Posted on: Thursday, December 19, 2002
'Rings' warrior has anti-war message
| • | Many abandon malls for 'Lord of the Rings' |
| • | Movie Showtimes |
By Marshall Fine
Westchester (N.Y.) Journal News
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| Viggo Mortensen portrays Aragorn, a leader in the fight against evil in Middle-earth, in "The Lord of Rings: The Two Towers."
New Line Cinema via Gannett News Service |
Viggo Mortensen wants to be sure his message is clear as he talks about "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."
It couldn't get much clearer: Hand-printed on the white T-shirt he wears with his suit is the message "NO MORE BLOOD FOR OIL." He has scrawled it close enough to the collar of the shirt that it should show up in any photo that is taken of him on this press day for the second "Lord of the Rings" film, which opened Wednesday.
He's worried, he says, that politicians with war on their minds might try to appropriate the imagery of "The Two Towers," with its stark battle between good and evil, to bolster their argument for conflict with Iraq.
"I do have a problem with comparisons to our movie," says Mortensen, 44, who plays Aragorn, the human warrior who joins a fellowship with Hobbits, elves and dwarves to save Middle Earth from the onslaught of the evil Sauron and his henchman, the wizard Saruman.
"In our time, for better or worse, there are these simplistic comparisons made between the Middle East and our movie. It's us against the bad guys, and woe to them who question whether we're doing the right thing. Either you're with us or against us," says the native New Yorker.
"But I don't think the people who live in Afghanistan look at us as benefactors. The civilians in those Middle Eastern countries see us as wanting to control their destiny. So who's Saruman here and who's Aragorn? I'm just saying it might be worth stopping to examine these issues, that these questions ought to be asked."
Mortensen, the reluctant contemporary warrior, relishes the role of the mythic fighter Aragorn, the man who would be king in the three-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. But taking the role, which required a commitment to the project of three years, was something the normally contemplative actor had to decide on in less than a day.
As director Peter Jackson tells it, two or three days before Aragorn's scenes were supposed to start filming (all three films were shot at the same time), Jackson decided not to use the actor he'd cast in the role. He and his producers began looking for a replacement — and happened to screen Ridley Scott's "G.I. Jane," in which Mortensen played a drill instructor.
"He has a toughness, but you get a sense of the heart underneath," Jackson says.
But Jackson knew it was a long shot. Although he'd never met Mortensen, he knew his reputation as an actor who takes his time deciding on roles.
"He's the sort of actor who likes to think about whether to accept a role for a while," Jackson says. "But in this case, he had no choice. ... It was an alarmingly brave act, especially for an actor who likes to prepare for a role."
Mortensen shrugs off the notion of heroism, at least as far as taking a job that he's enjoyed completely.
"I had one major consideration: It would have been a lengthy period of absence from my son," he says. "But when I expressed my misgivings, he said, 'You should do it.'
"As I thought about it, I just had the feeling that if I didn't take up the challenge, I'd regret it. I wasn't attracted to it in terms of being part of some big movie. There's something about the material that touches on universal myth and the importance of storytelling."
Jackson says now he can't believe how lucky he was to get Mortensen to say yes.
For Mortensen, however, the quick decision forced him into a steep learning curve in the skills of hand-to-hand combat with swords and on horseback. But Mortensen's favorite part about movie-making is the chance to learn something new.
The son of a Danish father and an American mother, Mortensen spent his early years in New York and his later years growing up in South America and Denmark. He tried his hand at poetry, photography and painting — passions he still pursues — even as he began to focus on acting.
He has worked on films as diverse as "Witness," "Portrait of a Lady," "The Indian Runner," "Carlito's Way" and "A Perfect Murder."
