In 2018, Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali starred in Green Book directed by Peter Farrelly. The real-life story about a Black pianist and his Italian-American chauffeur, touched a chord with audiences and critics. It took home the coveted Oscar for Best Picture while Ali was awarded the golden statuette for Best Supporting Actor that year.
While there was a lot of acclaim for the film and for both actors’ stellar performances, Green Book also faced criticisms regarding historical accuracy and its depiction of race. It was also seen as the least deserving Best Picture winner amidst other accomplished movies that year. Addressing this backlash, Mortensen regretted the fact that the production studios involved, did not come to the film’s defense amidst these scathing opinions.
Viggo Mortensen Rued The Lack Of Support For His Oscar-Winning Film
At the 2019 Oscars, Green Book directed by Peter Farrelly sprang a stunning surprise as it beat out many heavyweights like Roma, Bohemian Rhapsody, Black Panther, and A Star Is Born, to bag the Best Picture that year. The film starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, is based on a true story of a bond that forms between a Black pianist Don Shirley and his Italian chauffeur Frank Vallelonga during a 1962 tour.
While Mortensen missed out on the Best Actor award that year, Ali took home his first Oscar for Supporting Actor. Upon release, the film impressed audiences and critics thanks to the chemistry between the two stars, and the way in which the potentially complex and sensitive subject of race was dealt with.
This was also the reason for the film getting some criticism as well (via Screen Rant). While some viewers believed that there were quite a few historical inaccuracies related to the two characters, others felt that the narrative conveniently propagated the ‘white savior’ trope when addressing issues of racism. Therefore, despite its multiple Oscar nominations, Green Book was considered an extremely controversial pick.
Years later, Mortensen in an interview with Vanity Fair, spoke candidly about the backlash his Oscar-winning film had to face, despite being one of the celebrated movies of the year. The Lord of the Rings actor was brutally honest when he admitted that the production studios involved, did not stand up and defend these criticisms, many of which he felt, were baseless.
It was frustrating to me as part of the filmmaking team to see that the studio was somewhat cowed by the disingenuous criticism of the movie, of it being not historically accurate, so forth, or unfair in some way, being cowed by that kind of rumor-mongering that spread like wildfire because of the way social media is these days, and which rival studios greatly enjoyed and propagated as much as they could
The film made almost $320 million at the worldwide box office, which Mortensen stated, could have been even more, if the negativity surrounding the movie had been combated in time.
The studio, if they’d been bolder and reacted properly early on, they would’ve made even more money in the box office. It’s a movie that did really well.
The celebrity spoke about the dangers associated with social media and how it propagated a lot of miscommunication and toxicity among people without proper context. Nevertheless, the fact remains that Green Book will always be a feather in Mortensen’s cap in a role that he will be remembered for.
Will Viggo Mortensen WantTo be a Franchise Star Again?
The Lord of the Rings trilogy made Viggo Mortensen a popular and recognizable face in Hollywood through his role as the mighty Aragon. The actor was a pivotal presence in all three films directed by Peter Jackson, which went on to become colossal hits all across the world.
Since then though, the Oscar nominee has not been part of any franchise, though he has continued to take on many challenging and interesting roles. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Mortensen was asked if it was a conscious decision on his part to look for work outside of franchises. Speaking of wanting to do good projects in general, he stated,
I don’t really look for or avoid any kind of genre or any size budget. I just look for interesting stories. It doesn’t matter to me what the genre is or what the budget is or who’s making them. I would never do a movie just because so-and-so is directing it. It has to be about the story. And if I think I’m right for the character, that always comes first.
That goes for franchises. If somebody came to me with X movie, the third part or the ninth part, and I thought it was a great character and I wanted to play that character and I thought I had something to contribute, I’d do it.
After watching him effortlessly play Aragon in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, fans will be hoping that the star will venture into another franchise that would showcase his talents like how Peter Jackson was able to do.
Green Book is streaming on Apple TV.
