I have a multicultural background, so I tend to have an open mind about things, and I find other cultures interesting. – Viggo Mortensen
I’m just looking as always for something that’s stimulating and I hope to find a good story that’s a challenge, whether it’s big or small. Or that it finds me. I don’t have like a career plan. Maybe I should, but I don’t. – Viggo Mortensen
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
Being an actor, imitating to the point of inhabiting the lives of others, may simply be a way of continuing to do what I learned to do as a boy – to travel, mentally and physically. – Viggo Mortensen
It’s just like with people. You’re going to get along better working with them – human or equine – if you ask politely rather than demand that they do things. – Viggo Mortensen
I don’t think you get to be pope without making some enemies, like you do when you’re president. – Viggo Mortensen
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
I’m not that involved in personal grooming. But I try not to be offensive to people. – Viggo Mortensen
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
‘The Road’ is about that fear that all parents can have – ‘What’s going to happen to your child if you’re not around?’ – Viggo Mortensen
To be honest, I don’t really care about any pope. It’s not something I think about much, to be quite honest with you. – Viggo Mortensen
Ignorance breeds antipathy. Until I got to know how computers worked, I didn’t want anything to do with them. I said, ‘Well, why do I need them? I write letters.’ Which I still do. – Viggo Mortensen
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
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
Kids accept where they are because they don’t know the past. They know what they have; they know where they are. – Viggo Mortensen
If in my twenties I’d gotten one of the two-dozen roles that I did screen tests for and almost got, I think I would have become bored with the awards circuit, the whole hype machine. – Viggo Mortensen
I think every family is dysfunctional, and some manage to control it better than others. – Viggo Mortensen
Those who have the power and should be the most responsible are often the least responsible. – Viggo Mortensen
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
Nobody really knows anybody completely, even if they’ve been married to ’em for 53 years, you know? – Viggo Mortensen
Every year I hear people complain that the quality of screenplays and movies is declining. In my opinion, the vast majority of scripts written – as well as most movies that are released – are not very original, well-written, or interesting. It has always been that way, and I think it always will be. – Viggo Mortensen
To be an artist, you don’t have to compose music or paint or be in the movies or write books. It’s just a way of living. It has to do with paying attention, remembering, filtering what you see and answering back, participating in life. – Viggo Mortensen
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
I’m optimistic about people and about the planet and about nature. I think it’s resilient, like people are. – Viggo Mortensen
Life is short and the older you get, the more you feel it. Indeed, the shorter it is. – Viggo Mortensen
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
I try to research or make up for myself what happened in any character’s life. From when he was born until the first page of the script. I fill in the blanks. – Viggo Mortensen
