Viggo Mortensen steered clear of blockbuster franchises since his role as Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. He revealed why in a recent chat with Vanity Fair.
The actor stressed that script quality was important to him while picking roles and explained:
“That goes for franchises. If somebody came to me with X movie, the third part or the ninth part, and I thought it was a great character, and I wanted to play that character and I thought I had something to contribute, I’d do it. I’m not against it. But they’re not usually that good. I mean, to me, they’re not usually that well-written. They’re kind of predictable. I mean, of course, there’s always the issue of if I run out of money.”
His Return In A New ‘LOTR’ Movie Depends On The Script
Warner Bros. announced a new ‘Lord of the Rings’ film directed and led by Andy Serkis earlier this year. When asked if he would return for the upcoming ‘The Hunt for Gollum,’ Mortensen highlighted the importance of good writing again. He told The Hollywood Reporter:
“I haven’t read a script. So I don’t know. The script is the most important thing to me unless I’m broke and lucky to get any job. So it depends.”
Details of the new project are still under wraps, and it’s also unclear who will play Gandalf and Theoden in it, especially after Bernard Hill’s passing in May.
The Actor Is Open To Reprising His Role If He’s ‘Right For The Character’
Mortensen has a chance to reprise his role as Aragorn in ‘The Hunt for Gollum’ under the right conditions, though. He previously shared with GQ:
“Sure. I don’t know exactly what the story is, I haven’t heard. Maybe I’ll hear about it eventually. I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I enjoyed it a lot. It would be silly to do it otherwise.”
The actor joined the ‘LOTR’ franchise in 2001’s ‘The Fellowship of the Ring,’ followed by ‘The Two Towers’ in 2002, and ‘The Return of the King’ in 2003. He didn’t return for Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit’ series.
