Full Name: Viggo Peter Mortensen
Children: Henry
Viggo (nicknamed Vig) was born on Oct 20, 1958 in Manhattan, New York USA. Born in New York to a Danish father and an American mother, Mortensen spent the early part of his childhood in Manhattan. His family traveled a great deal and he spent several years living in Venezuela, Argentina, and Denmark. He began acting in New York, studying with Warren Robertson. He appeared in several plays and movies, and eventually moved to Los Angeles, where his performance in Bent at the Coast Playhouse earned him a Drama-logue Critic's Award. Since his screen debut as a young Amish Farmer in Peter Weir's Witness (1985), Viggo Mortensen's career has been marked by a steady string of well-rounded performances. Critics have continually recognized his work in over thirty movies, including such diverse projects as Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady (1996), Sean Penn's Indian Runner, The (1991), Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way (1993), Ridley Scott's G.I. Jane (1997), Tony Scott's Crimson Tide (1995), Andrew Davis' A Perfect Murder (1998), Ray Loriga's La Pistola de mi hermano,(1997), and Tony Goldwyn's A Walk on the Moon (1999). . Mortensen is also an accomplished poet, photographer, and painter.
More about Viggo Peter Mortensen:
**Lived in South America from age 2 to age 11.
**Speaks fluent English, Spanish and Danish.
**Viggo is the ex-husband of Exene Cervenka, the singer of the punk band X.
**Father of Henry Mortensen.
**Worked as a truck driver while living in Denmark
**Graduated from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York in 1980 with a degree in Government and Spanish.
**Was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People by People Magazine in 2002
**Writes poetry in his spare time and had a book of poetry printed before he was known. The title: "Ten Last Night."
**He actually painted the large murals in his artist's studio in the film Perfect Murder, A (1998).
**Is a photographer and has been photographing for years, recently debuted with an exhibition at the Robert Mann Gallery in NYC. - American Photo, July/August 2000
**Is also a jazz musician - he has released three CDs so far.
**Replaced Stuart Townsend in the role of Aragorn/Strider in The Lord of the Rings, after filming began.
**Got so into his character of Aragorn that 'The Lord Of The Rings' director Peter Jackson once addressed him as Aragorn for over half an hour, and Viggo didn't even realise it.
**Lost a tooth while filming a fight sequence for "The Fellowship of the Ring".
**An accomplished horseback rider in his spare time, Mortensen requested that his Lord of the Rings character Aragorn be given more saddle-time than was originally scripted. He also kept his on-screen horse nearby during the entire principal photography schedule in order to ride in his off-hours and strengthen his relationship with the horse.
**Broke a toe during the filming of The Two Towers, in the scene where he kicks an orc helmet.
**As Viggo lived in Argentina as a child, he is a fan of Argentine soccer team San Lorenzo.
