Actor in a Leading Role: George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah), Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises)

David Cronenberg says he was ‘extremely happy’ to learn of Viggo Mortensen’s Academy Award nomination for his performance in Eastern Promises.

‘This is the first time an actor I’ve cast has been nominated in the leading actor category,’ Canada’s most prominent auteur tells Playback. He adds that Mortensen’s talent has actually been part of the reason it’s taken him this long to land a nomination.

‘What Viggo manages to do is to be very cerebral in his approach, Cronenberg explains. ‘He does an incredible amount of research, but then he assimilates it and buries it. As a result, his performances are very, very subtle.’

The American-born Mortensen, best known for his work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, was recognized in one of this year’s most closely watched Oscar categories for his role as Nikolai, a driver for ex-pat Russian mobsters in London who may not be what he seems. The role showcases the 49-year-old actor’s range, given that his previous film with Cronenberg, A History of Violence (itself nominated for two Oscars), had him playing a character based in Indiana.

Mortensen made traveling part of his research for both roles.

‘For A History of Violence, Viggo went to Indiana,’ the director recalls. ‘He created this whole back-story to the character. He said that this person would clearly be into fishing, so he brought back a jar that was shaped like a fish, which you can see on his shop counter. That became part of the set.

‘For Eastern Promises, he went to Russia, and he brought back a plastic icon of a saint, which he leaves for a prostitute [with whom he has sex to assert his masculinity to a fellow mobster] along with the money. That’s how detailed his research is around his characters.’

Cronenberg says he immediately thought of Mortensen for Eastern Promises. ‘When we were touring to promote A History of Violence, I was made aware of how many languages Viggo spoke: Danish, Spanish, French. He was doing talk shows in different countries speaking all of these languages. I knew there would be no problem with him learning Russian.’

The result, the filmmaker says, was another enjoyable experience on the set. ‘He’s such a pleasure to work with. He has a tremendous sense of humor, which helps when you’re under the pressure of making a film.’

The admiration clearly goes both ways. In a 2005 article about their first collaboration that Mortensen penned exclusively for Playback, he wrote, ‘Over the last 20 years, I have had the good fortune to work for many talented people, but never have I felt as easily connected to a director on so many levels. From our first meeting, the line of communication has always been open, respectful and stimulating.’

And their partnership has certainly been a commercially fruitful one. Violence, backed by Hollywood’s New Line Cinema, has brought in a reported US$60 million at the worldwide theatrical box office, while Eastern Promises, a copro between Paul Webster of the U.K. and Toronto’s Robert Lantos, recently passed the $50-million mark.

Cronenberg says he has been in touch with Mortensen about his nom via e-mail. ‘Viggo is in Spain right now working on a book. Among the many things that he does, he is also a publisher. Naturally, he was pleased by the nomination, though Viggo really is more of an artist than a star.’