Viggo Mortensen biography, net worth, wife, young, height, age 2025

Viggo Mortensen Biography

Viggo Mortensen is a talented actor, director, photographer, publisher, and musician. He shot to fame playing Aragorn in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. He's earned three Oscar nominations in the "Best Actor" category for "Eastern Promises", "Captain Fantastic", and "Green Book".

Early Life

The future star was born in New York to an international family: his mother was American and his father Danish. His maternal grandfather was from Nova Scotia (Canada), and his grandmother came from New England. Viggo has two younger brothers.

His parents met in Europe during the 1950s. In 1960, the family moved to South America, living briefly in Venezuela and later settling in Argentina, where they purchased a ranch. His father ran a poultry farm. In 1968, his parents divorced; his mother took the boys back to New York while his father continued traveling the world.

The actor's full name is Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr.

While in Argentina, Mortensen attended a local school and became fluent in Spanish. After relocating to New York, he continued his education in middle school. As a kid, he loved tennis and captained the swimming team. Viggo was also passionate about photography, loved traveling, and had a gift for languages. He became fluent in English, Spanish, and Danish, and picked up Swedish, Norwegian, and French.

During his school years, Viggo occasionally got into trouble. During a 1977 Halloween party, he injured his lip, leaving a permanent scar. The actor later admitted he was pretty drunk at the time, and when taken to the hospital, he didn't even need anesthesia.

Viggo Mortensen has always had a unique way of thinking

After high school, Mortensen enrolled at the renowned St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Here, he studied politics and Spanish. With his language skills and academic strengths, he easily earned his bachelor's degree.

Acting Career

After finishing university, Viggo Mortensen started traveling. He spent some time living in Denmark, Spain, and England, taking on jobs as a dock worker, waiter, driver, and even a flower seller. However, by 1982, he returned to the USA, marking the beginning of his acting career.

Viggo Mortensen Speaking 7 Languages

It sounds simple enough: backpack through Europe, try your hand at various jobs, then head to Hollywood for stardom. In reality, it took him twenty years of hard work (until the 2001 release of "The Lord of the Rings").

Viggo Mortensen's first Movie Role (Witness, 1985)

Viggo started by spending two years training at Warren Robertson's Theater Workshop while performing on stage. He began his film career in the early 1980s with Broadway productions. His early films, however, didn't make much of an impact. Most of his films from 1985 to 1995 were low-budget affairs that barely registered at the box office.

Mortensen made his feature film debut in 1985, starring in Peter Weir's drama "Witness." This film, featuring Harrison Ford, won two Oscars. Viggo's part, though, was just a small role with minimal dialogue.

'Witness' (1985): Viggo Mortensen's first role

The up-and-coming actor frequently found himself cast as the bad guy. For instance, he appeared in Sean Penn's "The Indian Runner" as the criminal Frank Roberts (1991), co-starred with Al Pacino in "Carlito's Way" as snitch gangster Lalin (1993), and played Lucifer himself in "The Prophecy" (1995).

The latter half of the '90s brought Viggo several successful romantic roles. These roles finally let him display his full range as an actor. During this period, Mortensen appeared in "The Portrait of a Lady" (1996) with Nicole Kidman, "G.I. Jane" (1997) with Demi Moore, and "A Perfect Murder" (1998) with Michael Douglas.

The Lord of the Rings

Viggo Mortensen's breakout role came with "The Lord of the Rings." Interestingly, the role of Aragorn wasn't originally intended for him. Director Peter Jackson replaced Stuart Townsend after deciding he was too young for the part, then offered the role to Viggo.

However, the decision was tough for Mortensen. It meant leaving for New Zealand for an entire year, being away from his home and family. Plus, he'd never read any of J.R.R. Tolkien's works, so he had to spend serious time getting into character. Surprisingly, it was his son who convinced Mortensen to accept the role.

Viggo Mortensen talks about Tolkien & filming experience on LOTR

Viggo starred in all three films: "The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Two Towers," and "The Return of the King," earning well-deserved fame and recognition. He even had to release an open letter to his fans, apologizing for not being able to respond to everyone who wrote to him, as the volume of letters and messages was overwhelming.

Viggo Mortensens last day as Aragorn

Further Roles

Following that success, Viggo dove into new projects. In 2005, he collaborated with David Cronenberg in the movie "A History of Violence."

A History Of Violence - Brutal Diner Scene

Their next collaboration, "Eastern Promises" (2007), followed shortly after. Critics raved about the film, calling it the pinnacle of Mortensen's career. Playing a Russian gangster, he traveled to Russia to immerse himself in the role. He spent two months in Yekaterinburg, St. Petersburg, Moscow, and the Ural region. Every shooting day meant makeup artists painstakingly applying around 50 tattoos to his body.

