Top 100 Viggo Mortensen Quotes
#1. Joseph Campbell said the privilege of a lifetime is being yourself. That's his feeling. And I guess it's mine too.
Viggo Mortensen
#2. We often live in the past a lot more than we probably realize.
Viggo Mortensen
#3. 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.
Viggo Mortensen
#4. As a kid I read Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and a few others. As an adult have admired Leonardo da Vinci's drawings and notebooks.
Viggo Mortensen
#5. I know people who prepare their roles in such a way that they technically look ahead and memorize their gestures, and then they stick to it. Those that are technically proficient enough can make it seem natural, but they do that and don't really take in what other people are doing.
Viggo Mortensen
#6. I think the older you get the harder it is to [lose] probably. Your metabolism slows down, whatever, but I'm a pretty active person.
Viggo Mortensen
#7. I was raised speaking English and Spanish. And I also speak Danish. And I can get by in French and Italian. I've acted in Spanish and English, but when something has to do with emotions, sometimes I feel I can get to the heart of the matter better in Spanish.
Viggo Mortensen
#8. Some people who like dogs don't like cats, but I'm not like that.
Viggo Mortensen
#9. I prefer the smaller acting than big histrionics. It's about reacting and looks, which is often underestimated.
Viggo Mortensen
#10. In terms of the movie business, being in a 'Lord of the Rings' has given me more interesting options as work.
Viggo Mortensen
#11. With few exceptions, one ought always do what one is afraid of.
Viggo Mortensen
#12. I hate divers, like Cristiano Ronaldo, who might be the greatest athlete in the sport, but he's a big baby. If things are going well he's great, but when things are going badly it's the ref's fault, it's his teammates' fault.
Viggo Mortensen
#14. Kids accept where they are because they don't know the past. They know what they have; they know where they are.
Viggo Mortensen
#15. Awards for arts, where you make comparisons, don't make much sense.
Viggo Mortensen
#16. On a practical level, poetry isn't something anybody has really made a great living at. I might sell some books and, once in a while, someone might pay to hear me read.
Viggo Mortensen
#17. I've never played a Dane in a movie. I've had offers to be in Danish movies, including for some good directors, but I either had a job at the time or, when I was available, the movie just didn't happen. Hopefully someday I'll do one.
Viggo Mortensen
#18. You can't really go back to where you came from. I don't think any of us can.
Viggo Mortensen
#19. There's no excuse to be bored. Sad, yes. Angry, yes. Depressed, yes. Crazy, yes. But there's no excuse for boredom, ever.
Viggo Mortensen
#20. This basic thing I always do: 'What happened between the character's birth, and page one of the script?' Anything that's not in the story, I'll fill in the blanks.
Viggo Mortensen
#21. One of the most effective tools that the Cheney-Bush junta has used to marginalize dissenting or even mildly inquisitive American citizens has been the accusation of being unpatriotic.
Viggo Mortensen
#22. Because of the internet, satellite TV, and the digital world, you can stay in touch, you can learn about other people from a young age.
Viggo Mortensen
#23. Adult characters are all the things they've encountered over time. But kids haven't accumulated all the life experience, all the regrets. They tend to be more in the moment, more willing to play, to be joyful.
Viggo Mortensen
#24. It's always interesting to play a character that obviously has a secret.
Viggo Mortensen
#25. In a lot of ways, I envy someone like Omar Sharif who lived in a hotel for decades.
Viggo Mortensen
#26. I like stories that leave you wanting more, leave you wondering, but don't tell you everything.
Viggo Mortensen
#27. I think if you don't say something it's lying by omission. I personally think it's immoral.
Viggo Mortensen
#28. As far as money goes, there's a saying in Denmark: 'Your last suit doesn't have any pockets.' You can't take it with you. You can make all the money you want, but who cares?
Viggo Mortensen
#29. I've been naked physically in movies - but it's a whole other thing to be naked emotionally in a way that's not just a distraction or a character.
Viggo Mortensen
#30. I have friends who I get along with who I know get very uncomfortable being alone, unless they're with people, talking all the time. Whether it's on the phone, or in person, they're never by themselves. Whereas I could be alone for months.
Viggo Mortensen
#31. I don't like the 'must', the 'always', and the 'never' words. I don't like 'no' either.
Viggo Mortensen
#32. 'The Road' was a movie that has a good reputation, even though it wasn't released very well, but that's a movie I'm very proud of.
Viggo Mortensen
#33. I'd like to, when it's all said and done, say that I have at least a few stories that I feel proud of.
Viggo Mortensen
#34. Jung viewed Freud as a mentor, but he never wanted to be anybody's disciple.
Viggo Mortensen
#35. I'm not afraid of death, but I resent it. I think it's unfair and irritating. Every time I see something beautiful, I not only want to return to it, but it makes me want to see other beautiful things. I know I'm not going to get to all the places I want to go.
Viggo Mortensen
#36. People are becoming more intimately acquainted with people who are different than them - it's not so unusual anymore.
