Lord of the Rings star praises actor from little-known movie who he thinks should be 'nominated for every award possible'

Viggo Mortensen has spoken out in praise for an actor who he believes 'should have been nominated for every award possible' for their role in a film few have heard of.

In 2020 - adding yet another string to his Hollywood bow - Mortensen made his directorial debut. However, with its release thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic, the film didn't receive the reception and praise it deserved, with even some of the biggest Lord of the Rings fans probably not having heard of it.

Sitting down for the release of his second feature film The Dead Don't Hurt, Mortensen told UNILAD why there's one actor he worked on the film with who deserves 'cult status' for their performance.

Prepare to have a new favorite movie:

As a result of the flick - titled Falling - being overshadowed by the pandemic, Mortensen tells UNILAD he would 'love' to see the film re-released 'if that was possible'.

"I would love to do that. [...] I can't control that entirely because it's not mine to do that with but yeah, I think it's timely, it's something that's important," he continues.

And one of the major reasons why he longs to see the film released again is not simply to showcase his own creative skill, but because of another actor who plays the role of a man struggling with dementia.

Sorry but you're not a true Aragorn fan unless you've seen Viggo Mortensen's directorial debut (Modern Films)

Dementia is 'a general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life,' with Alzheimer's the most common cause. And in Falling, Lance Henriksen stars as his father, Willis, who is battling with bouts of dementia.

Willis comes from a conservative farming background and comes to stay with son John Peterson (Mortensen) and his partner Eric (Terry Chen) to find a house closer to them for when his health deteriorates further.

However, both Willis and John are plagued by memories from the past and grapple with navigating their father-son relationship and how to find some sort of peace.

While the film also stars the legends that are Ozark's Laura Linney, Mindhunter's Hannah Gross and Borg vs McEnroe's Sverrir Guðnason, it's Henriksen's performance in particular which Mortensen is sad didn't get to be seen by more when Falling first premiered.

Mortensen says: "Lance Henriksen would have done 300 movies or something by that point, and he's probably not going to do any more movies, frankly, he's quite old now. That was an incredible performance. And we were invited to Cannes Film Festival, and then it was cancelled which was really a shame because [...] it would have been great to see him on that red carpet and getting his due.

"[...] In my opinion, he should have been nominated for every award possible for his job."

Henriksen and Mortensen starred as father and son (Modern Films)

Mortensen resolves: "I think his performance in that movie will achieve or certainly, I believe - and hope - a sort of a cult status."

And while not one for tooting his own horn, it's a shame Falling didn't get more of a reception not only as a result of its stellar cast, but for all the heart, effort and skill which went into it from Mortensen too.

Falling was inspired by Mortensen's own life - both his parents, his stepfather and three of his four grandparents all diagnosed with dementia.

"With my parents and my stepdad it was really hands on and so I'd seen it a lot. I'd seen the effects on others, and how people react differently, just like people behave differently around the illness and death, aging in general. Some people flee from it, they don't want to know about it [...] in denial about it.

"And some people just find a way to adapt to it and accept it and don't run from the person you know.

Lance Henriksen gives a heart-wrenching performance (Modern Films)

"Those things are explored, mistakes are made in the story, but there's an evolution to a certain kind of acceptance and forgiveness of the other person, not just to do with the illness, but their whole history. And they both forgive each other in a way."

Forgiveness is a recurring theme in Mortensen's directorial endeavours, carried over from Falling into The Dead Don't Hurt too - both of which are strikingly honest, heartfelt and beautiful films which so deserve to be seen by the masses.

The director reflects: "In The Dead Don't Hurt, in the end, forgiveness is more important than revenge. And the same thing you could say about Falling, forgiveness is more important than having the last word."

The Dead Don’t Hurt is on Digital Platforms from 22 July. Distributed by Signature Entertainment.