'Eastern Promises': Viggo Mortensen portrayed a Russian gangster

Mortensen's talents extended far beyond acting. He launched "Perceval Press," publishing diverse works including his own writing. His musical abilities resulted in three recorded jazz albums. Playing an artist in "A Perfect Murder" also inspired Mortensen to pick up painting. Some of his personal artworks are even showcased in the film.

A major milestone came in 2000 when Viggo exhibited his photography. Though he'd been passionate about photography since school, it took encouragement from friend and fellow actor Dennis Hopper to finally showcase his work.

Viggo Mortensen is a talented photographer

In 2011, Viggo starred in the movie "A Dangerous Method" alongside Keira Knightley, playing Sigmund Freud. For this role, he received a Golden Globe nomination.

The Photography of Viggo Mortensen

Mortensen kept acting, though he became more selective with his roles. 2014 saw him in three films, including "The Two Faces of January" alongside Kirsten Dunst. The film was based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith and directed by Hossein Amini.

In January 2016, American audiences got "Captain Fantastic" (directed by Matt Ross). This film follows a father with six children who don't know what smartphones or cars are, but can grasp quantum physics. They'd lived in the forests, far from civilization, for years, but were forced to abandon their secluded life.

Viggo Mortensen on going off the grid with Captain Fantastic

Later, in late 2018, "Green Book" hit theaters. This film explores the relationship between a talented Black pianist, played by Mahershala Ali, and his Italian driver, a hardcore racist, a role Viggo took on. For this, Mortensen received an Oscar nomination, his third. But he didn't take home the award this time.

In 2020, he appeared in the documentary series premiere "Cosmos: Possible Worlds". He portrayed Soviet geneticist Nikolai Vavilov. Other participants in the series included Neil deGrasse Tyson and Seth MacFarlane.

Viggo Mortensen on Oscar Nomination and Green Book

Around the same time, Mortensen's directorial debut, "Falling", hit screens. It tells the story of a conservative elderly man forced to live with his adult son and his son's husband.

«Falling» Trailer (2020)

Personal Life of Viggo Mortensen

Viggo Mortensen has always stood out for his good looks, originality, and numerous artistic talents. No surprise he caught the attention of many women. The budding actor met his wife in 1987 on the set of "Salvation". His match, Exene Cervenka, was the extravagant lead singer of a punk rock band and easily won the young man's heart. So they got married pretty quickly. In 1988, their son Henry was born, and the family decided to move to the quiet state of Idaho.

Viggo Mortensen and his ex-wife, Exene Cervenka

But marital bliss was short-lived. By 1992, the couple decided to live separately, and by 1997 their marriage was officially over. Still, Viggo and Exene maintained a good relationship. Their son alternated living with both parents, as they frequently had to travel for filming or tours.

Mortensen only entered into another serious relationship in 2006. He met actress Ariadna Gil while filming "Alatriste". They prefer not to tie the knot, even though they've been together for over fifteen years now.

Viggo Mortensen and Ariadna Gil, his current partner

Viggo Mortensen Now

Viggo has occasionally mentioned to journalists his desire to step away from acting and explore other creative pursuits. He wants to explore his creative potential across multiple disciplines. So far though, it's been all talk – the actor keeps delivering compelling performances that thrill his fans.

In 2021, he snagged the lead role in the biopic "Unabomber". The film's release date is still under wraps, but production kicked off in August 2023. He also starred alongside Colin Farrell in the thriller "Thirteen Lives" about the rescue of children from a flooded cave in Thailand.

Viggo Mortensen on the set of '13 Lives'

He teamed up with Léa Seydoux for David Cronenberg's sci-fi thriller "Crimes of the Future". During filming, Viggo injured his leg when he got pinned under a horse, forcing him to shoot much of the movie on his knees. It's their fourth collaboration with Viggo in the starring role, and Cronenberg says Mortensen serves as his key creative sounding board on set.

Scott Stewart

A talented person is talented in everything :) Like Viggo, who knows languages, and as a photographer showed himself as an actor. I also managed to live in several countries and get a bachelor`s degree.

2021-05-13 16:25:19
Robert Nicholas Perry

The actor Mortensen is good at transforming himself for roles. In the movie «Carlito`s Way» you can see it.

2021-04-14 11:33:35
Ann Leonard

How handsome Viggo was in his youth. Manly big jaw, strong-willed chin and cheekbones. Oh, just admire his appearance!

2021-04-09 23:50:23
Benjamin Sean Robinson

Mortensen, judging by the description, is a very smart guy. He knows so many languages! Not like some Hollywood actors who are so-so in their native English

2021-04-05 17:07:35
Clara Garcia

Getting into a movie like «The Lord of the Rings» is worth a lot. Viggo was among the lucky actors.

2021-02-24 12:39:36

Photos: Viggo Mortensen