Why Viggo Mortensen Was the Perfect Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings
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- Viggo Mortensen Fell in Love With Middle-earth
- Viggo Mortensen Brought J. R. R. Tolkien's Character to Life
- Viggo Mortensen Had Ranger Skills in Real Life
- Viggo Mortensen was the perfect actor to play Aragorn in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
- Though Mortensen was a last-minute addition to the cast and was not familiar with J. R. R. Tolkien's work before filming, he immersed himself in the world of Middle-earth.
- Mortensen's real-world skills and hobbies aided in his portrayal of Aragorn.
One of the many successes of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy was its casting. Jackson decided to cast relatively unknown actors in most of the major parts, but the success of The Lord of the Rings skyrocketed them to international stardom. Some of the chosen actors matched J. R. R. Tolkien's descriptions from the novel while others offered more unique interpretations of his characters. Still, they all gave outstanding and memorable performances. The ensemble earned the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Online Film Critics Award for Best Cast, and the National Board of Review Award for Best Cast, among many other accolades.
Though he was a last-minute addition to the cast, Danish-American actor Viggo Mortensen was the perfect choice to portray Aragorn, the Ranger of the North and future King of Gondor. Unlike many of his fellow cast members, Mortensen was not a fan of The Lord of the Rings before his casting; in fact, he only accepted the role at the behest of his son, Henry Mortensen. But that did not stop him from immersing himself in the fantasy world of Middle-earth. He read through The Lord of the Rings novel in preparation for his performance. He came to love and respect Tolkien's legendarium so much that he declined to appear in Jackson's later film trilogy, The Hobbit, on the basis that Aragorn's inclusion would have been inaccurate to the novel. Both on and off the set, Mortensen truly embodied the character of Aragorn.
Viggo Mortensen Fell in Love With Middle-earth
A Complete Family Tree for Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings
The line of Kings, Aragorn's family, in The Lord of the Rings is one of the most important lineages in Middle-earth and Valinor.Mortensen practiced method acting for the role of Aragorn. He did not remain in character at all times like some method actors, but he tried to throw himself into the life of a Ranger so that he could connect to the character on a personal level and draw upon his real experiences. Mortensen enjoyed hiking, fishing, and other outdoor activities, and did so while dressed in his full Aragorn costume so that his clothes looked realistically well-worn. When the costume department allowed it, he even sewed some of the damage that his clothing sustained since a wandering Ranger would have needed to mend his own gear while he was on the road. He also encouraged the rest of the cast and crew to camp out in the woods between days of filming.
Part of Mortensen's immersion in Middle-earth involved learning Sindarin, the most common Elvish language in The Lord of the Rings. Aragorn spoke Sindarin more often in the films than most other characters, even including some Elves, like Legolas. He and Arwen spoke Sindarin throughout most of their romantic scenes. Like all the actors who portrayed the members of the Fellowship -- aside from Gimli actor John Rhys-Davies -- Mortensen got a tattoo of the word "nine" in Elvish script to celebrate the end of filming for The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Sindarin came naturally to him, as he is a polyglot in real life. Though born in the United States, he grew up in Argentina, and he spent much of his adult life traveling around Europe. Both because of this and because of the dialogue he has needed to learn for various films, he is fluent in English, Spanish, Danish, and French, and he also knows some Italian, Catalan, Norwegian, Swedish, Russian, and Arabic. Multilingualism was a trait that he shared with his character; in the novel, Aragorn spoke Westron, Sindarin, Quenya, and Rohanese, and Jackson's films implied that he knew the Dwarvish language of Khuzdul as well.
Viggo Mortensen Brought J. R. R. Tolkien's Character to Life
Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Most Important Ability is Not What You Think
Aragorn possessed many great powers in The Lord of the Rings, but his most important ability was one that he did not use on the battlefield.- The first scene that Mortensen performed for the trilogy was his battle against the Nazgl on Weathertop from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
- In the 2007 film Eastern Promises, Mortensen played a tattooed gangster, and his real Elvish tattoo was visible.
- Though Rhys-Davies did not get the Elvish tattoo, his stunt double Brett Beattie did.
Mortensen was a physical match for Aragorn as well. Before Mortensen's casting, Irish actor Stuart Townsend was going to play Aragorn, but Jackson did not think he was the right fit for the role, mainly because of his age. Townsend was only 27 when The Fellowship of the Ring began filming in 1999, whereas Mortensen was 41. Aragorn said that he was 87 years old in the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, but since he was one of the long-lived Dúnedain, that was roughly equivalent to his late 30s or early 40s, making Mortensen the perfect age.
He looked old enough to be wise and experienced but still young enough to be in his athletic prime, both of which were important for Aragorn. Mortensen did have a stunt double, Kirk Maxwell,but he did his own stunts whenever possible. Mortensen received many injurieson set; he chipped a tooth, broke two toes, and nearly drowned, but none of these mishaps discouraged him. He even incorporated his real pain into his performance at times, such as when he screamed in anguish after kicking an Orc helmet in The Two Towers. This commitment to rolling with the punches was a sign of Mortensen's dedication to his craft.
Viggo Mortensen Had Ranger Skills in Real Life
Aragorn's Sword Wasn't Originally Made By Elves
Often the credit of Aragorn's legendary sword Andruil goes to Elrond and the Elves. What about the original crafters of Narsil?- Mortensen also got a black eye while surfing with Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd, the actors of Merry and Pippin.
- Queen Margrethe II of Denmark knighted Mortensen; Margrethe was a fan of The Lord of the Rings who had previously sent illustrations to Tolkien.
- Henry Mortensen made a cameo as one of the soldiers at Helm's Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Like Aragorn, Mortensen was an excellent swordsman. Bob Anderson, the fight choreographer for The Lord of the Rings, stated that Mortensen was the best student he had ever trained. Some of the films' prop weapons were made of lightweight materials, but Mortensen insisted on using a real steel sword in all of his scenes. He did so because he wanted the weight of the sword to properly affect the way that his body moved, even when he was simply walking around with it in his scabbard. Aragorn wielded Andúril, one of the most important and well-known weapons in Tolkien's legendarium, so Mortensen's skill with a blade needed to be believable. Humorously, he once recounted a story about drawing the attention of Wellington police because he was carrying his sword in public while practicing for the films.
Mortensen was equally adept as an equestrian. He learned how to ride horses when he was young, and though he was out of practice by the time of The Lord of the Rings, he quickly relearned his skills. He formed a deep bond with the horses on set, particularly those who portrayed Hasufel and Brego. This matched the love that Rangers showed their horses in The Lord of the Rings novel. But Mortensen embraced more than just his Ranger side. One of the major factors that made him such a perfect actor for Aragorn was that he had the range to play the role of noble King Elessar just as well as grim Strider. After The Lord of the Rings, Mortensen starred in several other films and explored other pursuits such as writing, painting, and making music, but to many, he will always be Aragorn.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a series of epic fantasy adventure films and television series based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The films follow the adventures of humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits and more in Middle-earth.
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