Viggo Mortensen Says He Avoids Franchise Roles Because the Stories Are ‘Not Usually That Good’

Viggo Mortensen is not have an affinity for franchises.

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Despite starring in the critically acclaimed “Lord of the Rings” trilogy helmed by Peter Jackson, Mortensen told Vanity Fair that he doesn’t really have a desire to star in any other film franchises today. The three “Lord of the Rings” films were released between 2001 and 2003 , and spurred “The Hobbit” prequels.

“I don’t really look for or avoid any kind of genre or any size budget. I just look for interesting stories,” Mortensen said. “It doesn’t matter to me what the genre is or what the budget is or who’s making them. I would never do a movie just because so-and-so is directing it. It has to be about the story . And if I think I’m right for the character, that always comes first. That goes for franchises.”

Mortensen continued, “If somebody came to me with X movie, the third part or the ninth part, and I thought it was a great character and I wanted to play that character and I thought I had something to contribute, I’d do it. I’m not against it. But they’re not usually that good. I mean, to me, they’re not usually that well-written. They’re kind of predictable. I mean, of course, there’s always the issue of if I run out of money.”

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Mortensen made a similar quip to Variety as well. BUt don’t count out Mortensen being back as Aragorn just yet, regardless of his financial situation. The actor recently told GQ UK that if the story works, he would consider reprising the role for new film “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” directed by Andy Serkis who plays the titular character.

“I don’t know exactly what the story is, I haven’t heard,” Mortensen said. “Maybe I’ll hear about it eventually. I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I enjoyed it a lot. I would only do it if I was right for it in terms of, you know, the age I am now and so forth. I would only do it if I was right for the character. It would be silly to do it otherwise.”