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If in my twenties I'd gotten one of the two-dozen roles that I did screen tests for and almost got, I think I would have become bored with the awards circuit, the whole hype machine.

Viggo Mortensen

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Viggo Mortensen
Age: 66
Born: 1958
Born: October 20
Actor
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Film Actor
Film Director
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Watertown
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Viggo Peter Mortensen
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More quotes by Viggo Mortensen

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As Martin Luther King said, Passively to participate in an unjust system is to accept that system and to participate in its evil.
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I've been naked physically in movies - but it's a whole other thing to be naked emotionally in a way that's not just a distraction or a character.
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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.
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I like the detail work of telling a story in small pieces, as is done in movie-making, and also the long leap of faith needed to see a theatre performance through each night. Both require focus and self-discipline.
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I'm not afraid of death, but I resent it. I think it's unfair and irritating. Every time I see something beautiful, I not only want to return to it, but it makes me want to see other beautiful things. I know I'm not going to get to all the places I want to go.
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I've been lucky to learn by playing all kinds of roles and watching all kinds of really good cinematographers, actors, and directors for many years before people were even aware of me in terms of audience.
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Usually the characters I play are men of few words, who communicate in non-verbal ways.
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We often live in the past a lot more than we probably realize.
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I'm very comfortable in Argentina. I was raised there as a baby and stayed there until I was 11 years old, so the first decade of my life or my formative years were spent in Argentina. I stayed in tune with the food, music and language.
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Most movies are lucky to have one moment, one shot that you look at and you always remember that moment and that scene.
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I mean, any movie or story that makes you accept and be grateful for something about your life is doing something right.
Viggo Mortensen
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I don't think Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell fear competition from me in their arena.
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Ignorance breeds antipathy. Until I got to know how computers worked, I didn't want anything to do with them. I said, 'Well, why do I need them? I write letters.' Which I still do.
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I've never been conscious of having any real career plan, and I do not have a wish-list of actors, directors, screenwriters, or cameramen I'm hoping to work with. Life, I feel, has a way of leading us to the right situations and people, or at least to interesting ones.
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I'm certainly curious about people. As a kid, I moved around a lot. I was raised in a lot of different places, and thanks to working in the movies, I've gotten to keep traveling. I've always been interested in other cultures and languages.
Viggo Mortensen
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I try to avoid conflict. I don't want people to be unhappy.
Viggo Mortensen
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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.
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I would literally climb out of the cradle while my parents slept, go and crawl off. I did this a couple of times apparently. I'd cross the road and into someone's house, wake them up banging pots and pans in the kitchen.
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Here's where we are, this is what's happening. So do something, or get out of the kitchen.
Viggo Mortensen
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It's just like with people. You're going to get along better working with them - human or equine - if you ask politely rather than demand that they do things.
Viggo Mortensen