From The New York Times, September 2003 : "Here was a person who was not lacking in courage or compassion for others. He had a willingness to serve a greater common good, and he was not without fear, either. What I like about the story is that it's not the story of one hero. It's the story of collective heroism, in which each character goes through their own personal challenges to find their own way."

From Empire Magazine, January 2002 : "When they first asked me, the question was, "Do you want to leave for New Zealand tomorrow ?" I knew they had already been there for some months, which wasn't good. I knew I wouldn't have time to prepare and I hadn't read the book. There were plenty of reasons not to go. I didn't feel I could do a good job and I didn't want to be away from my son for that length of time. But my son was familiar with the books, he talked about them with his school friends and he knew about the character of Aragorn. He said, "Oh, that's pretty cool. You should do that.""

From Newsweek, December 2001 : Q : "Aragorn is such a great role. Was taking the part an easy decision to make ?"
Viggo Mortensen : "Obviously, I knew that it was a special opportunity. But I had not read the books. I had not met these people ... It wasn’t that easy for me, actually. There were many reasons, very justifiable reasons, for not doing it. Like the time away from my family—and also knowing that this was a big undertaking, and knowing that I would not get the time to prepare for this role as well as I would have liked to before being thrown in front of the camera. In the end, I had the blessing of my son, which meant a lot to me. And I guess my feeling was that if I didn’t do it, I would regret it in some way. I would have felt cowardly in not taking the challenge because it was such a unique one."

Q : "I know that you eventually came to really love the book. Were you concerned that the movies wouldn’t be able to reflect the depth of Tolkien’s vision ?"
Viggo Mortensen : "The movie is not the book. They’re different mediums. It’s not been possible in the movie to emphasize language and poetry, for example, as Tolkien did. Nor do we get the attention to detail regarding various characters’ backgrounds and interrelationships. It’s not possible unless it’s three 12-hour movies, I suppose. And, you know, as authors, Tolkien and Peter Jackson have different sensibilities. While Peter obviously cares a great deal for Tolkien’s writing—otherwise he wouldn’t have given so much of his life to it—what seems to have drawn him most as a filmmaker was the pure adventure aspect of the tale. The heroic sacrifice of individuals for the common good. All the breathtaking sequences—he really poured himself into those. The more I explored Tolkien, the more I felt I had two bosses: Tolkien and Peter Jackson. I tried my best to be loyal to both of them."