Viggo Mortensen

By Sara Templeton

Viggo Mortensen's name conveys a dark and enigmatic vibe, and many of his on-screen personalities have been dark and brooding, but in the real world the accomplished actor is said be quite the equestrian, and also enjoys writing poetry, photography and painting.

Of Danish and American heritage, Viggo is perhaps best known for his role as 'Strider' or Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, where he battled orcs and Urukhai by the hundreds.

Born in New York City on October 20, 1958, the half-Danish actor was only 2 year's old when he relocated to South America with his parents.

It was here that his two younger brothers, Charles and Walter, were born (and it sounds as though mum got her way with the English names second and third time around). The Mortensen family also spent many years travelling, living in places like Denmark, Argentina and Venezuela.

Before he was 10, Viggo was sent to attend a boarding school in Argentina, but the divorce of his parents cut short his his educational stint at the boarding house, and he joined his mother back in New York.

By the early 1970s, Viggo was going gangbusters at school, kicking goals both on and off the field with his keen ability and quick-witted mind, and after graduating from high school, he went on to study Politics and Spanish at the St. Lawrence University.

Far from jumping straight into a career after gaining his degree, Viggo's destiny was murky at best, and so he moved to his father's birthplace, Denmark, where he worked odd jobs here and there, including truck driving and dockland/wharf work.

In his time off work, Viggo would write stories, poetry, and all sorts of creative things, and by the time he had moved back to New York, he hoped to find a job that made use of his writing skills.

While his creative writing dream job failed to materialise, Viggo kept on working casually in bars and the like, and began attending Warren Robertson's Theatre Workshop.

In 1985, after two years with the workshop, Viggo Mortensen got his foot in the door with a role in Australian director Peter Weir's film Witness, where he played an Amish farmer.

By 1987, Viggo had moved to Los Angeles and soon after appeared in Salvation!, marrying another actor from the production, Exene Cervenka (also a rocker from the band 'X'), to whom he had a son, Henry, in 1988.

The 1990s gave Viggo a great outlet for his creativity, and as he progressed as an actor he starred in many quality productions, such as The Indian Runner (1991), Carlito's Way (1993), Crimson Tide (1995), The Portrait of a Lady (1996), Daylight (1996), G.I. Jane (1997), A Perfect Murder (1998), Psycho (1998) and A Walk on the Moon (1999).

Despite his burgeoning career, and having his poetry published in books, plus his photographs and paintings promoted in various exhibits in '90s, Viggo Mortensen and Exene Cervenka got divorced in 1997, but far from wallowing in self pity, Viggo endured.

In the year 2000, he was asked to fill in for Stuart Townsend in the highly anticipated Lord of the Rings trilogy as Aragorn, but was initially very apprehensive.

His son, Henry, was a huge fan of Tolkien's work, and he managed to persuade his dad to star in the films, which are now three of the most popular and critically acclaimed movies in history.

Viggo starred in all three Lord of the Rings films and, thanks to his strong performances in The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003), he's now considered a heavy hitter in Hollywood circles, with much more influence over his work.

The 180cm tall actor, still considered reclusive by celebrity standards, now spends his time working on new movies, of which he has many coming up, such as A History of Violence, Alatriste slated for 2005 releases, plus Killshot and Teresa, both looking at a 2006 release.

Viggo also makes time to get over to Denmark regularly and enjoys spending time with his son Henry, and speaks English, Spanish and Danish fluently.

And if the poetry, the photography and the painting weren't enough, Viggo is also quite the jazz musician, having released three CDs under the Perceval Press label, a company he founded.

Viggo Mortensen's credible acting skills, artistic creativity and mysterious demeanour have helped to create the intriguing image that is now more marketable than ever, as audiences tyre of the Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck types of action heroes.