BY Nicole Child
Thursday, March 4, 2004
"Do you wanna go out there? We could do it out there,” whispers Viggo
Mortensen as soon as his press manager leaves, with no hint that he is
kidding. Four reporters nervously look at each other. Is Viggo Mortensen,
star of “The Lord of the Rings” and “Hidalgo,” really asking us to climb
out the eighth-storey window of the Ritz-Carlton? I suppose it doesn’t
seem all that unlikely, given his reputation. As my $10 imitation suede
boots stomp all over the (undoubtedly very expensive) couch in Mortensen’s
suite in an attempt to climb out the window, I hear Mortensen warn, “Be
careful, don’t get hurt. You’ll get me in trouble.”
One by one we join Mortensen, who sits on the narrow concrete balcony
cross-legged, wearing rugged jeans, a stained sweater and black socks. I
almost feel sorry for him, as I think that he would be much more at home
on the grass or on a beach, watching the sunrise. He is eager to begin
talking. And once he starts, it’s almost impossible to get him to stop.
I play with the idea of asking him about my real interest, “The Lord of
the Rings,” but I am there to discuss his new film, “Hidalgo,” in which
Mortensen loses his kingly crown and ranger attire for the hat and spurs
of a great American cowboy. But it turns out “The Lord of the Rings” isn’t
a topic to avoid, as Mortensen brings it up himself. When asked why he
chose to accept the role of frontierman Frank T. Hopkins, he admits that
his first big hit helped.
“I wouldn’t have had the option of accepting it or not accepting it ...
if ‘The Lord of the Rings’ hadn’t been so popular—the studio wouldn’t have
backed the idea of me being in it, even if the director liked the idea,”
he says.
“Hidalgo” follows the life of Hopkins, the half-American, half-Lakota
Indian cowboy/long-distance rider/rodeo performer/horse tamer/every type
of American hero you can imagine. “Hidalgo” refers to the name of the
Spanish mustang that Hopkins rode to victory in the famous Arab horse
race, the “Ocean of Fire.” The film was shot on location in Morocco, with
some scenes respectfully shot in South Dakota, in memory of the Wounded
Knee Massacre, a haunting setpiece that opens the movie.
Mortensen explains that he likes the story of “Hidalgo” for much the
same reason he liked “The Lord of the Rings.” “It extols the values of
looking for common ground with others, especially with those who seem very
different and maybe those you don’t agree with and don’t understand,” he
says.
But while Mortensen admires the film for showing Hopkins as a curious,
though slightly naive American trying to survive in an Arab culture, he
doesn’t believe the purpose of the movie is to show Hopkins adapting to
Arab culture. He denies, and even takes pride in the fact that “Hidalgo”
is not what he refers to as a “message movie.” As Mortensen insists, “It
shouldn’t be remarkable to have a story in which a variety of cultures are
represented and you see that people are people.” Instead, he sees
“Hidalgo” as a “straight-ahead action movie,” not intended to push morals
or ideals on its audience.
In the midst of this semi-philosophical discussion, Mortensen’s press
manager glares at him through a side window, having finally discovered
where he has disappeared to. Mortensen laughs and promises he will return
to his posh suite in five minutes. Somehow, he manages to fill that time
with 15 minutes of discussion about various subjects. One subject is
culture. Filming of “Hidalgo” began shortly before the invasion of Iraq,
but didn’t deter the cast and crew from plunging forward into this work.
“It was important not to make a big deal out of (the cultural
differences),” Mortensen says. “(The film) treats people who are in the
audience as intelligent people who can draw their own conclusions and find
whatever subtext they’re gonna find, whatever connections they’re gonna
make … without being told what to think.”
Who can talk about the Middle East without discussing current events?
Not even movie stars can resist. “Let’s face it,” Mortensen says, “our
government and our president has made no bones about using (the cowboy) as
his image…that sort of cowboy talk and cowboy slang and all the things
that … misappropriate the cowboy myth. (It seems) that being and having
individualism means preventing others from being individuals. That’s
bullshit. That’s not what a cowboy is about.”
Politics aren’t the only thing about which Mortensen is outspoken. An
artist, photographer, musician and poet, Mortensen has used his celebrity
status to draw attention to struggling artists. Though he knows that many
people who come to his poetry readings or buy his artwork are attracted to
his role in “The Lord of the Rings,” he thinks the publicity can only be a
positive thing, even if it’s for the wrong reasons. Besides, Mortensen
isn’t worried about “stretching himself too thin” or wearing out his
reputation. Mortensen admits that he never really had a long-term career
goal for acting, and that he is impressed that he’s made it this far. “I
feel pretty lucky,” he says. “(It’ll) be hard to top (recent successes)
probably. I should probably quit while I’m ahead.”
(c) 2003 The Daily Californian
Berkeley, CA
dailycal@dailycal.org
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