Viggo Mortensen Picks The One David Cronenberg Movie He Believes Is Near Perfect

Viggo Mortensen has played many famous roles over the years, but one movie stands above the rest for him. Even though many fans know him best as Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings, Mortensen says his strongest work came in a very different kind of film. That movie is the 2005 crime thriller A History of Violence.

Mortensen shared his thoughts during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. He explained that while no movie is truly perfect, this one comes very close in his eyes. There’s no such thing as a perfect movie, but in the way that that script was handled, the way it was shot… It’s close to perfect, he said. He described the film as a near-perfect example of film noir.

The movie was directed by David Cronenberg and stars Mortensen as Tom Stall, a small-town diner owner whose calm life falls apart after a violent robbery reveals his dangerous past. The story was based on a graphic novel written by John Wagner and Vince Locke, first published in 1997.

Mortensen also revealed that he was not impressed when he first read an early version of the script. At the time, Cronenberg was not attached to the project. He almost walked away from it completely.

Things changed once Cronenberg stepped in. Mortensen said the director took a weak draft and turned it into something powerful. He has helped me do really good work, better than other directors, Mortensen said, crediting Cronenberg for sharpening the story and performances.

That film started a long working relationship between the two men. After A History of Violence, they teamed up again for Eastern Promises in 2007 and later for A Dangerous Method in 2011. Mortensen has often said Cronenberg understands how he works better than most directors and knows how to push him without forcing anything.

Outside of acting, Mortensen has been focused on his work behind the camera. His second film as a director, The Dead Don’t Hurt, came out in 2024. According to critics, the Western stood out for its quiet tone and emotional depth. Mortensen wrote, directed, produced, composed the music, and starred in the film alongside Vicky Krieps.

Fans are also talking about Mortensen again because of the 25th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring, which returned to theaters in early 2026.

For now, Mortensen seems most proud of the smaller, darker films that allowed him to explore complex characters. And for him, A History of Violence remains the one that came closest to getting everything right.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments.