Tweet

How badly do I hope this is all a clever publicity stunt so that Viggo Mortensen can begin a much-needed rapping career? Badly enough to write my congressmen about it.

Apparently Mortensen gave an interview to Men’s Journal where he reiterated his stance on the draining, unhealthy nature of promoting the films he’s in and to claim that he’s done with acting at least in the short term. He also seems acutely aware that taking a break in Hollywood sometimes means that you don’t get to come back.

The money quote from Mortensen:

I have no plans to do another movie. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m open to seeing how I feel in a while, but right now I’m not saying yes to anything.”

Rapping career and fake documentaries are clearly the future. Of course, Mortensen said about as much back in April to The Times – mentioning that he’d be content if turning down films led to him never being offered them again. He pointed out that he’s had a lot of success – a refreshing angle from a world where most are only concerned with the next huge thing they want to achieve.

Josh Tyler over at Cinema Blend raises the question of what this will mean for The Hobbit since, presumably, Mortensen would be on board to reprise a role as Aragorn in one of the films. Should there be any concern here? I see no reason for it. The story on what those movies will be like has changed a lot and will continue to change as the production slowly moves forward in front of the cameras. Adding Aragorn would be a deviation from the source material, and even if Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson plan on drawing from “The Silmarillion,” Aragorn is pretty young during the years between “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.”

Plus, to further complicate things, Mortensen has mentioned before that he’d be fine appearing in the films even during a hiatus.

What do you think?