Top 160 Viggo Mortensen Quotes (2024 Update)
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51. “When I heard Puerto Ricans in New York City, it sounded very strange. And the first time I heard someone from Spain, I thought they had a speech impediment!”

— Viggo Mortensen

52. “When we shot ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ we had special permission to film in wild areas of New Zealand that could be accessed only by helicopter. They would drop us off and we would work all day, and they’d pick us up and take us out again.”

— Viggo Mortensen

53. “There are people that grandstand and seem to be publicly politically engaged because they like the attention, more than because they’re genuinely concerned about the world. But I don’t think that’s the majority.”

— Viggo Mortensen

54. “You have a moral obligation to finish the job you said you would do.”

— Viggo Mortensen

55. “Joseph Campbell said the privilege of a lifetime is being yourself. That’s his feeling. And I guess it’s mine too.”

— Viggo Mortensen

56. “Further devastation of the air, land and sea is obviously a very real possibility, unless the attitudes of politicians and all who irresponsibly exploit our natural resources change significantly in the very near future and all collaborate and sacrifice for the good of the planet.”

— Viggo Mortensen

57. “Jung viewed Freud as a mentor, but he never wanted to be anybody’s disciple.”

— Viggo Mortensen

58. “I think you have to be flexible above all as an actor; different characters have different demands, actors that you work with are different in their approach, or how you get along or don’t get along with them.”

— Viggo Mortensen

59. “The Holocaust movie is almost a genre in itself these days.”

— Viggo Mortensen

60. “It’s hard not to get depressed when you pay attention to the world and how strangely and corrupt the people in it sometimes behave.”

— Viggo Mortensen

61. “You know, ‘Viggo’ is a pretty dorky name in Denmark. It’s like ‘Oswald’ or something. It’s a very old Scandinavian name, at least 1,000 years old.”

— Viggo Mortensen

62. “I think, on a surface level, people are surprised to see me playing such a passive role in ‘Good.’”

— Viggo Mortensen

63. “There’s no sense in doing something, especially if it’s a hard job, if you can’t have a little fun.”

— Viggo Mortensen

64. “America is an empire in decay. But we don’t have to lash out and do damage on the way down. We can reverse some of the damage we’ve done. It’s possible.”

— Viggo Mortensen

65. “In other words, I’m against cheating, greed, cruelty, racism, imperialism, religious fundamentalism, treason, and the seemingly limitless capacity for hypocrisy shown by Bush and his administration.”

— Viggo Mortensen

66. “At the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century in Austria, there was a lot of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism in Austria was much more pervasive than in Germany. And Austrians took to Nazi ideas and anti-Semitism much more readily than Germans did, really.”

— Viggo Mortensen

67. “I have a roof over my head. I had a breakfast, and a lot of people in the world can’t say that. I’m not going to complain about being interviewed.”

— Viggo Mortensen

68. “I know I said I wanted to live forever and I would never be bored, but the reality is, it’s probably kind of sad to live forever if you’re the only one sticking around.”

— Viggo Mortensen

69. “I’m very comfortable in Argentina. I was raised there as a baby and stayed there until I was 11 years old, so the first decade of my life or my formative years were spent in Argentina. I stayed in tune with the food, music and language.”

— Viggo Mortensen

70. “If you don’t find some way to discuss what’s going on inside you, it can come out in other ways that are self-destructive.”

— Viggo Mortensen

71. “Saying you are a patriot does not make you one; wearing a flag pin does not in itself mean anything at all.”

— Viggo Mortensen

72. “Because of the internet, satellite TV, and the digital world, you can stay in touch, you can learn about other people from a young age.”

— Viggo Mortensen

73. “A little recognition is not a bad thing because it means people appreciate your work. The only problem is when you can’t walk down the street or have a meal without people looking at you. I want to be the one looking at people.”

— Viggo Mortensen

74. “If in my twenties I’d gotten one of the two-dozen roles that I did screen tests for and almost got, I think I would have become bored with the awards circuit, the whole hype machine.”