Viggo Mortensen
#37. I think that every person has many, many people inside of them. We change our personality depending on who we are talking to or what situation we are in.
Viggo Mortensen
#39. You should always do the things in life that are both interesting and make you afraid.
Viggo Mortensen
#40. I have never been in a natural place and felt that it was a waste of time. I never have. And it's a relief. If I'm walking around a desert or whatever, every second is worthwhile.
Viggo Mortensen
#41. Nobody really knows anybody completely, even if they've been married to 'em for 53 years, you know?
Viggo Mortensen
#42. Sometimes you look at a movie and you can see that the actor or actress said, 'I'm taking this onboard because I'm making a ton of money, and not because it's going to be something special.'
Viggo Mortensen
#43. 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.
Viggo Mortensen
#44. When you're under stress as a human being, you behave oddly and your relationships with people become strained.
Viggo Mortensen
#45. I take my work seriously, but it's not the only thing that exists in the world.
Viggo Mortensen
#46. It's almost a standard tactic, really, to try to minimize any effort that people in the entertainment business or in any public occupation make to express themselves.
Viggo Mortensen
#47. More often than not, the experience of shooting the movie has been disappointing and the end product has been a mere shadow of what I hoped it would be. But immersing myself in the story - that's what I like best of all.
Viggo Mortensen
#48. I think maybe because I do other things and they mean as much to me as movie acting, it takes the onus off me. It's not the end of the world if I can't get a film job, or if a movie doesn't turn out well - even though I don't like it when that happens.
Viggo Mortensen
#49. I know I said I wanted to live forever and I would never be bored, but the reality is, it's probably kind of sad to live forever if you're the only one sticking around.
Viggo Mortensen
#50. In other words, I'm against cheating, greed, cruelty, racism, imperialism, religious fundamentalism, treason, and the seemingly limitless capacity for hypocrisy shown by Bush and his administration.
Viggo Mortensen
#51. In a lot of places in the United States and certainly even more places around the world, the image of the cowboy has become, for some people, a negative one. The word 'cowboy' implies a strong, stubborn individual whose individualism depends on pulling down other people's individualism.
Viggo Mortensen
#52. Saying you are a patriot does not make you one; wearing a flag pin does not in itself mean anything at all.
Viggo Mortensen
#53. You know, Freud accepted his lot very stoically and very well and with a sense of humor. He aged and died gracefully, and there's a lot to be said for that.
Viggo Mortensen
#54. When I have a day off, I won't spend it at a Hollywood party. I'd rather be at home with paints and a blank canvas.
Viggo Mortensen
#55. I really enjoyed working with New Zealanders as crew members, as teammates. They're great, and it's a beautiful country. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, and I've traveled quite a bit.
Viggo Mortensen
#56. I have a publishing company of books by me and books of others. It drew people to poetry readings and photo exhibitions and painting exhibitions that I've been doing for years before that.
Viggo Mortensen
#57. It's true that I have a wide range of interests. I like to write and paint and make music and go walking on my own and garden. In fact, gardening is probably what I enjoy doing more than anything else.
Viggo Mortensen
#58. Like most people - unless they're very practised at it or have no warm blood at all in their veins - I feel a little apprehensive about the red carpet. It's always a bit bewildering when people are taking pictures and asking questions before the ceremony.
Viggo Mortensen
#59. Freud was the son of a Jewish merchant who had to move his whole family to Vienna because he couldn't get work. He, as a boy, had to watch his father be mocked and abused on the street for being Jewish ... You develop a thick skin and you develop a certain kind of wit to defend yourself.
Viggo Mortensen
#60. You see people on the street yelling and think they're crazy, but maybe they're just happy and expressing what they feel at all times.
Viggo Mortensen
#61. I grew up with horses when I was a kid in Argentina. I like them. I respect them. I'm careful around them. You never know what they're going to do. They're endlessly interesting. I've had some good acting partners that were horses over the years.
Viggo Mortensen
#62. People will like to say that 'Eastern Promises' is brutal, but the only reason they say that is because the scenes stick with them. They are realistic. They are in-your-face and you see the consequences. It's not a bunch of quick editing cuts.
Viggo Mortensen
#63. I have a roof over my head. I had a breakfast, and a lot of people in the world can't say that. I'm not going to complain about being interviewed.
Viggo Mortensen
#64. It's hard not to get depressed when you pay attention to the world and how strangely and corrupt the people in it sometimes behave.
Viggo Mortensen
#65. When I was a little boy, I rode, but I didn't own horses.
Viggo Mortensen
#66. I mean, any movie or story that makes you accept and be grateful for something about your life is doing something right.
Viggo Mortensen
#67. There are people that grandstand and seem to be publicly politically engaged because they like the attention, more than because they're genuinely concerned about the world. But I don't think that's the majority.
Viggo Mortensen
#68. I don't think special attention should be given to an actor or a singer or a baseball player or a soccer player more than anyone else, but they do have an opinion like anyone else.
