Check out the most anticipated movies and shows premiering during the summer season, from [i]Ballerina[/i] to [i]Thunderbolts*[/i].

IMDb Summer Watch Guide

Check out the most anticipated movies and shows premiering during the summer season, from <em>Ballerina</em> to <em>Thunderbolts*</em>.

These actors totally transform for their roles. See them in some of their most memorable moments.

The Greatest Character Actors of All Time

Celebrate some of the most iconic Asian actors from film and television, from [link=/name/nm1231899/]Priyanka Chopra Jonas[/link] to [link=/name/nm0702841]Ke Huy Quan[/link], plus many more.

Asian Icons of Film and Television

Celebrate some of the most iconic Asian actors from film and television, from <a class="ipc-md-link" href="/name/nm1231899/?ref_=nmwrk_eds_right-7_lk">Priyanka Chopra Jonas</a> to <a class="ipc-md-link" href="/name/nm0702841?ref_=nmwrk_eds_right-7_lk">Ke Huy Quan</a>, plus many more.

Since his screen debut as a young Amish farmer in Peter Weir's Witness (1985), Viggo Mortensen's career has been marked by a steady string of well-rounded performances.

Mortensen was born in New York City, to Grace Gamble (Atkinson) and Viggo Peter Mortensen, Sr. His father was Danish, his mother was American, and his maternal grandfather was Canadian. His parents met in Norway. They wed and moved to New York, where Viggo, Jr. was born, before moving to South America, where Viggo, Sr. managed chicken farms and ranches in Venezuela and Argentina. Two more sons were born, Charles and Walter, before the marriage grew increasingly unhappy. When Viggo was seven, his parents sent him to the St. Paul's boarding school, in the Córdoba Sierras, in Argentina. Then, at age eleven, his parents divorced. His mother moved herself and the children back to her home state of New York.

Viggo attended Watertown High School, and became a very good student and athlete. He graduated in 1976 and went on to St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. After graduation, he moved to Denmark - driven by the need for a defining purpose in life. He began writing poetry and short stories while working many odd jobs, from dock worker to flower seller. In 1982, he fell in love and followed his girlfriend back to New York City, hoping for a long romance and a writing career. He got neither. In New York, Viggo found work waiting tables and tending bar and began taking acting classes, studying with Warren Robertson. He appeared in several plays and movies, and eventually moved to Los Angeles, where his performance in "Bent" at the Coast Playhouse earned him a Drama-logue Critic's Award.

He made his film debut with a small part in Witness (1985). He appeared in Salvation! (1987) and married his co-star, Exene Cervenka. The two had a son, Henry Mortensen. But after nearly eleven years of marriage, the couple divorced.

In 1999, Viggo got a phone call about a movie he did not know anything about: "The Lord of the Rings." At first, he didn't want to do it, because it would mean time away from his son. But Henry, a big fan of the books, told his father he shouldn't turn down the role. Viggo accepted the part and immediately began work on the project, which was already underway. Eventually, the success of "The Lord of the Rings" made him a household name - a difficult consequence for the ever private and introspective Viggo.

Critics have continually recognized his work in over thirty movies, including such diverse projects as Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady (1996), Sean Penn's The Indian Runner (1991), Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way (1993), Ridley Scott's G.I. Jane (1997), Tony Scott's Crimson Tide (1995), Andrew Davis's A Perfect Murder (1998), Ray Loriga's My Brother's Gun (1997), Tony Goldwyn's A Walk on the Moon (1999), and Peter Farrelly's Green Book (2018).

Mortensen is also an accomplished poet, photographer and painter.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Has released two poetry/jazz/organized-chaos CDs: &quot;Don&#39;t Tell Me What to Do&quot; and &quot;One Less Thing to Worry About&quot;.

Has published book available at Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com called &#39;Recent Forgeries&#39;. Included in the book are writings, paintings, collages, assemblages, found objects, and photographs that point to the fluidity of meaning of a world in flux, as well as a special spoken-word and music CD by Mortensen.

(1993) Book: &quot;Ten Last Night&quot; (poetry)

(1998) CD: &quot;The Other Parade&quot; (music &amp; poetry)

(1999) CD: &quot;Live at Beyond Baroque&quot;, organized chaos, music &amp; poetry.

(1999) CD: &quot;One Man&#39;s Meat&quot;(music &amp; poetry)

(2000) Book: &quot;Errant Vine&quot;(book of painting and photography, Robert Mann Gallery).

(2002) Book: &quot;Signlanguage&quot;, Small Art Press (painting and photography, with essay by art critic Kevin Power).

(2003) Album: &quot;Pandemoniumfromamerica&quot;

(2011) Play: &quot;Purgatorio&quot;, by Ariel Dorfman. Dir. Josep Maria Mestres. Teatro Español, Madrid.

(2015) Special Performance: &quot;Canciones de invierno&quot;. Teatre Romea, Barcelona.

(2017) Special Performance: &quot;Dos cuervos&quot;. Institut d&#39;Estudis Catalans, Barcelona.

(2017) Special Performance: &quot;Ramas para un nido&quot;. Espai Lliure, Barcelona.

Other works

Viggo Mortensen

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