— Viggo Mortensen

75. “Like most people I can be lazy, so it’s nice to have a goal or deadline or reason to work out. I feel better when I get to exercise, or when I’m outdoors. I like to hike, swim and run, and I love to play soccer.”

— Viggo Mortensen

76. “If I can get a day to myself, I won’t answer the phone, I’ll read or go for a walk. Simple, basic things. People think there’s always time to do that but there isn’t. Life is short.”

— Viggo Mortensen

77. “I was raised in Argentina until I was 11 and now I go back there a lot, at least twice a year. It’s a country where I feel very comfortable and it represents an important period in my life.”

— Viggo Mortensen

78. “It’s very rare you get a great script just handed to you, or sent to you, by someone you don’t know.”

— Viggo Mortensen

79. “Pinochet and Barack Obama both have the same primary goal, and that’s to be president and stay president as long as allowed.”

— Viggo Mortensen

80. “People talk about method actors, meaning someone that’s prepared very, very well, or whatever they mean when they talk about it. But the right method is whatever works for you. And what works for me on any given day is going to be different.”

— Viggo Mortensen

81. “If you’re trying to please everyone, then you’re not going to make anything that is honestly yours, I don’t think, in the long run.”

— Viggo Mortensen

82. “There might be people out there who wouldn’t hire me because they thought I should keep my mouth shut, but I’m not aware of that. Even if I saw evidence of that, it wouldn’t really concern me.”

— Viggo Mortensen

83. “I’m not afraid of death, but I resent it. I think it’s unfair and irritating.”

— Viggo Mortensen

84. “I try to avoid conflict. I don’t want people to be unhappy.”

— Viggo Mortensen

85. “In the end, the actor’s main power is the power to say, ‘No.’”

— Viggo Mortensen

86. “I don’t think special attention should be given to an actor or a singer or a baseball player or a soccer player more than anyone else, but they do have an opinion like anyone else.”

— Viggo Mortensen

87. “If you daren’t enter the forest, or cannot find it, then perhaps you might find one tree, or a place where a tree could be, and just stop for a quiet moment to see what happens.”

— Viggo Mortensen

88. “I’ve never had a problem with people paying attention to what you’re doing and say they find that they liked it.”

— Viggo Mortensen

89. “One of the most effective tools that the Cheney-Bush junta has used to marginalize dissenting or even mildly inquisitive American citizens has been the accusation of being unpatriotic.”

— Viggo Mortensen

90. “When people say that entertainers should “know your place,” they might as well say the same thing about plumbers and teachers and cab drivers. We all should be able to express our views.”

— Viggo Mortensen

91. “When I have a day off, I won’t spend it at a Hollywood party. I’d rather be at home with paints and a blank canvas.”

— Viggo Mortensen

92. “I know people who prepare their roles in such a way that they technically look ahead and memorize their gestures, and then they stick to it. Those that are technically proficient enough can make it seem natural, but they do that and don’t really take in what other people are doing.”

— Viggo Mortensen

93. “I’m certainly curious about people. As a kid, I moved around a lot. I was raised in a lot of different places, and thanks to working in the movies, I’ve gotten to keep traveling. I’ve always been interested in other cultures and languages.”

— Viggo Mortensen

94. “I don’t like people who get into fights about football – or anything else.”

— Viggo Mortensen

95. “I look at my job as looking at the world from points of view that are different from mine – sometimes radically different from mine.”

— Viggo Mortensen

96. “In a lot of places in the United States and certainly even more places around the world, the image of the cowboy has become, for some people, a negative one. The word ‘cowboy’ implies a strong, stubborn individual whose individualism depends on pulling down other people’s individualism.”

— Viggo Mortensen

97. “The best thing an actor can be is flexible, because all directors are different and all actors are different.”

— Viggo Mortensen

98. “I don’t think Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell fear competition from me in their arena.”

— Viggo Mortensen

99. “I realise how important it is to use the time I have. I respect people who want to do that by watching television. I happen to want to read books. But I know I can’t read all the books or watch all the movies in one lifetime.”

— Viggo Mortensen

100. “I’m an optimist; I always hope that each new script is going to be a great story.”

— Viggo Mortensen