Editing Viggo Mortensen (section)

=== 2000s: ''The Lord of the Rings'' and breakthrough ===
[[File:ViggoMortensen.jpg|thumb|upright|Mortensen at the premiere of ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'', December 1, 2003]]
Another major mainstream breakthrough came in 1999, when [[Peter Jackson]] cast him as [[Aragorn]] in [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy]]. According to the Special Extended Edition DVD of ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', Mortensen was a last-minute replacement for [[Stuart Townsend]], and would not have taken the part of Aragorn had it not been for his son's enthusiasm for the [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] novel.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a1414/esq0306viggo-194/ |title=Eats Roadkill, Speaks Danish. |last=Wallace |first=Amy |date=February 27, 2006 |website=Esquire |access-date=February 14, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214061642/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a1414/esq0306viggo-194/ |archive-date=February 14, 2015}}</ref> He received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Aragorn, and was ranked No. 15 on a 2015 survey of "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" conducted by ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]''.<ref>[https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/100-greatest-movie-characters/ "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329121320/http://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/100-greatest-movie-characters/|date=March 29, 2016}}. ''Empire'', June 29, 2015</ref>

In ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers|The Two Towers]]'' DVD extras, the film's swordmaster, [[Bob Anderson (fencer)|Bob Anderson]], described Mortensen as "the best swordsman I've ever trained." Mortensen often performed his own stunts, and even the injuries he sustained during several of them, including two broken toes, did not dampen his enthusiasm. At one point during filming of ''The Two Towers'', Mortensen, [[Orlando Bloom]], and Brett Beattie (stunt double for [[John Rhys-Davies]]) all had painful injuries, which led to Peter Jackson jokingly referring to the three as "the walking wounded."<ref name="Filming">{{cite video |title=Cameras in Middle-earth: Filming The Two Towers |medium=DVD |publisher=New Line Cinema |date=2003}}</ref> Also, according to the Special Extended Edition DVD of ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'', Mortensen purchased the two horses, Uraeus and Kenny, whom he had ridden and bonded with over the duration of the films.<ref>{{cite video |title=The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Special Extended DVD Edition) |medium=DVD |publisher=New Line Cinema |date=2004}}</ref>

In 2004, Mortensen starred as [[Frank Hopkins]] in ''[[Hidalgo (film)|Hidalgo]]'', the story of an ex-army courier who travels to Arabia to compete with his horse, Hidalgo, in a dangerous desert race for a contest prize.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/extras/features/3645-interviews-viggo-mortensen-on-hidalgo |title=Interviews: Viggo Mortensen on Hidalgo |date=February 25, 2004 |website=ComingSoon.net |access-date=August 5, 2005 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126001543/https://www.comingsoon.net/extras/features/3645-interviews-viggo-mortensen-on-hidalgo |archive-date=January 26, 2021}}</ref>

Mortensen starred in [[David Cronenberg]]'s 2005 film ''[[A History of Violence]]'' as a family man revealed to have had an unsavory previous career. He was nominated for a Satellite Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for this role.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2005b.shtml |title=2005-B 10th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards - December 2005 |website=[[International Press Academy]] |access-date=October 13, 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715112933/http://www.pressacademy.com/satawards/awards2005b.shtml |archive-date=July 15, 2011}}</ref> In the DVD extras for ''A History of Violence'', Cronenberg related that Mortensen is the only actor he had come across who would come back from weekends with his family with items he had bought to use as props on the set.<ref>{{cite video |title=A History of Violence (DVD Extra) |medium=DVD |publisher=New Line Cinema |date=2006}}</ref> [[File:Viggo Mortensen 2005.jpg|thumb|upright|Mortensen interviewed by [[eTalk]] Daily at the 2005 [[Toronto International Film Festival]], for ''[[A History of Violence]]'']]

In 2006, he starred as Captain Diego Alatriste in the Spanish language film ''[[Alatriste]]'', based on the series of novels ''[[Captain Alatriste|The Adventures of Captain Alatriste]]'', written by the Spanish writer [[Arturo Pérez-Reverte]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2006/film/markets-festivals/alatriste-1200513074/ |title=Alatriste |last=Holland |first=Jonathan |date=September 25, 2006 |website=Variety |access-date=February 1, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201084347/https://variety.com/2006/film/markets-festivals/alatriste-1200513074/ |archive-date=February 1, 2016}}</ref>

In September 2007, the film ''[[Eastern Promises]]'', directed by David Cronenberg, was released to critical acclaim for the film itself and for Mortensen's performance as a Russian gangster on the rise in London. His nude fight scene in a steam room was applauded by [[Roger Ebert]]: "Years from now, it will be referred to as a benchmark."<ref>{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=September 14, 2007 |title=Eastern Promises |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070913/REVIEWS/709130303/-1/EDITOR |work=Chicago Sun-Times |access-date=December 22, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003110500/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20070913%2FREVIEWS%2F709130303%2F-1%2FEDITOR |archive-date=October 3, 2012}}</ref> Mortensen's performance in ''Eastern Promises'' resulted in his winning the Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film award from the [[British Independent Film Awards]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bifa.org.uk/film/917/Eastern_Promises.html |title=British Independent Film Awards 2007 nominations |publisher=[[British Independent Film Awards]] | access-date=January 24, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226070856/http://www.bifa.org.uk/film/917/Eastern_Promises.html |archive-date=December 26, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He was also nominated for an [[Academy Award]] for Best Actor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/80academyawards/nominees/index.html |title=80th Academy Awards |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] | access-date=January 22, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123152423/http://www.oscars.org/80academyawards/nominees/index.html |archive-date=January 23, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Mortensen appeared as himself in the 2009 film ''[[Reclaiming the Blade]]'', in which he discussed his passion for the sword and his sword-work in films such as ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|The Lord of the Rings]]'' and ''[[Alatriste]]''. Mortensen also talked about his work with [[Bob Anderson (fencer)|Bob Anderson]], the swordmaster on ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[Alatriste]]'', ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)|Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' and many others.<ref>{{cite video |title=Reclaiming the Blade |medium=DVD |publisher=Galatia Films Home Entertainment |date=2009}}</ref>
[[File:Viggo Mortensen 2012.jpg|thumb|200px|Mortensen at the [[32nd Genie Awards]] in March 2012]]
In 2009, Mortensen performed in ''[[The People Speak (film)|The People Speak]]'', a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian [[Howard Zinn]]'s ''[[A People's History of the United States]]''. Later that year, he joined the cast of ''[[The Road (2009 film)|The Road]]'', a film adaptation of the [[Cormac McCarthy]] novel of the same name,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/06/viggo-mortensen-on-the-road |title=Viggo Mortensen to star in Walter Salles's On the Road |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=March 8, 2011 |first=Catherine |last=Shoard |date=August 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011203403/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/06/viggo-mortensen-on-the-road |archive-date=October 11, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and collaborated with David Cronenberg for a third time on ''[[A Dangerous Method]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2010/film/news/upi-to-distribute-new-cronenberg-pic-1118018168/ |title=UPI to distribute new Cronenberg pic |work=Variety |access-date=February 20, 2011 |first=Diana |last=Lodderhose |date=April 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629164445/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118018168?refCatId=13 |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>