Viggo Mortensen's career in film has been marked by a steady string of well-rounded performances since his debut as a young Amish farmer in Peter Weir's Witness in 1985.
Born in New York City, Mortensen is the son of Danish father Viggo Peter Mortensen, Sr. and American mother Grace Gamble (Atkinson). His parents met in Norway and moved to New York, where he was born, before relocating to South America, where his father managed chicken farms and ranches in Venezuela and Argentina.
Mortensen's parents divorced when he was seven, and he was sent to the St. Paul's boarding school in Argentina. At the age of eleven, his parents divorced, and his mother moved him and his siblings back to her home state of New York.
Viggo attended Watertown High School, where he became a good student and athlete, graduating in 1976. He went on to study at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, before moving to Denmark in search of a defining purpose in life.
In Denmark, Mortensen began writing poetry and short stories while working odd jobs, including as a dock worker and flower seller. In 1982, he fell in love and followed his girlfriend back to New York City, where he began taking acting classes and working as a waiter and bartender.
He made his film debut with a small part in Witness (1985) and went on to appear in several plays and movies, earning a Drama-logue Critic's Award for his performance in "Bent" at the Coast Playhouse.
Mortensen married his co-star Exene Cervenka in 1987, with whom he had a son, Henry Mortensen. The couple divorced after nearly eleven years of marriage.
In 1999, Mortensen was cast in the role of Aragorn in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which became a global phenomenon and cemented his status as a household name.
Throughout his career, Mortensen has appeared in over thirty films, including The Portrait of a Lady, The Indian Runner, Carlito's Way, G.I. Jane, Crimson Tide, A Perfect Murder, My Brother's Gun, A Walk on the Moon, and Green Book.
In addition to his acting career, Mortensen is also a published poet, photographer, and painter.
