Like Mark Hamill, Viggo Mortensen is probably doomed to always be best remembered for his first big break out role (Lord of the Rings), but unlike Hamill (who I really love), Mortensen is one hell of an actor who can do a lot more… and even though Lord of the Rings will be the first thing to pop into people’s minds when they think of him… those thought will ALSO be followed by other performances he’ll turn in. Eastern Promises is just one.
But it looks like Viggo may be eyeing at new project being adapted from the novel “The Road“. The folks over at MTV have Viggo describing the projust as thus:
“It’s mainly about a father and a boy. It’s a post-apocalyptic scenario, a wasteland that they’re trying to get through and not be killed by the few remaining packs of marauding humans. They’re trying to get to the coast and find someplace safe and find people who are not crazy criminals or cannibals.”
A post apocalyptic family film? Not quite, but still the premise is quite interesting. The book was one of Oprah’s favorites last year, but i must confess being a little behind on my Oprah’s reading list so I haven’t had the chance to read it.
One of the things I like about Mortensen is his apparent commitment in his career to really diversify himself and the characters he chooses to play. It’s that commitment that will protect him from getting pigeonholed into an Aragorn template for the rest of his days… and as I said the fact that he’s also a hell of an actor won’t hurt either.
