinema: le magazine and Comme au cinema: l'emission), 2003, 2005.
Eigo de shabera-night, 2004.
Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC, 2004.
Lo + plus, 2004.
Richard & Judy, Channel 4 (England), 2004.
Sen kvaell med Luuk, 2004.
The Late Show with David Letterman (also known as The Late Show and Late Show Backstage), CBS, 2004, 2005.
"A History of Violence," HBO First Look, HBO, 2005.
Caiga quien caiga, 2005.
Corazon de …, Television Espanola (Spain), 2005.
Dagens Danmark, 2005.
The Daily Show (also known as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Global Edition), Comedy Central, 2005.
Go' aften Denmark, 2005.
Go' morden Danmark, 2005.
Le grand journal de canal+, 2005.
Magacine, 2005.
(In archive footage) Silenci?, 2005.
Tout le monde en parle, 2005.
Stage Appearances:
Tybalt, Romeo and Juliet, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Indianapolis, IN, 1985–86.
Nazi captain, Bent, Coast Playhouse, West Hollywood, CA, c. 1987.
Live at Beyond Baroque, Beyond Baroque, Venice, CA, 1999.
Beyond Baroque Live 2, Beyond Baroque, 2004.
Radio Appearances; Episodic:
Man in the Moon, KCRW (Santa Monica, CA), 1993.
RECORDINGS
Videos:
Himself, "Psycho" Path, Universal Studios Home Video, 1999.
Himself and Aragorn, The Making of "The Lord of the Rings," 2002.
(In archive footage) Himself, The Saw Is Family: Making "Leatherface," Automat Pictures, 2003.
Himself, Between Two Worlds: The Making of "Witness," Paramount Home Video, 2005.
Himself, The Ring Comes Full Circle (short), Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2005.
Video Games:
Voice of Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Electronic Arts, 2002.
Voice of Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, EA Games, 2003.
Albums:
1991 (poetry), 1991.
Don't Tell Me What to Do (music and poetry), c. 1994.
(With others) One Less Thing to Worry About (music and poetry), TDRSmusic, 1997.
(With others) Live at Beyond Baroque, 1999.
One Man's Meat, TDRSmusic, 1999.
(With others; and producer) The Other Parade (music and poetry), 1999.
(With Buckethead) Pandemoniumfromamerica, Perceval Press, 2003.
(With others) Beyond Baroque Live 2, Perceval Press, 2004.
(With Buckethead) Please Tomorrow, Perceval Press, 2004.
(With Buckethead) This That and the Other, Perceval Press, 2004.
(With Buckethead) Intelligence Failure, Perceval Press, 2005.
Audiobooks:
Myth: Dreams of the World, 1996.
Various authors, The New Yorker Out Loud, Mouth Almighty/Mercury, 1998.
(Reader and author of introduction) Dave Eggers, editor, The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2004, Houghton Mifflin Audio, 2004.
WRITINGS
Poetry:
Ten Last Night, Illuminati, 1993.
(And illustrator) Recent Forgeries (with accompanying CD), Smart Art Press, 1998.
(And illustrator) Coincidence of Memory, Perceval Press, 2002.
Art Work:
Errant Vine, Robert Mann Gallery, 2000.
(And photographer) SignLanguage, Smart Art Press, 2002.
Un hueco en el sol, Fototeca de Cuba, Havana, Cuba, 2003.
Photography:
Hole in the Sun, Perceval Press, 2002.
45301, Perceval Press, 2003.
(With Mike Davis, James Mooney, and Sonny Richards) Miyelo, Perceval Press, 2004.
Mo Te Upoko-o-te-ika/For Wellington, Perceval Press, 2004.
Linger, Perceval Press, 2005.
Nonfiction:
(Author of introduction) Dave Eggers, editor, The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2004, Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
(And photographer) The Horse Is Good, Perceval Press, 2004.
(With others) Twilight of Empire: Responses to Occupation, Perceval Press, 2004.
(With others) Strange Familiar: The Work of Georg Gudni, Perceval Press, 2005.
Film Music:
"Aragorn's Coronation," The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (also known as The Return of the King and Der Herr der Ringe: Die Rueckkehr des Koenigs), New Line Cinema, 2003.
Albums:
1991 (poetry), 1991.
Don't Tell Me What to Do (music and poetry), c. 1994.
(With others) One Less Thing to Worry About (music and poetry), TDRSmusic, 1997.
(With others) Live at Beyond Baroque, 1999.
One Man's Meat, TDRSmusic, 1999.
(With others) The Other Parade (music and poetry), 1999.
(With Buckethead) Pandemoniumfromamerica, Perceval Press, 2003.
(With others) Beyond Baroque Live 2, Perceval Press, 2004.
(With Buckethead) Please Tomorrow, Perceval Press, 2004.
(With Buckethead) This That and the Other, Perceval Press, 2004.
(With Buckethead) Intelligence Failure, Perceval Press, 2005.
Music Contributor:
(Contributor to the accompanying audio CD) Georganne Deen, Western Witch, Season of the (also known as Season of the Western Witch), Perceval Press, 2003.
(And contributor to the accompanying audio CD) Mark Eleveld, editor, Spoken Word Revolution: Slam, Hip Hop & the Poetry of a New Generation, introduction by Billy Collins, Sourcebooks, c. 2003.
OTHER SOURCES
Books:
Newsmakers, Issue 3, Gale, 2003.
Periodicals:
Detour, September, 1997, pp. 66-70.
Entertainment Weekly, November 3, 1995, p. 79; June 19, 1998, p. 46; December 21, 2001, pp. 36-37; August 19, 2005, pp. 48-52.
GQ, April, 2004.
Interview, June, 1995, p. 70.
Los Angeles Magazine, December, 1998, p. 56.
Movieline, August, 1998, pp. 72-73.
Now, January 23, 2002, pp. 48-49.
Parade, February 29, 2004, pp. 4-5.
People Weekly, June 22, 1998, p. 31; November 28, 2005.
Premiere, February, 1997, pp. 68-69; January, 2003, pp. 48-54, 88; February, 2006, pp. 92-93.
Progressive, November, 2005, pp. 39-43.
Red, January, 2002.
Sun-Times (Chicago), May 31, 1998.
Time, September 1, 1997, p. 77.
Tropopkin, October, 1995.
TV Guide, February 28, 2004, p. 33.
USA Today, April 21, 1999.
Vanity Fair, January, 2004.
Variety, April 7, 2003, p. S48.
Washington Post, March 4, 2004, pp. C1, C8.
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NEARBY TERMS
Mortensen, Viggo 1958–