Mortensen: The King of Men
Xoanon @ 6:49 pm EST

He’s American. But after living 11 years in Argentina in his childhood, the actor who plays Aragorn in “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy can’t – nor wants to – get rid of the customs acquired on these lands. Poet, musician and painter, this incredible man will come to Buenos Aires in November with the third installment of the trilogy in his pocket.

His spanish seems of a porteño(1) who doesn’t want to lose his accent.

“I do everything in my power to avoid that”, he says like this is one of the biggest challenges he decided to pursue. Viggo Mortensen, the heroic Aragorn from “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy, lived for 11 years in our country, scattered between Chaco and Buenos Aires.

“I’ve got very good memories of my stay there. In fact, when I came back there after 22 years, the first thing I did was to look for the house where I lived, in Palermo”, he confesses.

No doubt, this is one of the reasons this 44 years old actor emphasizes – in every interview – the points in common between the “Martin Fierro”(2) and the monumental work of J.R.R. Tolkien, and shows proudly his shirt of the local soccer team ‘San Lorenzo’ (signed by all the players) in every photo inauguration. Enigmatic, like Aragorn himself, Mortensen is not just an actor “and a pretty face”, like he likes to say to mock those who sell him as a sex symbol. He’s a painter (some of his works appear in the film “Dial M for Murder”), a musician (he’s edited several CDs of audio landscapes) and a poet, facet with which he let fly the smells of the fogón(3) and the taste of chimichurri(4) in the ineffable verses of his poem Parrillada.(5)

Among sugarless mates(6) and spoonfuls of dulce de leche(7) which he makes and with which he delights his shooting partners, Mortensen gets excited with the announcement that he is coming to Argentina in November, in the middle of the promotion of “The Return Of The King”. “I don’t want to miss anything”, says eagerly this porteño by adoption.

(1) Nickname given to the natives of Buenos Aires. Similar to New Yorkers for the citizens of New York.
(2) An Argentinian classic poem, from the XIX century.
(3) A local custom: people sit around a fire and sing or tell stories. Like in summer camp.
(4) A kind of seasoning for roast meat.
(5) Barbecue.
(6) A typical Argentinian hot drink.
(7) Toffee: a sugary, milky substance you can spread on toast or just eat from the jar with a spoon, YUMMY!!!!