Viggo Mortensen (48) likes change. After heroes and murderers, he now plays a pirate with a conscience in "Alatriste".
You often play adventurers. Could you survive alone in the wilderness?
I think so. Since my childhood I have liked to struggle with nature. As preparation for this role I went on long hikes, camping or fishing. At the same time, it's a good excuse to do things I like.
You give the impression that you're always relaxed and calm.
It's good that it seems like that. At least, I try to be. But there are phases in my life when I saddle myself with too much and then I run around like a stuck pig. And when I take a look at my apartment I feel really bad...
Is there something to hide?
No, nothing mysterious, it's just terribly untidy. There are books and odds and ends everywhere.
Are you a messy person?
It's not too bad, but I'm just not the tidiest person in the world. But my plates and my clothes are always clean.
Do you have a cleaning lady?
No, I do all that myself. I don't even have a dishwasher. When you wash up plates and cups by hand it's quite meditative. It's like fishing. Your mind is focussed on an action, you relax and begin to be aware of things at the edge of your field of vision.
It sounds as if your life is in perfect balance.
Not completely. I still have to get used to the fact that my 18-year-old son Henry has moved out and goes to Uni. I miss him. At the moment, I'm living on the memories of the football World Cup last year - we saw all the matches together.
"There's something meditative about washing up"