Viggo Mortensen: Returning King

He's Aragorn, a dashing long-haired warrior king who wears chain mail and totes a reforged sword, right? When we sat down with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King star Viggo Mortensen in a Los Angeles hotel, only those soft blue eyes gave us a real glimpse of Aragorn. The actor's greying hair is now in a short, military style brush cut and he was casual in grey shirt under a warm jacket with a United Nations patch sewn on it. Around Viggo's neck rested a carved bone Maori necklace, a symbol on a leather cord; a gift from the people of New Zealand. It's refreshing that this dude never lets a stylist take charge of his wardrobe. The actor was sipping tea from a strange, etched goblet through an even stranger metal straw. Like Aragorn, Viggo, also an accomplished poet and photographer, is thoughtful, concerned, intellectual. And, of course...hot!

TeenHollywood: Elijah [Wood] says that you were constantly inspiring to him throughout the movie. Were you aware that you were that "inspiring"?

Viggo: I think that, starting with Peter (Jackson), it was such a long run, you ended up taking care of others around you and everybody did the same thing. It was the only way to get through it. You could never really see the light at the end of the tunnel until the very end, there was so much to do. Sometimes Pete would be 50 miles away on another unit. It was very much a team effort and I think Pete counted on people taking care of themselves and taking care of each other. When Aragorn says at the coronation, 'this day is not for one man but for all', the experience was that way.

TeenHollywood: If they didn't do that, what would have happened?

Viggo: We would have hated each other, it would have been horrible. And I don't think the movies would have been very good and we wouldn't be here now because the first movie would have bombed and then the other two would have come out on video. These movies could have sucked even though it was a big true love kind of thing.

TeenHollywood: Because of the huge scale of these films, do you think it was absolutely crucial that there was a true fellowship behind the cameras as well as in front of them?

Viggo: Yeah, I think so, definitely. And a lot of it had to do with the book. At the end of the first shoot you had crew members sort of leafing through the book absentmindedly, or actors pulling out a well-worn copy of "Lord of the Rings" and saying "oh, that's right and this has to do with that." It's because you're interested in it, it's because the story has affected you, just like for audiences whether they be Japanese or Argentine or American, they're watching the story and relating it to their own lives. It doesn't matter how many flying creatures or pointed ears or wizards or really unbelievable scenery you get. There is something very human at the heart of the story, fallible, fragile. Every hero in the story is at times weak, at times doubts himself or herself, and is at a loss. And you can relate to that, you can relate to the effort made to work together. The idea in the story of compassion, of looking for what we have in common rather than dwelling on what seems to be different about us is something that I saw reflected in those of us who were working on this thing. That's what forges friendships that will last forever. I can imagine our kids saying "your mom and my dad..." you know? I can see that.

TeenHollywood: Do you still feel like you're on the "Rings" ride?

Viggo: Oh yeah, and we will be for quite a while. We'll all be going together to Japan in January, and beyond that we'll be doing interviews and promotion, and helping with what will be, I'm sure another really good movie, the extended version of this movie. So it's not really over yet, and I'm not in a hurry for it to be.

TeenHollywood: The people of New Zealand really supported these films. Do they get a return on that?

Viggo: I think the return I suppose, is tourism and the respect. I suppose if you're an avid fly fisherman from New Zealand, you're probably a little bit worried about that, because it used to be you could be on three miles of river and not see anybody for three days and now....

TeenHollywood: Can you talk about the very last scene you shot? Or what you remember?

Viggo: The very last thing where I wore my costume was... as with many scenes, I was running. It was an extension of the Paths of the Dead where I'm speaking to the ghosts and then all hell breaks loose. In the movie as you see it, there's a cut and then you don't know what happens. And then you see that we succeeded in getting the army to come with us. But there's a big commotion and Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn are running for their lives basically. In reality we were on this raised platform that was about this wide [indicates only a few feet] and we were sprinting and pretending to jump over all these obstacles and then there was just the green screen everywhere. And when you see that scene there will be all these hordes of armies of the dead and other things that I'm not gonna tell you about that we're evading and dealing with. So it was just simply us running along a bar-top or something.

