The 10 Most Rewatchable Viggo Mortensen Movies, Ranked

Viggo Mortensen is one of the most fascinating actors working today because of his complete disregard from what would generally be considered “mainstream.” It would have been very easy for a star of Mortensen’s reputation to simply coast on his popularity and earn a major recurring role in a comic book or blockbuster franchise. However, Mortensen’s interests have become more niche; he even claims that his next film will contain no recognizable actors.

In addition to working with some of the best filmmakers in the industry, Mortensen has become a very accomplished director in his own right. After his debut film Falling was released to great acclaim, Mortensen’s subsequent directorial effort The Dead Don’t Hurt opened several major film festivals and earned praise for revamping the classical notion of the western genre. Here are the top ten most rewatchable Viggo Mortensen movies, ranked.

10 ‘Green Book’ (2018)

Directed by Peter Farrelly

While it’s arguably the most mainstream and crowd pleasing project that he has ever worked on, Green Bookalso contains one of the funniest and warmest performances of Mortensen’s career. Based on an incredible true story of a real friendship, Green Book explores the relationship between the Italian driver Tony Lip (Mortesen) and the piano player Don Shirley (Mahershela Ali) as they tour the south during the height of racial segregation. Ali took home the Best Supporting Actor prize for his performance, but Mortesen was also nominated in the Best actor category.

Green Book was the second film Mortensen appeared in that won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and it’s easy to see why. While some critics may have accused the film of being too stagey and not nuanced enough in its condemnation of racism, the excellent chemistry between Mortensen and Ali make Green Book very rewatchable, particularly during the holiday season.

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9 ‘A Dangerous Method’ (2011)

Directed by David Cronenberg

A Dangerous Method was yet another example of why Mortensen has had such a successful creative partnership with David Cronenberg, who shares many of his non-commercial sensibilities. While Cronenberg tends to make body horror films with a strong science fiction element, A Dangerous Method is a biographical drama that explores the emergence of psychoanalysis and sexual research as a legitimate field of scientific study.

Although his role is a supporting one, Mortensen has excellent chemistry with Keira Knightley and Michael Fassbender that makes the film more entertaining as a character drama; he even adds a snarky sense of humor in the right moments. Biopics can often feel very ornate and dull, but A Dangerous Method is so charged with creative characterization that it is easily one of the most rewatchable films that Mortensen has appeared in thus far in his career.

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8 ‘The Road’ (2009)

Directed by John Hillcoat

Cormac McCarthy’s highly influential post apocalyptic novel The Road is notorious for its dark depiction of humanity at the verge of extinction. It may be a particularly uplifting entry within the road trip movie canon, but The Road is an amazing character drama that features one of the most emotional performances of Mortensen’s entire career. He stars as a protective father who tries to travel to safety with his young child (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as society begins to collapse around them.

The Road is much more of a methodical character study than a standard sci-fi action movie, but the performances from Mortensens and Smit-McPhee are so empathetic that it is completely exhilarating to watch. Considering that Mortensen is often cast as tough and domineering characters, it’s nice to see him play a softer, and surprisingly sincere paternal figure in The Road.

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7 ‘Appaloosa’ (2008)

Directed by Ed Harris

It’s perhaps not that surprising that Mortensen returned to the western genre for The Dead Don’t Hurt, as one of his best performances was in another classic gunslinger film directed by a great actor. Ed Harris’ directorial debut Appaloosa is a great throwback to the “golden age” of Hollywood westerns that contains all the action, suspense, and romance that fans of the genre could ask for. Mortensen is perfectly cast as a loyal lawman who swears a duty of chivalry to both his profession and partner.

Although it’s a film that does a great job at establishing tension, Appaloosa is also a deeply romantic film that contains some very steamy moments. A love triangle that develops on screen between Mortensen, Harris, and Renée Zellweger in a standout role helps add some emotional tension ahead of the film’s exhilarating action shootout in the final moments.

