Viggo Mortensen, made into a star by his role as Aragorn in ‘The Lord of the Rings’, is now Captain Alatriste in a film about ‘pride’, something that “is still very present in Spain, and which gave it the means to dominate half the world, but also made it make some bad decisions.”

For the actor, who stars in ‘Alatriste’, a film by Agustín Diaz Yanes based on novels by Arturo Perez Reverte, that pride was “the cause of the decline of the Spanish Empire,” something that, as he puts it, “makes you think about the situation of the current Empire, the American one, then, unfortunately, the same thing happens and those in command refuse to recognize that they do evil things spending the money and the blood of the town”.

Nevertheless, for Mortensen, in the film “what’s so essential is the historical atmosphere of the 17th Century, like the intimacy of the relationship between Diego Alatriste and Maria de Castro”, who is played by Ariadna Gil and with whom the main character “maintains a relationship full of glances, which don’t come at the most important moments, but in which you can see love, emotion and vulnerability”.

Born in New York 47 years ago, Viggo Mortensen has had a quite a peculiar and busy journey through life, which led him to spend his childhood between Argentina and Denmark. For years, the star of ‘A History of Violence’, has not only played all sorts as an actor, but also explores other artistic fields, such as painting, music or writing. With a relaxed posture, the performer - who has worked with film directors like David Cronenberg, Peter Jackson and Ridley Scott - meets journalists with his maté in hand, while he speaks slowly, barefoot and with smooth Argentine accent, about the importance of ‘Alatriste’, a film, he comments, which “speaks of what is not said and doesn’t want to be recognized, but hides the truth in gestures and glances”.

The script by Diaz Yanes, compiles the five books which Perez Reverte wrote about this captain of the Spanish army and occasional mercenary, which sees him submerged in legendary battles like Flanders, as well as in the political intrigues of the Spanish Golden Age.

Mortensen is a perfectionist who is used to studying his roles meticulously. And thus, to put himself into then the skin of Diego Alatriste he has done of everything, from studying the poses of the bullfighters, to listening to the music of the time or exploring the customs of a hidden town in Leon, Valdelugueros, where he spent some time alone. It’s a process that has given him, he confesses, “a great wealth of details and an extensive documentation, something that is one of the most interesting aspects of the acting profession.”

For the star of films like ‘Hidalgo’, the film by Diaz Yanes has given him, he says, the opportunity to get into “another time, another language and another country”, of which he had seen as a visitor, “mainly its museums”, but which he now says he has “the fortune to be part of”. Mortensen recognizes that the hardest part of the filming was to get rid of his Argentine accent, something that “I had to do, because I had to find the precise tone of voice”.

In this blockbuster, the actor assumes the weight of a star in the middle of a cast which is “unique, for bringing together the best actors in Spain”. But he assures us that he wasn’t frightened by “the responsibility, seeing it as a great advantage, as an opportunity to overcome the fear, which is a healthy sensation”.

Viggo emphasizes the sensitivity of Diaz Yanes in ‘Alatriste’ for “identifying himself with other points of view and with people of other times. Something essential to being a good artist”. For that reason, he doesn’t hesitate to state that he feels “very satisfied” with the final result of the film. Although his next projects are to work again with David Cronenberg on “Eastern Promises”, with Naomi Watts; and to take part in the filming of “Good”, by Vicente Amorim, and the second film as a director for the actor Ed Harris, “Appaloosa”, Viggo admits that “it would be a pleasure” to return to work in Spain, whenever he finds something interesting. (Madrid)