Viggo Mortensen Quotes

The idea of transformation - playing something I'm not - is the bit I enjoy most about acting.

I love acting and really taking on another person, another life.

I like to do things in which I'm playing someone else entirely.

I love to act because I love trying on other people's skin.

What's nice about acting is that you're not just left with yourself all the time, but you get to see the world through so many different people's eyes.

That's the wonderful thing about acting - you play a role. It's about humanity, rather than labeling.

I think the greatest thing about being an actor is that you can become other people. ... You have the opportunity to explore ... alternative ways of living for a brief time.

My mother took me to a lot of operas and when I was eight I got the opportunity to be in one and I realized that transformation into these make-believe situations was possible. I decided that was essentially what I wanted to do with my life.

I think there are parts of myself in every character I play.

I really do literally put myself into a character's shoes.

I was Aladdin, and then I was Captain Von Trapp from 'Sound Of Music' when I was 7 or 8, and then King Arthur. I was always the lead. I've always enjoyed being onstage, acting obnoxious, being someone that wasn't me, hiding behind a character.

You have to find out how to become the character.

What drew me to acting in the first place was disguise.

That's the joy of acting - you get to play people who are not you; you get to explore the dark, hidden sides of yourself.

I think actors are attracted to the idea of other identities and concealing themselves behind some other identity.

I always think of the character as being me. But me wearing a 'coat', which may be a different way of speaking, moving or regarding other people. To me, acting is pretending, just like kids playing, only you pretend as if it were really, really real.

Singing is an incredible expression and something that is important to me, but where I feel comfortable with how much I reveal about myself is acting. I enjoy the characters, the costumes, the wigs and just being a chameleon.

As much as I know people love the method and what you can draw out of yourself, a lot of acting is very imaginative.

In a weird way, I live vicariously through the characters I play as an actor.

Acting allows me to explore new worlds, to discover characters by delving into their lives, and ultimately to become someone else entirely.

That's one of the great things about acting - you get to pretend you're somebody else, which is great if you get bored with yourself.

The thing about being an actor is that you turn into other people. You have to hide yourself a bit in order to let that other person come out.

What acting offered me was the chance to be many other people.

Let me put it this way. There is more to acting than just acting like somebody. I like to act in such a way that other people get some notion of what it's like to be somebody.

When you play a character, you commit yourself to their beliefs.