Is Viggo Mortensen’s Son Really In The Movies?

As if Henry Mortensen’s on-screen adolescent involvement in «The Lord of the Rings» weren’t enough, the boy was also the one primarily responsible for his dad playing the role of Aragorn. After director Peter Jackson decided that the initial Aragorn actor, Stuart Townsend, was too young for the role, he put a call in to Viggo Mortensen to see if he’d take the part. It was the 11th hour, and filming was already beginning. Mortensen hesitated, and his son gave his father the push he needed to commit to the role.

A few years ago, Mortensen explained the story yet again during an appearance on «Live with Kelly and Ryan.» «I’m a slow starter, and I’m very aware you have to be talked into most roles,» Mortensen said. «… I hadn’t read the books, and I was a last-minute replacement. They were already filming.»

The American-Danish actor elaborated that his son, who was 11 at the time, asked him who he was playing, and he replied, «It’s this guy. He’s in the woods with the small people.» His son responded, «In the woods with the small people? That guy becomes the king.» Henry added, «You gotta do that,» and the rest was history. At that point, the fact that Henry got to leverage his dad’s involvement into being able to play multiple cameos simply became the cherry on top of his newfound claim to fame as the real-world son of Aragorn, son of Arathorn.