Viggo Mortensenmay forever be known as Aragorn fromThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy of films, but the New York City native has built a decades-long career that is just as impressive as Peter Jackson’s fantasy films. From his first movie role opposite the legendary Harrison Ford to his recent work with directing legends Ron Howard and David Cronenberg, Mortensen has always found a way to choose memorable roles.
A famously private individual, Mortensen would rather let his work do the talking than spend time in the spotlight or on social media. He’s also famously picky about the roles he chooses. That’s why his career is highlighted by both blockbusters and obscure artfilms that aren’t even in English. Those films span multiple genres and a wide variety of characters that Mortensen often loses himself in. Those roles have earned him three Academy Award nominations, all for Best Actor, and a reputation as one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood.
Following are Viggo Mortensen’s 20 best films, ranked by their Rotten Tomatoes “Tomatometer” rating, calculated by critics' positive reviews of the film. For this list, we will only include films in which Mortensen had a leading role or a significant supporting role.
20A Walk on the Moon (1999) - 72%
A Walk on the Moonis a romantic drama and actor Tony Goldwyn’s directing debut. Diane Lane plays a wife who has a torrid affair with Mortensen’s character, a blouse salesman, while her family is spending the summer of 1969 at their cabin in the woods. Strong performances from the cast, including Anna Paquin, give the film an emotional core.
Based on Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel,The Roadis an apocalyptic drama from Australian director John Hillcoat (George & Tammy) and features Mortensen as a father trying to find a safe refuge for his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) after a natural disaster kills all of Earth’s plants and animals. Mortensen gives a touching performance, but the film is incredibly bleak. It’s an interesting watch, although the tone is rarely pleasant or enjoyable. The film’s impressive cast also includes Charlize Theron and Robert Duvall.
Related:Best Viggo Mortensen Performances, Ranked
18The Indian Runner (1991) - 74%
Sean Penn wrote and directedThe Indian Runner, a drama about the strained relationship between two brothers. Joe (David Morse) is a sheriff’s deputy in his hometown, and Mortensen gives a fine performance as his brother Frank, who just returned from Vietnam but isstruggling with mental issues. Frank’s erratic and often violent behavior causes problems for Joe, which are compounded by several family tragedies. The film flopped at the box office initially but has gained a solid reputation in the years since, thanks to the outstanding performances.
17Appaloosa (2008) - 76%
Based on the Robert Parker novel,Appaloosafeatures Mortensen and Ed Harris as two friends hired to be the new lawmen in a small town in 1880s New Mexico. They are hired to bring a rogue rancher (Jeremy Irons) to justice after he kills the town’s previous lawmen. Renée Zellweger plays a widow who complicates the duo’s relationship, as they must trust each other to see justice done. Directed and co-written by Harris, the film is a sincere, understated western with some fantastic performances, particularly Mortensen, who plays a quiet, dedicated deputy.
16Green Book (2018) - 77%
The winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture of 2018,Green Booktells the true story of an Italian bouncer (Mortensen) who drove a noted African American piano player (Mahershala Ali) throughout the South to play gigs. The film garnered controversy even before the Oscar ceremony, with some critical over the film’s handling of racial politics. Mortensen himself blasted the criticism, saying thefilm was being unfairly maligned. Despite the blowback, Mortensen was nominated for Best Actor, and Ali took home the award for Best Supporting Actor.
15A Dangerous Method (2011) - 78%
Viggo Mortensen has made four films with noted director David Cronenberg, and all four are on this list. 2011’sA Dangerous Methodis a real-life story of the friendship between legendary psychoanalysts Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Mortensen). Keira Knightley plays a troubled Russian woman who the pair both attempt to treat. It’s a different film from Cronenberg’s usual darker fare, but the cast is exceptional. Mortensen’s Freud may be a supporting character (Fassbender and Knightley are the central characters), but he makes the most of his screen time.
14The Two Faces of January (2014) - 80%
InThe Two Faces of January, Viggo Mortensen plays a crooked businessman hiding out in 1960s Greece with his wife (Kirsten Dunst) after defrauding his clients. A chance encounter leads to murder, so the pair turn to a young American living abroad (a pre-Star WarsOscar Isaac) to help them escape. This surprisingly entertaining thriller features great performances all around, particularly Mortensen, whose character turns darker and more desperate as his poor decisions eventually catch up to him. Audiences weren’t particularly taken with the film, however, and gave it a much lower 48% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
13Crimes of the Future (2022) - 80%
Crimes of the Futureis Mortensen’s only film with David Cronenberg in which the director is working in the genre he is best known for:body horror movies. Set sometime in the future, Mortensen plays a performance artist exploring the concept of trans-humanism, replacing parts of his body with synthetic ones in a series of increasingly disturbing public displays. The film, in true Cronenberg style, is mesmerizing, provocative, and stomach-churning, and viewers either loved the film or despised it.
12Captain Fantastic (2016) - 83%
Matt Ross' oddly charming comedic dramaCaptain Fantasticfinds Mortensen playing a Bohemian neo-hippie father raising his six children off-the-grid in the forests of Washington state. When a family tragedy forces them to return to civilization, the clash of cultures and ideals is apparent. Raised with a radical leftist mentality that despises capitalism, the children suddenly find themselves drawn to the very thing they have been raised to abhor.
Mortensen is absolutely perfect and earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Actor for the film. The actors playing the children are also top-notch, particularly George MacKay, who would go on to star in Sam Mendes' Oscar-winning epic1917. Annalise Basso (Snowpiercer) and Nicholas Hamilton are also standouts.
11Far from Men (2014) - 84%
The French filmFar from Men(Loin des hommes) isn’t the type of film you’d expect to see Mortensen in, even with his reputation for doing smaller independent films. Here, he plays Daru, a French soldier-turned-teacher in a small mountain village in Algeria in 1954, in the midst of the war between the French and the Algerians. Daru is tasked with escorting a villager (Reda Kateb) to the city to stand trial for murder. Along the way, the two form a bond, especially when the relatives of the man he killed come looking for revenge. With all the dialogue in French and Arabic, the film isn’t always easy to follow, but the performances connect deeply.