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6 ‘Captain Fantastic’ (2016)

Directed by Matt Ross

Captain Fantastic is a very odd movie about dysfunctional families that succeeds thanks to Mortensen’s unique charisma. He stars as the patriarch of a large family who chooses to live with his children “off the grid” where they do not have to interact with the rest of society; unfortunately, circumstances force the family to adjust very quickly and begin integrating themselves back into reality. Although the entire cast is terrific, and George MacKay earned a breakout role, Mortensen’s performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Captain Fantastic has fun celebrating the unusual charms of its characters, and succeeds in telling a powerful story about the importance of adjustment and understanding. There’s certainly a good deal of dramatic weight to the story’s conclusion, but there’s also a surprising amount of humor that makes Captain Fantastic one of Mortensen’s more entertaining projects thus far.

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5 ‘A History of Violence’ (2005)

Directed by David Cronenberg

A History of Violence is easily one of the greatest comic book movies ever made, even if it has nothing to do with superheroes or intergalactic battles. Based on the acclaimed graphic novel from DC of the same name, A History of Violence stars Mortesnen as a small town bartender who kills a robber in self defense, thus becoming a hero to his community; however, this act of violence reveals to his wife (Maria Bello) that he is actually a former hitman who is attempting to escape his dark past.

Mortensen gives an amazing performance filled with regret, trauma, anxiety, and a repressed desire to seek revenge. Although the dialogue is often sparse, Mortesnesn gives a three-dimensional performance thanks to his physical mannerisms. The profound reexamination of popular cliches in action cinema make A History of Violence one of Mortensen’s most rewatchable films.

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4 ‘Eastern Promises’ (2007)

Directed by David Cronenberg

Mortensen earned his first Academy Award nomination for Eastern Promises, and it couldn’t have been more deserving. In another collaboration with Cronenberg, Mortensen stars as an undercover British spy who has become accepted as a member of the Russian mafia. His position is challenged when he forms a bond with a nurse (Naomi Watts) who discovers a child that could be linked to the crime family’s dangerous patriarch.

Mortensen does a great job at playing a scary, intimidating character who nonetheless wants to see that justice is carried out under the law. The film is perhaps best known for its infamous bathhouse fight scene, in which Mortesnen pushed his body to its physical limits. Most actors would be nervous about filming such an exposing and intimate scene, but Mortensen’s bravery resulted in a masterful and haunting sequence that is impossible to forget.

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3 ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (2003)

Directed by Peter Jackson

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kingmarked a great conclusion to Peter Jackson’s incredible trilogy of J.R.R. Tolkien adaptations, but it also gave Mortensen some of his best material to work with as Aragorn. The story sees Aragorn finally becoming the king who legend predicted, as he helps lead Gondor in its battle against Sauron and the forces of darkness. Mortensen delivers some of the most incredible and inspirational monologues in the entire The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

While its extended edition is well over four hours in length, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is so packed with memorable moments that it never becomes boring. In fact, the success of the recent theatrical re-release seemed to indicate that audiences were interested in seeing The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King again in the best possible format.

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2 ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ (2002)

Directed by Peter Jackson

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towersisn’t just a great middle chapter, but a thrilling war epic that shows Middle-earth at its most dangerous. Mortensen’s depiction of Aragorn is arguably at his most vulnerable; after having to let Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) venture into Mount Doom alone, Aragorn is forced to join forced with Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys Davies) in order to rally the forces of men to protect from the upcoming attack from the Orcs.

While it’s arguably the slowest chapter in the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ends with the iconic battle of Helm’s Deep, which easily ranks among the trilogy’s most stunning sequences. It’s in this conflict that Aragorn truly proves himself as a leader, showing the physical prowess and dramatic intensity that Mortensen commands as an actor.

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1 ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’ (2001)

Directed by Peter Jackson

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is as perfect as fantasy movies can get, as it beautifully turned the lucious locations of New Zealand into an authentic depiction of the intimate world of Tolkien’s fictional universe. Although it’s a film that largely focuses on Frodo accepting the burden of responsibility that comes with carrying the One Ring,The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring offers a perfect introduction to Aragorn, who initially masks his identity by appearing as the Ranger known as “Strider.”

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is also arguably the most romantic installment in the trilogy, as there is a healthy amount of time spent developing Aragorn’s connection with the Elven woman Arwen (Liv Tyler). Mortensen proved that in addition to being an amazing action hero, he could also be a very compelling romantic lead.

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