Viggo Mortensen

Born in New York City, on October 20, 1958, to an American mother and a Danish father, Mortensen spent his first years in Manhattan and the rest of his youth living in Argentina, Venezuela, and Denmark. Returning to Manhattan in the early '80s, he studied acting at Warren Robertson's Theatre Workshop and then embarked upon a stage career before moving to Los Angeles. There, he earned a Dramalogue Critics Award for his performance in a Coast Playhouse production of Bent and became a familiar figure on the L.A. punk scene (something that was aided by his brief marriage to Exene Cervenka, lead singer of the punk band X).

Following his debut in Witness, Mortensen began working steadily in a number of diverse films, becoming a familiar but not instantly recognizable face to filmgoers. He did some of his more memorable work as a series of louts and villains, in such films as The Indian Runner (1991, written and directed by Sean Penn), which cast him as David Morse's morally questionable brother; Carlito's Way (1993), in which he played a paraplegic ex-con who tries to snitch on Al Pacino; and The Prophecy (aka God's Army) (1995), which required the actor, in the role of Lucifer, to rip out Christopher Walken's heart and then eat it.

Mortensen finally attained a greater measure of recognition with his smoldering portrayal of one of Isabel Archer's(Nicole Kidman suitors in Jane Campion's 1996 adaptation of The Portrait of a Lady. He then made another strong impression as Demi Moore's rough, tough, and buff training instructor in G.I. Jane (1997) and, the following year, he was one of the few redeeming features of A Perfect Murder, in which he supplied sexy menace (as well as his own art work) as Gwyneth Paltrow's murderous artist lover. He allowed his softer side to come through in Tony Goldwyn's acclaimed A Walk on the Moon (1999), which cast him as the hippie lover of a dissatisfied housewife (Diane Lane) in Woodstock-era upstate New York. His more romantic side was again in evidence in the romantic drama 28 Days (2000), in which he played recovering party girl Sandra Bullock's rehab honey.

Replacing Irish actor Stuart Townsend in the role of Aragorn shortly after production had begun on director Peter Jackson's eagerly anticipated film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Mortensen secured a strong screen presence through 2003, with the release of the trilogy's final installment, The Return of the King. In 2004, he proved that he could carry a film on his own when he starred as Wild West adventurer Frank T. Hopkins in the horse-racing period film Hidalgo. Mortensen stuck with period adventures the following year when he played the titular solider-turned-mercenary in Agustin Diaz Yanes' Spanish-language film Alatriste, set during Spain's 16th century imperial wars.

Filmography

Alatriste (2006) .... Diego Alatriste y Tenorio
A History of Violence (2005) .... Tom Stall
Hidalgo (2004) .... Frank Hopkins
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) .... Aragorn
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) .... Aragorn
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) .... Aragorn
28 Days (2000) .... Eddie Boone
A Walk on the Moon (1999) .... Walker Jerome
Psycho (1998) .... Samuel 'Sam' Loomis
A Perfect Murder (1998) .... David Shaw
Pistola de mi hermano, La (1997) .... Juanito
G.I. Jane (1997) .... Master Chief John James 'Jack' Urgayle
Daylight (1996) .... Roy Nord
Albino Alligator (1996) .... Guy Foucard
The Portrait of a Lady (1996) .... Caspar Goodwood
The Prophecy (1995) .... Lucifer
Black Velvet Pantsuit (1995) .... Worthless Junkie
The Passion of Darkly Noon (1995) .... Clay
Crimson Tide (1995) .... Lt. Peter 'WEAPS' Ince
Gimlet (1995) .... Hombre (Man)
Floundering (1994) .... Homeless Man
The Crew (1994) .... Phillip
American Yakuza (1993) .... Nick Davis/David Brandt
The Young Americans (1993) .... Carl Frazer
Carlito's Way (1993) .... Lalin
Ruby Cairo (1993) .... John E. 'Johnny' Faro
Boiling Point (1993/I) .... Ronnie
Ewangelia wedlug Harry'ego (1993) .... Wes
The Indian Runner (1991) .... Frank Roberts
The Reflecting Skin (1990) .... Cameron Dove
Young Guns II (1990) .... John W. Poe
Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990) .... Tex
Once in a Blue Moon (1990) (TV)
Tripwire (1990) .... Hans
Fresh Horses (1988) .... Green
Prison (1988) .... Burke/Forsythe Electrocution
Salvation! (1987) .... Jerome Stample
Witness (1985) .... Moses Hochleitner