Viggo Mortensen

Biography

Viggo Mortensen is a Danish-American actor and filmmaker. Born in New York City, he made his first screen appearance in Peter Weir's Witness. After his debut, he took supporting parts in a range of films, among them The Portrait of a Lady (1996), G.I. Jane (1997), A Perfect Murder (1998), and 28 Days (2000), as well as crime dramas such as Carlito's Way (1993). His breakthrough came when Peter Jackson chose him to play Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings films, released from 2001 to 2003. He collaborated with David Cronenberg on several films: A History of Violence (2005), Eastern Promises (2007), which brought him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, A Dangerous Method (2011), and Crimes of the Future (2022). Further Academy Award nominations followed for Captain Fantastic (2016) and Green Book (2018). His directorial debut, Falling (2020), saw him write, produce, compose the score, and star.

67years old

Turns 68 on October 20in 7 days

Born October 20, 1958Watertown
Star sign: LibraThe sign runs September 23 to October 22
Viggo Peter Mortensen (birth name)Also credited as Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr.

Movie Career

Films: 48
Career span: 41 years1985 to 2026

Genres

Drama71%, 34 films
Thriller31%, 15 films
Crime25%, 12 films
Adventure21%, 10 films
Action19%, 9 films

First and latest

Photos

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First role
Mortensen made his film debut in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo in 1985, though the final cut did not include his scenes.
A role that slipped away
For the adventure film Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), Mortensen reached the final two for the title role of Tarzan, but Christopher Lambert was eventually cast.
A role that slipped away
For the 2012 movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Mortensen was asked to play Aragorn again, but he turned it down since that character is absent from the novel the film adapts.
Getting ready for a role
Mortensen was taught cave diving by British cave diver Rick Stanton personally to prepare for his role as Stanton in the biographical film Thirteen Lives.
First role
Mortensen played an Amish farmer in Peter Weir's Witness, which was his first onscreen appearance. The director cast him because he thought his face suited the part.

Viggo Mortensen movies on Netflix

I Love Boosters2026IMDb rating 6.6as Documentary Narrator - Heine Schlumpf (voice)
The Dead Don't Hurt2024IMDb rating 6.4as Holger Olsen
Crimes of the Future2022IMDb rating 5.8as Saul Tenser
Thirteen Lives2022IMDb rating 7.8as Rick Stanton
Falling2020IMDb rating 6.5as John (50 Yrs)
Green Book2018IMDb rating 8.2as Tony Lip
Captain Fantastic2016IMDb rating 7.8as Ben
Far from Men2014IMDb rating 7.2as Daru
Jauja2014IMDb rating 6.3as Gunnar Dinesen
The Two Faces of January2014IMDb rating 6.2as Chester
On the Road2012IMDb rating 6.0as Old Bull Lee / William S. Burroughs
A Dangerous Method2011IMDb rating 6.4as Sigmund Freud
The Road2009IMDb rating 7.2as Man
Appaloosa2008IMDb rating 6.7as Everett Hitch
Good2008IMDb rating 6.2as Halder
Eastern Promises2007IMDb rating 7.6as Nikolai
Captain Alatriste: The Spanish Musketeer2006IMDb rating 6.1as Diego Alatriste
A History of Violence2005IMDb rating 7.4as Tom Stall
Ringers: Lord of the Fans2005IMDb rating 6.1as Himself
Hidalgo2004IMDb rating 6.7as Frank Hopkins
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003IMDb rating 9.0as Aragorn
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers2002IMDb rating 8.8as Aragorn
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001IMDb rating 8.9as Aragorn
28 Days2000IMDb rating 6.1as Eddie Boone
A Walk on the Moon1999IMDb rating 6.6as Walker Jerome
A Perfect Murder1998IMDb rating 6.6as David Shaw
Psycho1998IMDb rating 4.6as Samuel 'Sam' Loomis
G.I. Jane1997IMDb rating 6.1as Master Chief John James Urgayle
Vanishing Point1997IMDb rating 5.7as Jimmy Kowalski
Albino Alligator1996IMDb rating 6.1as Guy Foucard
Daylight1996IMDb rating 6.0as Roy Nord
The Portrait of a Lady1996IMDb rating 6.2as Caspar Goodwood
Crimson Tide1995IMDb rating 7.4as Weps
The Passion of Darkly Noon1995IMDb rating 5.8as Clay
The Prophecy1995IMDb rating 6.4as Lucifer
American Yakuza1993IMDb rating 5.6as Nick Davis / David Brandt
Boiling Point1993IMDb rating 5.0as Ronnie
Carlito's Way1993IMDb rating 7.9as Lalin
The Young Americans1993IMDb rating 5.7as Carl Frazer
Ruby Cairo1992IMDb rating 5.0as Johnny Faro
The Indian Runner1991IMDb rating 6.9as Frank Roberts
Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III1990IMDb rating 5.0as Eddie 'Tex' Sawyer
The Reflecting Skin1990IMDb rating 6.7as Cameron Dove
Young Guns II1990IMDb rating 6.5as John W. Poe
Fresh Horses1988IMDb rating 5.0as Green
Let's Get Lost1988IMDb rating 7.7as Himself
Prison1987IMDb rating 5.8as Burke / Forsythe Electrocution
Witness1985IMDb rating 7.3as Moses Hochleitner

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001 Adventure, Drama, Fantasyas Aragorn
IMDb rating 8.92.2M votes
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003 Adventure, Drama, Fantasyas Aragorn
IMDb rating 9.02.2M votes
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers2002as Aragorn
IMDb rating 8.82.0M votes
Green Book2018as Tony Lip
IMDb rating 8.2704K votes
Eastern Promises2007as Nikolai
IMDb rating 7.6280K votes
Captain Fantastic2016as Ben
IMDb rating 7.8253K votes
A History of Violence2005as Tom Stall
IMDb rating 7.4277K votes
The Road2009as Man
IMDb rating 7.2274K votes