TeenHollywood: At your last day goodbye ceremony. What did you get?

Viggo: I was given the ranger sword, not the re-forged sword, but the one that I used on my first day of shooting in October of '99 that was really well worn and that I kind of took care of and used throughout. But the best thing I got is this friendship with these people, is the memory of being in New Zealand and retelling the story with Peter. That's the thing I have that I'll remember most. I mean, if somebody steals the sword or it gets lost, you know what I mean? It's just a thing.

TeenHollywood: Do you like that the scenes omitted will be on a extended version of the films?

Viggo: What I think is one of the smartest things that they've done. They've taken the trouble of using the same crew and using the same composer to score the extra material and to cut it in. Its not just adding scenes, for example there are scenes in the "Return of the King" where you have part of the scene and typically what Pete's done is put the rest of the scene in. So within the scenes he's put material back in and made it seamless. So they are really new movies, new and improved or extended versions. That was smart because they can stand on their own and people can judge for themselves. If I had my choice I would watch the extended every time.

TeenHollywood: Do people relate to you differently in different countries?

Viggo: Well in Argentina because I speak the language and it's a part of me having grown up there to some degree, there's a special bond. With Denmark in the same way 'cause of my family and living there a little bit and New Zealand for all of us. And when we went back it was like old-home week this past week a big huge party for them and for us.

TeenHollywood: Now that this huge project is over, how does it feel that it's not going to be part of your life anymore?

Viggo: I don't know if it's to some degree denial or what, but I don't really feel like it is over. I'm not in a hurry for it to be. I mean yes I can do other things and you know I made a movie called Hidalgo, which is coming out in March, which I care just as much about and which I would not have had the opportunity to be in if it weren't for the success of the Rings movies. But I'm not in a hurry to shed the skin of the character any more than I am to shed the skin of any character I've played. We're all going to get old and forget things, why are we in a hurry to forget something that we learned? I've never had a movie making experience, regardless of how bad the script may be, where I didn't get something out of it.

TeenHollywood: There are loads of action figures and toys associated with these films. Have you collected any?

Viggo: I've gotten some Sarumans and some Galadriels. Mostly like gifts for family. But, for myself, not really. I probably should have but how many things can you have in your house? And I was given a gift of a sword that I used throughout and that's great to have. An action figure's interesting to have or give, but the best souvenir I have is the memory of the experience for as long as I can remember.

TeenHollywood: What do you think is going to be the legacy of the films?

Viggo: Making compassion fashionable again and hopefully it will stay that way especially the way the world is right now, the idea of reaching out or trying to make an effort to figure out what you have in common with other people around the world. It's a hopeful and positive way to do things. You can be selfish and separate yourself and thereby build the walls of your own prison if you want to do that, but you can also do the opposite. I think this movie reinforces the idea of community and of wholeness, so I think that that's the legacy.

TeenHollywood: Does it feel like a Star Wars/Wizard of Oz kind of landmark on the cultural landscape?

Viggo: I'm sure it is, but I think it goes a lot deeper than both of those stories. I don't think Star Wars would have been made if it weren't for Tolkien's books, and not in the way that it was. Lucas has talked about his debt to Joseph Campbell, or what Joseph Campbell was interested in, which is comparative mythology and all that, but all of the themes that you have in Star Wars are dealt with and in a much more profound and extensive way.

TeenHollywood: Will your son follow in your footsteps?

Viggo: I don't know that he's going to do that. I mean it was mainly because I didn't have a babysitter and they said your son could be in this scene, the birthday party scene. And the stunt team liked him and it was that he was good at martial arts and stuff so he was enlisted to fight. But he also did other jobs just like other family members did, I mean he was working with the armorers or on set preparing and taking care of the weapons and he also worked in the wardrobe department and made some of the clothes for a little while. But the thing he most enjoyed was being an Orc and he was a pretty good one – pretty scary.

TeenHollywood: Are you working on anything right now?

Viggo: Yeah. "The Return of the press Junket".

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.