Viggo Mortensen

The only movies I've watched with Viggo Mortensen are the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I greatly enjoyed his performance as Aragorn. Having said that, I admit I haven't seen or had a large desire to see any of his other movies. But from what I've read and/or heard about him in articles [and DVD extras ;o)] Mortensen-- a photographer, publisher, pianist, painter and poet-- sounds like an interesting individual.

"NEW YORK (AP) -- Viggo Mortensen is looking out the window.

Across the street from his Manhattan hotel, he notices a man on a balcony and wonders aloud what the man is doing, what his life is. The moment makes him ponder, "What does that mean?"

"Basically, I think life is relatively short," Mortensen concludes. "We're not here that long and I think we're lucky to be here.

"And it makes sense to pay attention."

A conversation with the 48-year-old star of the acclaimed new film "Eastern Promises" is likely to include such philosophical musings, delivered in Mortensen's characteristic even, almost hushed tone. The man many know as Aragorn from "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is about as opposite as possible from a Middle Earth warrior -- an enigma wrapped in a Mets T-shirt.

That's what Mortensen was wearing beneath otherwise stylish duds at a recent interview, where he made it clear that "Eastern Promises" -- his second collaboration with director David Cronenberg....

Critics have lauded Mortensen's performance as Nikolai, a low-level but rising Russian mobster living in London. Nikolai -- who only speaks Russian or heavily accented, broken English -- develops a relationship with a midwife (Naomi Watts) who's seeking answers behind the death of a Russian teenager and the baby girl she left behind....

He's [Mortensen's] a photographer who has held exhibits around the globe, the founder of art book publisher Perceval Press, a pianist with a forthcoming classical CD titled "Time Waits for Everyone," a painter and a poet.

Mortensen generally shuns the flashy Hollywood lifestyle; he even declined a 2004 invitation to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Instead, he immerses himself in roles.

The actor dragged his sword everywhere with him while making "Lord of the Rings" and took a road trip through the Midwest in preparation for "A History of Violence." For "Eastern Promises," he spent several weeks in Russia researching his character....

He was cast at the last moment for "The Lord of the Rings" when Stuart Townsend was jettisoned, having been judged too youthful to portray the world-weary Aragorn. It's a quality Mortensen seems to specialize in, as he showed in "Hidalgo" and both Cronenberg movies.

Is it a characteristic Mortensen himself shares?

"Sometimes. It's hard not to get depressed when you pay attention to the world and how strangely and corrupt the people in it sometimes behave," replies Mortensen, who has never shied away from political dialogue.

Mortensen recently finished shooting "Good," about a professor who becomes enmeshed in debates on euthanasia in 1930s Germany. He'll soon begin production on the Ed Harris-directed "Appaloosa," and has been reported to be in talks to star in the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road."

It seems clear that Mortensen has declined the career of a blockbuster movie star, which was available to him after "Rings" and "Hidalgo.""--cnn.com