The 'LOTR' franchise star wrote and directed his new film, 'The Dead Don't Hurt' -- and snuck in something special for fans!
Die-hard Lord of the Rings fans know nearly every bit of trivia about the beloved franchise, and in his new film, Viggo Mortensen gave them a new tidbit to add to the list!
During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show this week, Mortensen opened up about his new period piece, The Dead Don't Hurt. The 65-year-old actor wrote, directed and even composed the music for the feature -- in which he also stars as a Danish immigrant who volunteers to fight in the Union Army during the American Civil War -- and also had a special, surprise contribution to the prop department.
"I don't wanna ruin the story, but there's a knight in armor on a horse that rides down through this forest in this movie... and I said, 'He needs a sword,'" Mortensen recalled.
When asked for specifics, the actor recalled, he showed the creative team a picture of himself as his LOTR character, Aragon. After being shown a few options, Mortensen thought he might as well use the real thing -- as he still possesses both swords he used during the production of the film.
"Did you get to keep them, or did you say, 'I'm just gonna practice my part and then leave with it?'" Clarkson teased.
"No, they actually gave them to me," Mortensen replied with a laugh.
After double checking that the use of the sword wouldn't cause any legal issues for the film, the actor was happy to include the weapon -- and have an "accidental" Easter egg for Tolkien lovers.
"I wasn't trying to sneak something in there for Lord of the Rings fans," he admitted. "Although I'm happy that some of them have spotted it, and liked it."
ET spoke with Mortensen's LOTR co-star Elijah Wood, last spring, and he opened up about the 20th anniversary of the franchise's final film, The Return of the King, and reflected on his memories of filming the epic trilogy.
"The experience of making it over the course of four years, living in New Zealand and making those friends- I was 18 when I traveled to New Zealand, and I was 21 when we were all finished. So they were extremely profound years of growth in my life," Wood marveled. "When I think about those movies I think about the person that they made me, rather than anything else."
The Lord of the Rings franchise is streaming now on Max. The Dead Don't Hurt is streaming now on Apple TV+.
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