Viggo Mortensen Says Expensive Gay Actor Fees

Viggo Mortensen (Instagram @ viggo.mortensen.fanpage)

JAKARTA - Viggo Mortensen made a surprising statement. The Lord of the Rings star said that gay actors cost more than straight actors.

Mortensen made his directorial debut and starred in the film Falling. He played a gay character in this film.

Told, Mortensen cared for his racist and homophobic father, played by Lance Henriksen, after he started showing symptoms of dementia.

In the lead-up to its release, Mortensen repeatedly talked about who should play the gay character, defending his decision to take on the role himself.

In a recent interview with The Independent, Mortensen said he had chosen himself for the lead role because it was cheaper than hiring a gay actor for a role in the film. Previously he said it would cost around 6 million US dollars.

“(I) would not think of asking someone what their sexual orientation or identification is. Nor do I assume that actors who identify as homosexual only want to play the role of homosexuals, "he said.

"I didn't mean to play John, but I ended up playing him, because I have a pretty high profile, and I don't have to pay the actor either," he added.

In terms of role writing, Mortensen continued, it is not a kind of action to be politically relevant. He just felt, 'In the next scene, we will meet the wife. Maybe it's not a wife, maybe it's a husband, what is it like? '

"And I tried to write that scene and I loved it, and I liked the added layer it gave to the relationship between John and his father. That's what happened - organically, "says Mortensen.

But, Mortensen insists, there's no need to ask people how they see themselves. What matters to him is a person who will do a good job in this role.