Viggo Mortensen

“It's hard not to get depressed when you pay attention to the world and how strangely and corrupt the people in it sometimes behave.”

“You know, 'Viggo' is a pretty dorky name in Denmark. It's like 'Oswald' or something. It's a very old Scandinavian name, at least 1,000 years old.”

“Those who have the power and should be the most responsible are often the least responsible.”

“For 'Hidalgo,' I just spent as much time around horses as I could, which made sense.”

“Be kind. It's worthwhile to make an effort to learn about other people and figure out what you might have in common with them. If you allow yourself to be somewhat curious - and if you get into the habit of doing that - it's the first step to being open minded and realizing that your points of view aren't totally opposite.”

“Sometimes you look at a movie and you can see that the actor or actress said, 'I'm taking this onboard because I'm making a ton of money, and not because it's going to be something special.'”

“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.”

“To be an artist, you don't have to compose music or paint or be in the movies or write books. It's just a way of living. It has to do with paying attention, remembering, filtering what you see and answering back, participating in life.”

“Like most people - unless they're very practised at it or have no warm blood at all in their veins - I feel a little apprehensive about the red carpet. It's always a bit bewildering when people are taking pictures and asking questions before the ceremony.”

“The first decade of your life is really important; it's formative.”

“I don't like the 'must', the 'always', and the 'never' words. I don't like 'no' either.”

“I have a roof over my head. I had a breakfast, and a lot of people in the world can't say that. I'm not going to complain about being interviewed.”

“I was raised in Argentina until I was 11 and now I go back there a lot, at least twice a year. It's a country where I feel very comfortable and it represents an important period in my life.”

“One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren't enough hours in the day but if we do each thing calmly and carefully we will get it done quicker and with much less stress.”

“Saying you are a patriot does not make you one; wearing a flag pin does not in itself mean anything at all.”

“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.”

“People talk about method actors, meaning someone that's prepared very, very well, or whatever they mean when they talk about it. But the right method is whatever works for you. And what works for me on any given day is going to be different.”

“I like naturally occurring film grain, and what happens to film when it's under- and over-exposed.”

“Some actors learn the habit of promoting themselves as a brand - by dressing in a certain way, by going out with a certain person - it gives them what they obviously want, which is to keep a level of fame. I'm not putting it down.”

“I think, on a surface level, people are surprised to see me playing such a passive role in 'Good.'”