Virgin Radio
18 Jun 2024, 11:45
Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen has confessed he’d be “open” to the idea of being at the helm of one of the new fantasy movies.
The actor previously starred as Aragorn in the original trilogy, but also lent his talents as a composer too, collaborating with Howard Shore on movies’ soundtrack.
Since then, Viggo has directed and composed two other films, including his latest drama, The Dead Don’t Hurt, out in cinemas now.
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In 2023, Warner Bros announced there would be a new Lord of the Rings movie, but there was very little information to go off at the time.
Movie bosses has since confirmed that the trilogy’s original director Peter Jackson will be on hand as a producer, and “involved every step of the way”, while Gollum actor Andy Serkis will step up to the plate as director, as well returning to the iconic role.
Since then, there’s been plenty of speculation about which other characters would make a could make a comeback, and during an exclusive chat with virginradio.co.uk, Viggo revealed he’d be up for something behind the scenes.
When asked about returning to do the score again, the talented star revealed: “I don’t know, they have Howard Shore, he’s the master, and I’m sure he’s going to do it, and he should.”
When it comes to directing however, it seems Viggo is keeping his options open, telling us: “I haven’t thought of that, Who knows, I don’t know.
“I think they probably have people they would prefer. I know Andy Serkis is going to do one, but for sure, why not? I’m open to suggestions. I don’t have to just direct things I’ve written, so who knows?”
While we await to see if Aragorn gets his comeback, Viggo candidly revealed the inspiration behind his latest drama, The Dead Don’t Hurt, which is a Western filled with heart, grit, and a whole lot of soul.
Set in the tumultuous 1860s, The Dead Don’t Hurt tells the story of star-crossed lovers Vivienne Le Coudy (played by the fierce Vicky Krieps) and Danish immigrant Holger Olsen ( Mortensen).
Mortensen dedicated the heart-wrenching movie to his mother, who inspired the character of Vivienne, adds a touching layer to this wild Western tale. During our exclusive chat, Viggo explained “Well, the character of Vivienne, both the girl and then the grown up version. [Is] this image of things I knew about my mother when she was a little girl, and the sort of place where she grew up, that kind of forest in the Northeast of the United States, near the Canadian border, maples, red oaks, black walnuts, hickories.
“And she had a real vivid imagination. She was very curious about other people, other cultures. She read stories to me, told me stories like my moms do, but she also took me to movies when I was very young. And her whole life, we would go to movies and always talk story.
“Yeah, it’s dedicated to her, the movie because Vivienne is inspired by her, at least her person. And then it morphed into a Western once I realised that I wanted to place her in the 19th century, on the western frontier.”
The Dead Don’t Hurt is in cinemas now.
