Some observations on the truly amazing actor, Viggo Mortensen:

For those of you who know this actor only from the Lord of the Rings trilogy (which, until recently, included myself), you owe it to yourself to see some of this other roles / movies.

Quite by accident, I stumbled across two movies on cable that included performances by Mortensen: "Albino Alligator" and "The Young Americans."

In "Albino Alligator," Mortensen plays Guy Foucard, an arms dealer caught in the middle of a job-gone-wrong by three small-time crooks. At first, I did not recognize Mortensen in the role: he wore glasses and sported a very thick accent. "Hey, isn't that the guy from Lord of the Rings? I thought. Yep. sure was.

Though the movie was, on the whole, somewhat disappointing, I was really intrigued by Mortensen'a performance -- and especially, with his chameleon-like ability to morph so convincingly into such a (literally) foreign character.

A few weeks later, I popped a long-time favorite, "Carlito's Way," into the DVD player. For those of you who have seen this movie, there's a scene where a wheelchair-bound informant, Lalin, tries to get the goods on Carlito. I kept having this deja vu moment as I watched the scene unfold: "Where do I recognize that guy from?" Holy *&%*! is that Viggo Mortensen again?! Yep. sure was.

There was the chameleon again -- this time sporting a convincing Puerto Rican accent and altogether different mannerisms that the last time I watched him.

So another few weeks goes by and my wife and I catch a movie on IFC called "The Young Americans." Once again, Viggo appears, this time as the menacing American gangster, Carl Frazer. His portrayal of the brutal character bordered on creepy at times. When I pointed out to my wife that "Carl" was the same guy from the LOTR, she was stunned.

Fast forward to last week. At this point I'm actually seeking out Mortensen films, and lo and behold, Circuit City has David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence" on sale for $3.99. Once again, Mortensen's character was both riveting and starkly different from the other flms. The chameleon strikes again.

I have a new-found respect for this actor and am surprised he has remained below the radar screen (except for LOTR) for so long.

Directors should be scrambling to get this guy. He can play just about any character imaginable.
If you haven't seen some of his other films / lesser roles, seek them out. He is a truly gifted performer.

If anyone has any recommendations on some of his other movies, please let me know!

Mortensen is a very talented actor. I've seen him in several roles outside of the LotR series ("A History of Violence" being one of them) and have consistently been impressed by him.

and from what I remember...when they shot ''a walk on the moon'' here in Montréal ...he's a nice guy too...

Videodrome,
You owe it to yourself to watch Eastern Promises. I was skeptical before watching it, thinking that it was going to be like a sequel to A History of Violence. Vigo made the role so unique and different that you forget about all the other movies you have seen him in. How Vigo did not win an Oscar for that role is beyond my understanding. At least he was recognized in other awards.

Funny, I didn't realize Viggo M was part of the Lord Of The Rings hoo-ha, but then I haven't seen any of them. I know him as a painter/collage artist, and thought movies were more of a sideline. Starring roles suggest that that's changing; he really earned his money in Eastern Promises.

garcianc2003: Funny you mention that movie. I just found out about it yesterday when I was searching for more Viggo films on Amazon. A lot of folks gave it high marks and noted his stellar performance. I'm defintely going to get that one next.

Surprisingly, I don't remember hearing about this movie at all. It looks like it was released in 2007 and had some A-listers, including Naomi Watts... did this not do well in the box office or get some bad press?

Best,

- VD

trublu: If you're like me, the subject matter may be a bit off-putting. I've never taken much of a shine to the whole genre of elf, dragon, fantasy stuff. And I tried reading the hobbit as a boy, and just could not get into it.

It came as a surprise then, that I enjoyed LOTR. But my tastes regarding the trilogy may be bassackwards compared to LOTR devotees: I like the first one the best, the second one less so, and the third was just painful to get through.

However, even if you don't like the plot and characters, in terms of visual and auditory impact, the entire series sets a benchmark for home theater that few films can rival. The battle scenes are on the short list when it comes to demo material.

From that perspective alone, it's worth checking out; but be sure to start with the first one so you get on board with the storyline.

Actually, Videodrome, I read Tolkien as a kid. I didn't make it through the entire trilogy, but I recall liking what I read enough to go see the first animated feature-length movie back at the turn of the '80s. I'm sure I'll get around to seeing Peter Jackson's work at some point. When you think about it, the acting pool alone (Viggo M, Jeffrey Monahan, Ian McKellen, etc.) is kind of amazing.

As for Eastern Promises, I find it kinda interesting that David Cronenberg paired Mortensen with blonde actresses who look eerily similar in Promises and History Of Violence. I wouldn't say Naomi Watts and Maria Bello are interchangeable (both are excellent), but I remember kinda doing a mental double-take the first time I saw Promises.

From what I remember, it was just not marketed well and it did not get on enough screens. Vigo is not a big draw all by himself (see: Hidalgo) and A History of Violence was still too fresh in people's mind to make Eastern Promises sound like something they had already seen.

tru blu, you're very lucky not seeing the films before finishing the book(s). Return Of The King is a page burner. - The movies are excellent but as usual, the books are better.

Frank