Viggo Mortensen

Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. (born October 20, 1958, in New York City) is a Danish-American theater and movie actor, a published poet, musician, photographer, and painter. His Danish father and half Norwegian American mother met in Norway. He has a son, Henry Blake, with his ex-wife Christine "Exene" Cervenka of the band X.
==The Lord of the Rings==
Mortensen is best known for his role as the man Aragorn, Ranger and heir of Isildur, in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001 - 2003). He was a last-minute replacement for the role, and would have declined the part if not for his son's enthusiasm for J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy.
In the DVD extended edition extras to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the film's swordmaster Bob Anderson described Mortensen as "the best swordsman I've ever trained".
His voice is featured on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King soundtrack - he sings 'Aragorn's Coronation' a quote of Elendil's put to a melody composed by Mortensen himself, in the track "The Return of the King".
While filming The Fellowship of the Ring, Mortensen went surfing and received a black eye. Director Jackson's solution was to film Mortensen from the other side only. As a result, during several scenes in the Mines of Moria, Mortensen can only be seen from one side.
During a scene in The Two Towers in which Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli find the band of Uruk-hai that had captured Merry and Pippin on Amon Hen, Aragorn, in his sorrowful anger, kicks an Uruk helmet. In the filming of this, Viggo broke two of his toes. They used the scream of pain he uttered in the finished film, as they thought it added an effect to Aragorn's sorrow.
While filming the Battle of the Hornburg, Viggo chipped one of his front teeth against an Uruk-hai shield. He was taken to the dentist, and had it fixed and was ready to go by the next day. 
In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Viggo's son, Henry, had a cameo during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields scene as an anonymous Orc whom Aragorn kills.
After the filming for The Return of the King concluded, one of the stuntswomen wanted to buy the horse she rode, but could not afford it. Viggo then offered to buy it for her, and won a bid against an executive to get it.
==External links==
*
*
*Viggo Mortensen at TriviaTribute.com
de:Viggo Mortensen
es:Viggo Mortensen
fr:Viggo Mortensen
it:Viggo Mortensen
pl:Viggo Mortensen
pt-br:Viggo Mortensen
ru:Вигго Мортенсен
Category:American actors
Category:The Lord of the Rings films actors