Viggo Mortensen was interviewed by The Boston Phoenix earlier today. Mortensen, who played Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, will not be reprising his role in the upcoming Hobbit films.
I understand they’re doing two [Hobbit] movies. Now they may be doing two in order to be able to tell the whole story. I’ve heard the same rumors you probably have that the idea was to do some sort of bridge between “The Hobbit,” and – you know there’s a 60 odd year time span between the end of “The Hobbit” and the beginning of “The Lord of the Rings.” So they could feasibly have done that, since Aragorn lives much longer than humans do, being part Elf and all that. Sure, if it seemed like something they wanted to do, I guess I would have done it, and it would have been fun.
I really enjoyed working with New Zealanders as crew members, as teammates. They’re great, and it’s a beautiful country. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and I’ve traveled quite a bit. It just has so many things. It’s a good feeling being there. I have fun with most of the people that work on “Lord of the Rings,” too. Like the ones that did get to go back, some were obviously central to “The Hobbit.” Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Cate Blanchett and I guess Elijah went back for a small part, and Orlando Bloom as well. I know that they had a good time and so forth.
I go back there [New Zealand] occasionally. I have friends there, and go back there when I can. It would have been nice to have work, but apart from going back to New Zealand, I don’t have a strong contact with the filmmakers, but I do see a few of the actors here and there once in a while. It’s something that was an important part of all of our lives, and I have fond memories of it. If it would have been possible I would have returned [for the new movies.] But I don’t really feel – I mean nostalgia, in a sense. I have for many experiences, for many people I’ve known and places I’ve been. But I don’t feel sad. I don’t feel like suddenly it’s over now, or something. It was over when we finished it. I look forward to seeing what they do with it. I’ll be fun to see some the way they’ve adapted that book.
Unfortunately, at this point it’s highly unlikely that Mortensen will return to New Zealand to reprise his role as Aragorn, despite the return of many other Lord of the Rings cast members, such as Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, and even Elijah Wood, who will play only a minor role in the film.
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