I try to research or make up for myself what happened in any character's life. From when he was born until the first page of the script. I fill in the blanks. Viggo Mortensen More Quotes by Viggo Mortensen More Quotes From Viggo Mortensen Freud was the son of a Jewish merchant who had to move his whole family to Vienna because he couldn't get work. He, as a boy, had to watch his father be mocked and abused on the street for being Jewish... You develop a thick skin and you develop a certain kind of wit to defend yourself. Viggo Mortensen father son moving 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 important country years The first decade of your life is really important; it's formative. Viggo Mortensen important life-is firsts We all experience many freakish and unexpected events - you have to be open to suffering a little. The philosopher Schopenhauer talked about how out of the randomness, there is an apparent intention in the fate of an individual that can be glimpsed later on. When you are an old guy, you can look back, and maybe this rambling life has some through-line. Others can see it better sometimes. But when you glimpse it yourself, you see it more clearly than anyone. Viggo Mortensen fate guy suffering The best thing an actor can be is flexible, because all directors are different and all actors are different. Viggo Mortensen actors different directors To find a good story, you’re generally going to find it in independent or lower budget movies... I wouldn’t mind doing a big budget movie if it had a great story. Viggo Mortensen independent stories mind I think that people who get to a certain position, and then try to ferociously defend it or build on it, it's kind of a dead-end street. You see people becoming miserable that way. Viggo Mortensen trying people thinking 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 majority people thinking As you get older, you get stuck in your ways; just as you become stiffer physically, you also become stiffer mentally and more narrow-minded unless you make a conscious effort to keep yourself flexible. Viggo Mortensen effort conscious way 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 different views jobs Having a mixed background and feeling a little bit like a fish out of water in most places can be a benefit. Viggo Mortensen benefits feelings water 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 decay done america 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 player baseball soccer It doesn't matter how bad things are, something good could happen always. And it doesn't matter how many excuses you have for behaving in an unkind manner towards others. There's never any excuse for not being kind and it's always better to be kind even if it seems pointless and that in fact is the highest wisdom - being kind. It sounds like a very noble, ethereal, simplistic idea but it's true. Viggo Mortensen excuse-you sound ideas It's almost a standard tactic, really, to try to minimize any effort that people in the entertainment business or in any public occupation make to express themselves. Viggo Mortensen effort trying people 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 different character thinking I was born in New York but as a baby moved to Venezuela and Argentina. I've also lived in Denmark, where my father's from. I've traveled a lot, and having that sort of background probably increased the chance that I was going to remain curious as an adult about people who are different. Viggo Mortensen new-york baby father I trust Hillary Clinton about as far as I could throw Donald Trump. Viggo Mortensen trump clinton 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." Viggo Mortensen stories watches thinking 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 tvs age people
