Viggo Mortensen is widely recognized for his epic portrayal of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings. Many of the scenes in the franchise were taken outdoors, boasting the beauty of nature in their set location in New Zealand.
At the time, CGI was only for scenes that truly needed its aid, and the majority were filmed with practical effects and actual locations.
Frodo Baggins Stunt Double Warned Viggo Mortensen About Their Boat Flipping Over
In an interview shared on YouTube, actor Viggo Mortensen recalled one instance while filming The Lord of the Rings with stunt double Kiran Shah. They were rowing a boat in this scene.
Boats, as beautiful as they are, were pretty tippy. They were kind of flimsy in a way, and because of the scale issue, it was… Kiran Shah, you know, who was Frodo. And I remember that when we did the wide shot, we were really moving down that river.
Movies nowadays pretty much rely on computer-aided technology and special effects, rather than risk the lives of their cast members going into a real river. But, Mortensen and Shah braved the current and sailed away. He remembered the funny incident where his companion was trying to tell him something.
We were doing the first take, and Kiran’s going, “Viggo, don’t worry about me,” and I’m like, “What do you mean?” I’m trying to talk without moving my lips, and he goes, “If we flip over…” I said, “We’re not gonna flip over,” and he goes, “If we flip over, just save yourself. I can’t swim.” I said, “What?!” I couldn’t believe. I couldn’t believe it.
The actor could not help but laugh over his funny story. His impression of Shah was on point, but he admitted feeling anxious at the time. “I got really nervous, you know, like if someone’s watching you’re driving, you start over— and I was like, every eddy now became fraught with possibility,” he stated.
After the take, he asked Shah if he was bluffing. “I said, ‘You’re kidding, right?’ He goes, ‘No, I’m even afraid to take a bath.’ I’m like, ‘Jesus.’ ” Good thing Mortensen is a good swimmer, so he surely prepared himself upon discovering his companion couldn’t swim to save his life.
Viggo Mortensen Endured Injuries On The Set Of The Lord of the Rings
While Viggo Mortensen survived the boat rowing scene, the actor got injured several times while shooting The Lord of the Rings.
In an interview with Christian Answers, director Peter Jackson revealed that “one of the Orc swords whacked [Viggo] in the face. Hit him in the mouth. And his front tooth snapped off at the root.”
There was also another instance when Mortensen kicked an Orc’s helmet and ended up breaking a bone. It was said that his scream impressed the director so he decided to keep it in the final cut.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is available on Prime Video.