Viggo Mortensen
#69. I'm optimistic about people and about the planet and about nature. I think it's resilient, like people are.
Viggo Mortensen
#70. Usually the characters I play are men of few words, who communicate in non-verbal ways.
Viggo Mortensen
#71. I've been lucky to learn by playing all kinds of roles and watching all kinds of really good cinematographers, actors, and directors for many years before people were even aware of me in terms of audience.
Viggo Mortensen
#72. I was raised in Argentina until I was 11 and now I go back there a lot, at least twice a year. It's a country where I feel very comfortable and it represents an important period in my life.
Viggo Mortensen
#73. I've never had a problem with people paying attention to what you're doing and say they find that they liked it.
Viggo Mortensen
#74. Yes, I would agree that America, just like Spain was in the 17th Century, is the main empire of the world and they are the ones who, on the surface, are the most pushy: pushing their language, pushing their culture - or what there is of it - pushing by force their system on others.
Viggo Mortensen
#75. Having a mixed background and feeling a little bit like a fish out of water in most places can be a benefit.
Viggo Mortensen
#76. Once you learn the idea of what a good guy is, you want your dad to be a good guy, and when your dad lets you down and doesn't act like a good guy, it's disappointing and can make you angry as you see it happen, which is beautiful and very believable.
Viggo Mortensen
#77. If you tell the story emotionally in a truthful way, then you start naturally looking at the landscape and thinking "Wow, we have to watch out."
Viggo Mortensen
#78. When I heard Puerto Ricans in New York City, it sounded very strange. And the first time I heard someone from Spain, I thought they had a speech impediment!
Viggo Mortensen
#79. The first decade of your life is really important; it's formative.
Viggo Mortensen
#80. Like most people I can be lazy, so it's nice to have a goal or deadline or reason to work out. I feel better when I get to exercise, or when I'm outdoors. I like to hike, swim and run, and I love to play soccer.
Viggo Mortensen
#81. I realise how important it is to use the time I have. I respect people who want to do that by watching television. I happen to want to read books. But I know I can't read all the books or watch all the movies in one lifetime.
Viggo Mortensen
#82. What art does is it makes you feel alive and makes you feel like you're connected.
Viggo Mortensen
#83. It's very rare you get a great script just handed to you, or sent to you, by someone you don't know.
Viggo Mortensen
#84. People talk about method actors, meaning someone that's prepared very, very well, or whatever they mean when they talk about it. But the right method is whatever works for you. And what works for me on any given day is going to be different.
Viggo Mortensen
#85. A little recognition is not a bad thing because it means people appreciate your work. The only problem is when you can't walk down the street or have a meal without people looking at you. I want to be the one looking at people.
Viggo Mortensen
#86. It doesn't take that many years for a kid to realise that they're going to die. It's always there in the back of their mind the rest of their lives.
Viggo Mortensen
#87. I'm very comfortable in Argentina. I was raised there as a baby and stayed there until I was 11 years old, so the first decade of my life or my formative years were spent in Argentina. I stayed in tune with the food, music and language.
Viggo Mortensen
#88. I think, on a surface level, people are surprised to see me playing such a passive role in 'Good.'
Viggo Mortensen
#89. Life is short and the older you get, the more you feel it. Indeed, the shorter it is. People lose their capacity to walk, run, travel, think, and experience life. I realise how important it is to use the time I have.
Viggo Mortensen
#90. When we shot 'The Lord of the Rings,' we had special permission to film in wild areas of New Zealand that could be accessed only by helicopter. They would drop us off and we would work all day, and they'd pick us up and take us out again.
Viggo Mortensen
#91. I don't like people who get into fights about football - or anything else.
Viggo Mortensen
#92. You don't have to make something that people call art. Living is an artistic activity, there is an art to getting through the day.
Viggo Mortensen
#93. The best thing an actor can be is flexible, because all directors are different and all actors are different.
Viggo Mortensen
#95. In the end, the actor's main power is the power to say, 'No.'
Viggo Mortensen
#96. Can you join, ask sincerely for affection
without sweaty hand of expectation,
understanding and accepting
if it never is given?
Viggo Mortensen
#97. To find a good story, you're generally going to find it in independent or lower budget movies ... I wouldn't mind doing a big budget movie if it had a great story.
Viggo Mortensen
#98. Further devastation of the air, land and sea is obviously a very real possibility, unless the attitudes of politicians and all who irresponsibly exploit our natural resources change significantly in the very near future and all collaborate and sacrifice for the good of the planet.
Viggo Mortensen
#99. It's amazing to me that Glenn Beck can be on the cover of 'Time,' and there can be a whole article about him basically saying, 'Well, you know, he's controversial.' It's like, 'No, he's a dangerous idiot who needs the help of a good psychiatrist!'
Viggo Mortensen
#100. Photography, painting or poetry - those are just extensions of me, how I perceive things; they are my way of communicating.
Viggo Mortensen
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