Viggo Mortensen: “I wasn’t supposed to play in At World’s End”
“Do it!” Vicky Krieps told him.
Four years after his first feature film, Fallingpresented at Cannes in 2020, Viggo Mortensen signs his second film as director, Till the end of the world, released in cinemas this Wednesday. What do the two have in common? The Danish actor is in front of and behind the camera. However, for both of them, this was not what he had initially planned, as he explains to us in the latest issue of Firstcurrently on newsstands.
“I didn't want to play in Falling, but my name in the credits helped finance the film. Nor should I be in Till the end of the world. Another actor had been hired but he withdrew a few weeks before the start of filming, while we were in pre-production in Mexico. I contacted other actors but none were available.“
To the End of the World: a feminist and romantic western (review)
The star of Lord of the Rings was not very comfortable with the idea of reprising the main role of the film, in particular because he is 25 years older than his co-star on screen, Vicky Krieps. But the actress Phantom Thread convinced him that this was the best solution.
“I told Vicky about the situation, and before I even brought up the idea that I could play the role, she said to me: 'Do it yourself !'I was relieved that it came from Vicky, because this change had a lot of consequences for her: she was going to have an older partner, and moreover her director.“
For Viggo Mortensen, there was of course no question of stealing the spotlight from Vicky Krieps, who remained the key character of Till the end of the world, a western between tradition and modernity where we follow a couple settling in Nevada. When the Civil War breaks out, the man goes to war, but the viewer stays with his wife.
“It must be noted that strong women in westerns are often prostitutes, or else it is the cliché of the lady with the heart of gold.“, he explains. “More recently, there have been these not very realistic films where a woman takes revenge by taking the guns and shooting all the bad guys at point blank range. There's an audience for it, but the enjoyment these films provide seems pretty superficial to me.“
“I wanted Vivienne, the character played by Vicky Krieps, to be independent and strong, but in a subtle, inner way. She reacts to a world dominated by men and proves, sometimes without words, that she is the strongest, psychologically, emotionally. To succeed in conveying this battle beyond words, a great actress like Vicky was needed.“
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Till the end of the world. By Viggo Mortensen. With Vicky Krieps, Viggo Mortensen, Solly McLeod… Duration 2h09. Currently in cinemas.
