Viggo Mortensen quotes: wise famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Viggo Mortensen

Viggo Mortensen Famous Quotes & Sayings

Discover top inspirational quotes from Viggo Mortensen on Wise Famous Quotes.

In terms of the movie business, being in a 'Lord of the Rings' has given me more interesting options as work.

I've been naked physically in movies - but it's a whole other thing to be naked emotionally in a way that's not just a distraction or a character.

In a movie, you're raw material, just a hue of some color and the director makes the painting.

I have a work ethic. If I say I'm going to do something, I do it.

It doesn't take that many years for a kid to realise that they're going to die. It's always there in the back of their mind the rest of their lives.

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.

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

When I land in a country and they ask for 'occupation,' I always just put 'artist.' I think that covers all of it.

The first decade of your life is really important; it's formative.

Usually the characters I play are men of few words, who communicate in non-verbal ways.

I like movies that leave you with something to think about, to discuss, to debate, you know?

My goal is just to make movies, whether they're big or small, that I'd like to see 10 years from now.

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.

I try to avoid conflict. I don't want people to be unhappy.

With few exceptions, one ought always do what one is afraid of.

If you tell the story emotionally in a truthful way, then you start naturally looking at the landscape and thinking "Wow, we have to watch out."

The money I earn from films means I can help the people I want to help - you can do a lot of good if you want to.

I think, on a surface level, people are surprised to see me playing such a passive role in 'Good.'

I think every family is dysfunctional, and some manage to control it better than others.

I don't like people who get into fights about football - or anything else.

You can't really go back to where you came from. I don't think any of us can.

Having a mixed background and feeling a little bit like a fish out of water in most places can be a benefit.

I mean, any movie or story that makes you accept and be grateful for something about your life is doing something right.

Any nominations a movie gets helps to raise the level of curiosity in the public, so in that sense awards and nominations are important.

I'm optimistic about people and about the planet and about nature. I think it's resilient, like people are.

Can you join, ask sincerely for affection
without sweaty hand of expectation,
understanding and accepting
if it never is given?

It's always interesting to play a character that obviously has a secret.

'The Road' was a movie that has a good reputation, even though it wasn't released very well, but that's a movie I'm very proud of.

You should always do the things in life that are both interesting and make you afraid.

There's no excuse to be bored. Sad, yes. Angry, yes. Depressed, yes. Crazy, yes. But there's no excuse for boredom, ever.

In a lot of ways, I envy someone like Omar Sharif who lived in a hotel for decades.

A lot of people can forget about you in Los Angeles.

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.

We often live in the past a lot more than we probably realize.

I'd like to, when it's all said and done, say that I have at least a few stories that I feel proud of.

I like naturally occurring film grain, and what happens to film when it's under- and over-exposed.

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.

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

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.

In the end, the actor's main power is the power to say, 'No.'

You don't have to make something that people call art. Living is an artistic activity, there is an art to getting through the day.

You can't really divorce yourself and your life from the world you live in.

What art does is it makes you feel alive and makes you feel like you're connected.

I'm not that involved in personal grooming. But I try not to be offensive to people.

Kids accept where they are because they don't know the past. They know what they have; they know where they are.

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

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

Awards for arts, where you make comparisons, don't make much sense.

Those who have the power and should be the most responsible are often the least responsible.

You do need to get lucky, no matter how talented you are.

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.

I'm an optimist; I always hope that each new script is going to be a great story.

Most movies are lucky to have one moment, one shot that you look at and you always remember that moment and that scene.

Photography, painting or poetry - those are just extensions of me, how I perceive things; they are my way of communicating.

Be kind. It's worthwhile to make an effort to learn about other people and figure out what you might have in common with them.

I don't think Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell fear competition from me in their arena.

Most actors can't make any kind of living.

Each time I make a movie, it's like a paid scholarship to a different university course.

Kids are shy and they often don't want to make eye contact or say "thank you."

I have a multicultural background, so I tend to have an open mind about things, and I find other cultures interesting.

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.

I prefer the smaller acting than big histrionics. It's about reacting and looks, which is often underestimated.

As a kid I read Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and a few others. As an adult have admired Leonardo da Vinci's drawings and notebooks.

I don't like the 'must', the 'always', and the 'never' words. I don't like 'no' either.

We all have secrets, some secrets bigger than others, is a normal human thing.

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

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

I think if you don't say something it's lying by omission. I personally think it's immoral.

Some people who like dogs don't like cats, but I'm not like that.

I pursue the things I do because I'm interested in them.

I think the older you get the harder it is to [lose] probably. Your metabolism slows down, whatever, but I'm a pretty active person.

People are becoming more intimately acquainted with people who are different than them - it's not so unusual anymore.

When you're under stress as a human being, you behave oddly and your relationships with people become strained.

You see people on the street yelling and think they're crazy, but maybe they're just happy and expressing what they feel at all times.

Jung viewed Freud as a mentor, but he never wanted to be anybody's disciple.

I like stories that leave you wanting more, leave you wondering, but don't tell you everything.

For 'Hidalgo,' I just spent as much time around horses as I could, which made sense.

When I was a little boy, I rode, but I didn't own horses.

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

I love rehearsing, but a lot of directors don't, and some actors don't.

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

I have no idea what 'method actor' means.

I'm not a great fan of monarchy in general, but I have to say the Danish monarchy is closer to the people; it's not as stuffy as the English one.

I like a twisted sense of humour. On 'A History of Violence,' David Cronenberg and I would be doing the grimmest scenes and laugh a lot.

To be honest, I don't really care about any pope. It's not something I think about much, to be quite honest with you.

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

I take my work seriously, but it's not the only thing that exists in the world.

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

People like to pigeonhole you. It's easier.

I don't think you get to be pope without making some enemies, like you do when you're president.

Nobody really knows anybody completely, even if they've been married to 'em for 53 years, you know?