Viggo Mortensen Labels "Green Book" White Savior Criticism As "Bullsh*t"

Viggo Mortensen defends "Green Book" from white savior criticism.

BYCole Blake
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Green Book star Viggo Mortensen says criticism of the film featuring a white savior narrative is "a load of bullshit." He discussed the 2019 Best Picture in a new interview with The Independent.

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“It’s become a cliché to say, ‘Is this movie going to be the Green Book of this year?’” Mortensen said. “Green Book has become a pejorative.”

“Much of the criticism that was leveled at that movie was not only unreasonable, but it was inaccurate, mendacious, and irresponsible," he continued. "It’s based on a load of bullshit and an axe to grind and little else. Does it affect what I’m doing, or how people perceive me as an actor? Maybe it does. But I can’t really do anything about that.”

Mortensen also discussed his iconic role as Aragorn in the Lord of The Rings trilogy. He clarified previous comments about The Fellowship of the Rings being his favorite film from the series: “I don’t really want to get into it … but over the years certain things that I’ve said have been taken out of context in certain ways that were unfortunate. I’ve tried to be honest when someone is asking me which movie I prefer. My preference is certain scenes that I remember and that’s natural, but the overall experience was fabulous, unforgettable, instructive. The obvious benefit is that the popularity of the trilogy around the world opened doors for us."

An Amazon series, which will follow a younger Aragorn, is currently in the works.

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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.