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What is the best Viggo Mortensen role of all time?

By YPB Team

From mythic warrior-kings to tender, flawed fathers, his body of work refuses to be confined to any one genre or style. Where do you stand?

  1. Aragorn — The Lord of the Rings — ranked #11
    Aragorn — The Lord of the Rings
    The iconic ranger-turned-king across Peter Jackson's trilogy (2001-2003), a defining fantasy performance that launched Mortensen to global fame.
  2. Nikolai — Eastern Promises — ranked #22
    Nikolai — Eastern Promises
    A deeply undercover Russian mobster in David Cronenberg's 2007 crime thriller, featuring one of cinema's most intense fight sequences.
  3. Tom Stall — A History of Violence — ranked #33
    Tom Stall — A History of Violence
    A mild-mannered diner owner whose past comes violently undone in Cronenberg's 2005 psychological thriller.
  4. Tony Lip — Green Book — ranked #44
    Tony Lip — Green Book
    The rough-edged Italian-American bouncer who drives Black pianist Dr. Don Shirley through the Jim Crow South in the 2018 Oscar-winning drama.
  5. Ben — Captain Fantastic — ranked #55
    Ben — Captain Fantastic
    The idealist father raising six children off the grid in the 2016 drama, earning Mortensen an Oscar nomination for his raw, committed performance.
  6. The Man — The Road — ranked #66
    The Man — The Road
    A desperate father protecting his son in a post-apocalyptic wasteland in the 2009 adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's harrowing novel.
  7. Frank Hopkins — Hidalgo — ranked #77
    Frank Hopkins — Hidalgo
    A cowboy who enters his mustang in a legendary 3,000-mile desert race across Arabia in the 2004 adventure film.
  8. Sigmund Freud — A Dangerous Method — ranked #88
    Sigmund Freud — A Dangerous Method
    The father of psychoanalysis in David Cronenberg's 2011 drama exploring Freud's complicated relationship with Carl Jung.
  9. Virgil — Appaloosa — ranked #99
    Virgil — Appaloosa
    A taciturn lawman bringing order to a lawless town in the lean, thoughtful 2008 Western that Mortensen also co-produced.
  10. Chester MacFarland — The Two Faces of January — ranked #1010
    Chester MacFarland — The Two Faces of January
    A con man entangled in a web of deception in Greece in the 2014 psychological thriller based on Patricia Highsmith's novel.
  11. John Peterson — Falling — ranked #1111
    John Peterson — Falling
    A man navigating his difficult, aging father's visit in Mortensen's own 2020 directorial debut, mixing compassion with authentic pain.
fantasy79movies682actors270classics500Viggo Mortensen1

Comments 1

Stuart Townsend had already begun filming Aragorn when Mortensen flew to New Zealand and took the part over mid-production: https://youpick.best/articles/lord-of-the-rings-ranked-many-ways

YP
ypb-teamAug 21
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