Lord of the Rings
Author: Ian Nathan
Publication: Empire Magazine
Date: Jan '05
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Various Viggo snippets:
"It was good that we didn't shoot in North America - there was a certain safety in the isolation." "I've always looked at working on movies in the same way as I do now, which is that a movie is only as good as the compromise that the group makes." "It's always good when the crew likes the story and it's not just them working for a pay cheque. It was a crew that was on board for a long time, and stuck with it through pregnancies, deaths, divorces, marriages and injuries." "Peter has kind of dusted the book off and breathed new life into it, combined it with other stories, and given it a bit of his own imagination. He's revived the book for people in the 21st century." "They [The extended editions] just explain so much more. My favourite scene in The Two Towers is at Osgiliath between Denethor and his two sons. If you take that scene out, there is sort of a domino effect. It affects Aragorn's character because that's where he needs to return to, and it certainly affects Faramir... You understand the choices the filmmakers made, but it just changes so much. It's a much better movie, and it is the same with the extended cuts of the other films. I don't want to even watch the theatrical cuts any more." Strider: on fate's helping hand and a certain Viggo Mortensen... Peter Jackson: "Ultimately, you create your own luck. Fate does step in. When we ended up with Viggo, fate was dealing us a very kind hand. Viggo, in hindsight, was the one person who was perfect for this film. He came out of nowhere, and suddenly there was Aragorn." John Rhys-Davies: "He's got a great streak of pure madness in him." Peter Jackson: "It was a really tricky situation. I was shooting the Hobbits arriving at The Prancing Pony. In the corner was supposed to be Aragorn, and I was still wondering who Aragorn was going to be..." Barry Osbourne: "Viggo came late to the project, but he brought a dedication and an understanding of the role that became an example, particularly to the younger cast members. You have to remember that this was Orlando Bloom's first movie. Not only was Viggo valuable in his performance, but he was valuable as a leader of the cast." Orlando Bloom: "Viggo was the perfect guy to play Aragorn. He's the perfect actor, if I can be as bold as to say that. In fact, I think he's pretty much the man." Peter Jackson: "When we were trying to find Aragorn at very short notice, we looked at a bunch of movies. One of them was GI Jane. Philippa and Fran were attracted to Viggo's tight pants, but we all thought he would be great, so we made some inquiries. This was on a Thursday and we needed him the following Tuesday. We needed him to get on a plane and come down straight away. Then we heard he was a very fussy actor, very particular, and would take forever to decide. His people said, "You've got no real chance." Viggo: "I felt like a stranger as I was selected later. I have never been a character who was first intended for another actor. I don't believe that being better or worse than Stuart Townsend was why they gave me the part. Stuart is a great actor. I believe he has all his life ahead of him to do great projects. It was more a problem of age. Aragorn is older - it was just a small mistake in casting in the end." Peter Jackson: "We had this phone call, one of those really awkward conversations. Viggo is very reserved. He asked these difficult questions that I couldn't really answer, about Aragorn's psychology and his background. If I didn't know the answer I would lie. Halfway through the conversation, there was this really long silence. I thought the phone had gone dead. It wasn't going well. At the very end this voice just said 'Well, I guess I'll see you on Tuesday.'" Viggo: "We were dirty, freezing cold, or dying of heat. We were really uncomfortable. That was the beauty of the project. I felt like it was true." Peter Jackson: "Viggo became so synonymous with Aragorn that it was hard to see him as Viggo again and not Aragorn. I have never witnessed an actor enter the spirit of a role as he did." Sean Bean: "I believe that nobody saw him in his street clothes during the filming." Viggo: "I don't really know what happened myself, but I lost myself completely in the role. I am a man who likes to withdraw into solitude and take long hikes in the woods and mountains. So was Aragorn. We fitted perfectly together. Peter Jackson: "In hindsight, we found out that Viggo's son Henry, who was about 11 at the time, was a huge Lord of the Rings fan. When Viggo mentioned it to him, he was like, 'They want you to play Aragorn? You've got to do it!' I actually think he did it for Henry." 28 facts you never knew about the trilogy (probably)
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