Viggo Mortensen is more than just Aragorn—he’s a seasoned actor, poet, photographer, and publisher with a rich multicultural background. Discover fascinating insights into his multifaceted career and artistic passions.
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen was born on October 20, 1958, in New York City and has Danish, American, and Argentine heritage.
He gained worldwide fame for portraying Aragorn in the epic “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
Mortensen pursues multiple art forms beyond acting, including photography, poetry, painting, music, and publishing.
He founded Perceval Press to support artists and authors whom mainstream publishers often overlook.
Viggo is known for his dedication to roles, learning new skills like horse riding and sword fighting for “The Lord of the Rings.”
He earned three Academy Award nominations, including for the films “Eastern Promises,” “Captain Fantastic,” and “Green Book.”
Mortensen began his career in films with a small role in Ridley Scott’s “Witness” (1985).
He is fluent in English, Danish, Spanish, and French, owing to his multinational upbringing.
Apart from Hollywood, Viggo has worked in independent films and international cinema, always choosing challenging characters.
He once infamously responded to a journalist’s rude question by flipping the bird—a testament to his passionate and sometimes fiery personality.
Mortensen’s interest in poetry and photography often intersects with his film projects, capturing behind-the-scenes moments and inspirations.
He is also a humanitarian, involved in social and environmental causes, often using his art and platform to highlight important issues.
Viggo has performed live readings of poetry and frequently collaborates with other artists across creative disciplines.
He speaks openly about his family life, including his three children and relationship with his wife, which gives him a down-to-earth aura.
Despite his fame, Mortensen maintains a somewhat private life and earns admiration for his humility and depth both on and off screen.
Charlie Chaplin remains the most famous face of the silent film era. His character, "The Tramp," made the entire world laugh without saying a single word. However, his real life contained enough tragedy and scandal for a dramatic movie script. Furthermore, political enemies pursued him relentlessly during his later years. Consequently, he spent decades in exile away from Hollywood. Explore the wild details about the comedy genius who changed cinema.
Charlie Chaplin
Amazingly, Charlie Chaplin once entered a look-alike contest as himself and lost. He did not even make the finals, finishing in a disappointing third place.
Thieves dug up his grave and stole his coffin shortly after he died. They held the body for ransom, but the police eventually recovered it in a cornfield.
Most fans only know him in black and white, so they miss a key detail. In reality, Charlie Chaplin possessed piercing blue eyes that surprised visitors constantly.
He did not just act; he also composed the music for many of his films. In fact, he wrote the famous song “Smile,” which became a pop standard years later.
He became the very first actor to ever appear on the cover of Time magazine. This 1925 milestone cemented his status as a global superstar.
Adolf Hitler grew a similar mustache specifically to associate himself with the beloved comedian. Consequently, Chaplin mocked the dictator mercilessly in his film The Great Dictator.
The FBI kept a massive, 2,000-page file on Charlie Chaplin for decades. J. Edgar Hoover considered him a dangerous communist and desperately wanted to deport him.
While visiting London for a movie premiere, the US government revoked his re-entry permit. Therefore, he settled in Switzerland and did not return to America for twenty years.
He was a notorious perfectionist who often filmed scenes hundreds of times. For one scene in City Lights, he forced the actress to repeat a simple action 342 times.
Interestingly, he kept his Romani heritage a secret for most of his life. He only received a letter confirming his birth in a caravan shortly before his death.
Before they were famous, Stan Laurel worked as Chaplin’s understudy in a touring troupe. Thus, the future star of Laurel and Hardy mastered comedy by watching the master.
He received an honorary Oscar in 1972 after returning from his long exile. The audience gave him a 12-minute standing ovation, the longest in Academy Awards history.
Critics and the public often judged him for marrying much younger women. His last wife, Oona O’Neill, was only 18 when she married the 54-year-old star.
He signed the first million-dollar contract in the history of Hollywood. This deal in 1918 made him one of the wealthiest people in the entire world.
Finally, Charlie Chaplin never became an official US citizen despite living there for decades. He proudly kept his British citizenship until the very end of his life.
Mel Gibson is a Hollywood titan who has experienced both massive acclaim and public controversy. You surely recognize his blue eyes from Lethal Weapon or his direction of Braveheart. However, his rise to fame was purely accidental. He moved from America to Australia as a boy, which shaped his unique career path. Consequently, he became one of the biggest stars in cinema history. Today, he continues to direct ambitious films despite his polarized reputation. Let’s look at the strange journey of this intense artist.
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson landed his breakout role in Mad Max by complete accident. He accompanied his sister to the audition with a bruised face from a bar fight the night before. Surprisingly, the director loved his rugged look and hired him immediately.
People Magazine named him their very first “Sexiest Man Alive” in 1985. This new title launched a massive tradition that continues in the magazine today.
He owns an entire private island in Fiji called Mago Island. He purchased the massive 5,400-acre [2,185-hectare] paradise for about $15 million [€14.2 million].
Many people assume he is Australian, but he was actually born in New York. His father moved the entire family to Australia when Mel Gibson was twelve years old.
The actor is a father to a very large family of nine children. His youngest child was born in 2017 when he was 61 years old.
He turned down the chance to play James Bond to avoid typecasting. Producers wanted him for the role, but he preferred the freedom to choose diverse scripts.
Mel Gibson paid for the production of The Passion of the Christ entirely out of his own pocket. Studios refused to fund the controversial film, so he spent $30 million [€28 million] himself.
He provided the singing and speaking voice for John Smith in Disney’s Pocahontas. However, he struggled with the high notes during the recording sessions.
His comeback film Hacksaw Ridge received a ten-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. This moment marked his official return to Hollywood’s good graces.
He often plays pranks to lighten the mood during serious scenes. For example, he wore a red clown nose while filming intense emotional moments in Hamlet.
Surprisingly, his father was a trivia genius who won big on television. Hutton Gibson won a large cash prize on the game show Jeopardy! in 1968.
He is a massive fan of The Three Stooges and uses their comedy for inspiration. In fact, he included hidden references to them in the Lethal Weapon movies.
Mel Gibson has a rare physical anomaly known as a horseshoe kidney. This means his two kidneys are fused together at the base into one single shape.
He raises cattle on his massive ranch in Costa Rica when he is not filming. He actively works the land and focuses on preserving the local rainforest.
He personally paid the insurance bond for Robert Downey Jr. to star in The Singing Detective. This act of kindness helped restart Downey’s career when no studio would hire him.
