Not many actors have had such a prolific filmography as Viggo Mortensen, who announced he has a potential horror picture with legendary director David Cronenberg in the pipeline.
Known best for his lead role as Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Mortensen has worked with Cronenberg previously on three films; A History of Violence (2005), Eastern Promises (2007) and A Dangerous Method (2011).
While promoting his new film Falling, Mortensen said there is another project currently in the works that would bring the director back to his roots in body horror.
“Yes,” Mortensen said, “we do have something in mind. It’s something he wrote a long time ago, and he never got it made. Now he’s refined it, and he wants to shoot it. Hopefully, it’ll be this summer we’ll be filming. I would say, without giving the story away, he’s going maybe a little bit back to his origins.”
According to Mortensen, it’s a type of unusual noir story that is disturbing. He said that will be combined with the horror elements of Cronenberg’s techniques and style of film making.
Although not a horror film, Eastern Promises did have its share of blood and violence, especially in an iconic bathhouse fight scene.
Recalling his memories of the sequence, he said, “Shooting that scene was sometimes physically painful and uncomfortable, but also an exciting choreographic exercise for everyone involved. Considering the complexity of the sequence and the space we were working in, David and his team filmed it very efficiently. We did some additional filming the morning after, though—details and close-ups—and it took longer to cover all the new welts and bruises than it did to apply the various tattoos that my character sported.”
An early horror role for Mortensen was in Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III as Edward “Tex” Sawyer. This was, however, over a decade before he wielded a sword and saved Middle-earth.
Would you be excited for a return-to-form film directed by Cronenberg and star Mortensen? Check back soon for updates once they’re announced.
