Viggo Mortensen quotes

Born
October 20, 1958, New York City, U.S.

Occupation
Actor.

Viggo Mortensen is a Danish-American actor.

You do need to get lucky, no matter how talented you are.
– Viggo Mortensen

I try to avoid conflict. I don’t want people to be unhappy.
– Viggo Mortensen

You know, real life doesn’t just suddenly resolve itself. You have to keep working at it.
– Viggo Mortensen

I always think of movie-making as a team sport.
– Viggo Mortensen

It’s hard not to get depressed when you pay attention to the world and how strangely and corrupt the people in it sometimes behave.
– Viggo Mortensen

We often live in the past a lot more than we probably realize.
– Viggo Mortensen

You can’t really divorce yourself and your life from the world you live in.
– Viggo Mortensen

Be kind. It’s worthwhile to make an effort to learn about other people and figure out what you might have in common with them.
– Viggo Mortensen

I have never been in a natural place and felt that it was a waste of time. I never have. And it’s a relief. If I’m walking around a desert or whatever, every second is worthwhile.
– Viggo Mortensen

I take my work seriously, but it’s not the only thing that exists in the world.
– Viggo Mortensen

There is no star in LOTR. The Fellowship is a union.
– Viggo Mortensen

If you’re not optimistic on some level, then you’ve given up.
– Viggo Mortensen

The money I earn from films means I can help the people I want to help – you can do a lot of good if you want to.
– Viggo Mortensen

It’s always interesting to play a character that obviously has a secret.
– Viggo Mortensen

I think every family is dysfunctional, and some manage to control it better than others.
– Viggo Mortensen

You should always do the things in life that are both interesting and make you afraid.
– Viggo Mortensen

We all have secrets, some secrets bigger than others, is a normal human thing.
– Viggo Mortensen

If you don’t find some way to discuss what’s going on inside you, it can come out in other ways that are self-destructive.
– Viggo Mortensen

I’m optimistic about people and about the planet and about nature. I think it’s resilient, like people are.
– Viggo Mortensen

I’m not that involved in personal grooming. But I try not to be offensive to people.
– Viggo Mortensen

I love rehearsing, but a lot of directors don’t, and some actors don’t.
– Viggo Mortensen

Joseph Campbell said the privilege of a lifetime is being yourself. That’s his feeling. And I guess it’s mine too.
– Viggo Mortensen

I don’t think violence is ever excusable. It’s most often a metaphor for something that’s going on in a relationship or in the person’s understanding – or misunderstanding – of their place in society.
– Viggo Mortensen

Photography, painting or poetry those are just extensions of me, how I perceive things, they are my way of communicating.
– Viggo Mortensen

Some people who like dogs don’t like cats, but I’m not like that.
– Viggo Mortensen

I think that every person has many, many people inside of them. We change our personality depending on who we are talking to or what situation we are in.
– Viggo Mortensen

Half the fun-no, really all the fun-is in the preparation.
– Viggo Mortensen

I have a work ethic. If I say I’m going to do something, I do it.
– Viggo Mortensen

I’m not afraid of death, but I resent it. I think it’s unfair and irritating.
– Viggo Mortensen