07 December 2020
Newsdesk
Viggo Mortensen has branded the criticism of his 2018 movie Green Book as "hurtful and destructive".
In Peter Farrelly's biographical comedy-drama, The Lord of the Rings actor played a bigoted Italian-American driver and bodyguard who develops a friendship with a Black classical pianist, portrayed by Mahershala Ali, while driving him on a tour of America's segregated Deep South in the early '60s.
The movie went on to receive the Best Picture Oscar in 2019, as well as prizes for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Ali, but there were many who attacked the film for playing into a stereotypical white saviour narrative.
"It's become a cliché to say, 'Is this movie going to be the Green Book of this year?' Green Book has become a pejorative," Mortensen told The Independent as he addressed the criticism, which he considered "hurtful and destructive".
"Much of the criticism that was levelled at that movie was not only unreasonable, but it was inaccurate, mendacious, and irresponsible," he continued. "It's based on a load of bulls**t and an axe to grind and little else. Does it affect what I'm doing, or how people perceive me as an actor? Maybe it does. But I can't really do anything about that."
The Danish-American actor is currently causing controversy about his new directorial debut Falling, in which he stars as a gay man, a decision which has been criticised by the growing number of people who believe LGBTQ roles shouldn't be play by straight actors.
Responding to this, he told the publication that, as a director, he "wouldn't think of asking someone what their sexual orientation or identification was. Neither do I assume that actors who identify as being homosexual only want to play homosexual roles. I wasn't intending to play John, but I ended up playing him, because I had a high enough profile, and I also didn't have to pay the actor... What's important to me is the person that will do a good job in this role."