No one can accuse Viggo Mortensen of letting a little Hollywood success get in the way of his maverick spirit.

After The Lord of the Rings, perennial DVD top renter Hidalgo and the deft change of pace A History of Violence, Mortensen opted in 2006 for a historical swashbuckler in which he speaks nary a word of English. Problem is, his Spanish to some has more of a Latin American flavor than a continental European one, leading those folks to grouse that it’s hard in Alatriste to fully believe Mortensen as 17th century Spanish Empire Captain Diego Alatriste y Tonorio.

At $28 million, Alatriste it is reputably the most expensive Spanish film ever made, but despite Mortensen’s star billing, the 20th Century Fox co-production has had trouble attracting an American distributor. As it has made its way this fall-winter around film festivals in Toronto, Rome, Santiago and elsewhere, the film played briefly in Spanish and British theaters before being released in both coutries on DVD.*

Alatriste was inspired by a series of now six books, written by a former journalist, Arturo Pérez-Reverte, who couldn’t believe that the 16th and 17th century reign of the Spanish Empire rated no more than a single page in the classroom textbook used by his 12-year-old daughter Carlota (who also helped co-author the first few books).

Mortensen has veered back towards the History of Violence end of things with his next project Eastern Promises, teaming up with David Cronenberg once again for a Russian gangster drama set in London (though this time, he doesn’t play the gangster). But think about the audacity, after that string of high-profile 2001-2005 successes, for an actor to head off to Spain and mix it up in a different tongue with Javier Bardem’s mother Pilar and brother Carlos. Mortensen’s reps at CAA can’t have been too thrilled.

Still, Mortensen may yet have the last (artistic) laugh. Alatriste was up for an astounding 15 trophies at the 2006 Goya Awards, winning three - Costume Design, Production Design, Production Supervision. And even though 20th Century Fox, when I contacted them, had no indication of if-when it might be released theatrically in the States, it’s rolling out to theaters in a few more countries this spring, with writer-director Agustín Díaz Yanes hoping in the future to release a Director’s Cut with 25 additional minutes of footage. For what it’s worth, Alatriste was also number one at the Bulgarian box office the weekend of January 19th, sandwiched in between Blood Diamond and The Prestige.

To keep track of this very unusual bouncing ball, check in occasionally at the fan site Viggo-Works.com.

*Correction - 03/29/07: Alatriste in fact killed at the Spanish box office last fall and hit only a film festival in England, not regular exhibition. The box office tool we used shall remain nameless, but we know now its search functionality is not linked to worldwide numbers. Thanks to FilmStew reader Judith for pointing this out via e-mail.