Most often with

David Cronenberg directed four of these films, Peter Jackson three and Philip Ridley two. Five actors appear in four of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Sean Astin

Elijah Wood

Ian McKellen

Orlando Bloom

Billy Boyd

Cate Blanchett

David CronenbergDirector, 4 films

Peter JacksonDirector, 3 films Philip RidleyDirector, 2 films

Films together

Sean Astin4 films together, 2001 to 2005
Sean Astin's page
- Ringers: Lord of the Fans2005IMDb rating 6.1Mortensen as HimselfAstin as Himself
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003IMDb rating 9.0Mortensen as AragornAstin as Sam
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers2002IMDb rating 8.8Mortensen as AragornAstin as Sam
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001IMDb rating 8.9Mortensen as AragornAstin as Sam
Elijah Wood4 films together, 2001 to 2005
Elijah Wood's page
- Ringers: Lord of the Fans2005IMDb rating 6.1Mortensen as HimselfWood as Himself
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003IMDb rating 9.0Mortensen as AragornWood as Frodo
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers2002IMDb rating 8.8Mortensen as AragornWood as Frodo
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001IMDb rating 8.9Mortensen as AragornWood as Frodo
Ian McKellen4 films together, 2001 to 2005
Ian McKellen's page
- Ringers: Lord of the Fans2005IMDb rating 6.1Mortensen as HimselfMcKellen as Himself
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003IMDb rating 9.0Mortensen as AragornMcKellen as Gandalf
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers2002IMDb rating 8.8Mortensen as AragornMcKellen as Gandalf
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001IMDb rating 8.9Mortensen as AragornMcKellen as Gandalf
Orlando Bloom4 films together, 2001 to 2005
Orlando Bloom's page
- Ringers: Lord of the Fans2005IMDb rating 6.1Mortensen as HimselfBloom as Himself
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003IMDb rating 9.0Mortensen as AragornBloom as Legolas
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers2002IMDb rating 8.8Mortensen as AragornBloom as Legolas
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001IMDb rating 8.9Mortensen as AragornBloom as Legolas
Billy Boyd4 films together, 2001 to 2005
Billy Boyd's page
- Ringers: Lord of the Fans2005IMDb rating 6.1Mortensen as HimselfBoyd as Himself
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003IMDb rating 9.0Mortensen as AragornBoyd as Pippin
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers2002IMDb rating 8.8Mortensen as AragornBoyd as Pippin
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001IMDb rating 8.9Mortensen as AragornBoyd as Pippin
Cate Blanchett3 films together, 2001 to 2003
Cate Blanchett's page
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003IMDb rating 9.0Mortensen as AragornBlanchett as Galadriel
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers2002IMDb rating 8.8Mortensen as AragornBlanchett as Galadriel
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001IMDb rating 8.9Mortensen as AragornBlanchett as Galadriel
David CronenbergDirector, 4 films, 2005 to 2022
All films by David Cronenberg
- Crimes of the Future2022IMDb rating 5.8Mortensen as Saul Tenser
- A Dangerous Method2011IMDb rating 6.4Mortensen as Sigmund Freud
- Eastern Promises2007IMDb rating 7.6Mortensen as Nikolai
- A History of Violence2005IMDb rating 7.4Mortensen as Tom Stall
Peter JacksonDirector, 3 films, 2001 to 2003
All films by Peter Jackson
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003IMDb rating 9.0Mortensen as Aragorn
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers2002IMDb rating 8.8Mortensen as Aragorn
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001IMDb rating 8.9Mortensen as Aragorn
Philip RidleyDirector, 2 films, 1990 to 1995
All films by Philip Ridley
- The Passion of Darkly Noon1995IMDb rating 5.8Mortensen as Clay
- The Reflecting Skin1990IMDb rating 6.7Mortensen as Cameron Dove
Also three films together3 more actors
- Andy SerkisRingers: Lord of the Fans (2005), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
- Dominic MonaghanRingers: Lord of the Fans (2005), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- Sala BakerRingers: Lord of the Fans (2005), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.

Box office

What Viggo Mortensen's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

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Combined worldwide box office

$4.5 billion

37 of the 48 films have a worldwide figure.

37Worldwide figure
4US gross only
1Never in cinemas
1Streaming, short cinema run
5Figure not found

Top grosser

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003Aragorn$1.1 billion

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 84% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

1
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003as Aragorn
$1.1B24.9% of the total
2
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers2002as Aragorn
$926M20.6% of the total
3
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001as Aragorn
$871M19.4% of the total
4
Green Book2018as Tony Lip
$322M7.2% of the total
5
Daylight1996as Roy Nord
$159M3.5% of the total
6
Crimson Tide1995as Weps
$157M3.5% of the total
7
A Perfect Murder1998as David Shaw
$128M2.8% of the total
8
Witness1985as Moses Hochleitner
$116M2.6% of the total

A History of Violence (2005), $61.5 million

A Dangerous Method (2011), $27.5 million

Captain Alatriste: The Spanish Musketeer (2006), $23.3 million

The Portrait of a Lady (1996), $20.0 million

$700 millionfrom the other 29 films with a worldwide figure, 16% of the total

Awards

Seven awards and honors from 2007 to 2020, one of them major.

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Viggo Mortensen's awards and nominations, grouped by award
Year	Award	Result
SAG Awards
	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Won
Other honors
2020	Donostia Award	Won
2015	Bodil Honorary Award	Honorary
2010	Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog	Won
2009	Sitges Grand Honorary Award	Honorary
2007	Golden Boot Awards	Won
	Satellite Awards	Won

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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