Viggo Mortensen Best Actor Nominee

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This is Viggo Mortensen's first Academy Award Oscar nomination.

The mysterious and charismatic Russian-born Nikolai Luzhin (Viggo Mortensen) is a driver for one of London's most notorious organized crime families of Eastern European origin. The family itself is part of the Vory V Zakone criminal brotherhood.

Headed by Semyon (Academy Award nominee Armin Mueller-Stahl), whose courtly charm as the welcoming proprietor of the plush Trans-Siberian restaurant impeccably masks a cold and brutal core, the family's fortunes are tested by Semyon's volatile son and enforcer, Kirill (Vincent Cassel), who is more tightly bound to Nikolai than to his own father.

But Nikolai's carefully maintained existence is jarred once he crosses paths at Christmastime with Anna Khitrova (Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts), a midwife at a North London hospital. Anna is deeply affected by the desperate situation of a young teenager who dies while giving birth to a baby. Anna resolves to try to trace the baby's lineage and relatives. The girl's personal diary also survives her; it is written in Russian, and Anna seeks answers in it.

Anna's mother Helen (Sinéad Cusack) does not discourage her, but Anna's irascible Russian-born uncle Stepan (Jerzy Skolimowski) urges caution. He is right to do so; by delving into the diary, Anna has accidentally unleashed the full fury of the Vory.

With Semyon and Kirill closing ranks and Anna pressing her inquiries, Nikolai unexpectedly finds his loyalties divided. The family tightens its grip on him; who can, or should, he trust? Several lives - including his own - hang in the balance as a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution reverberates through the darkest corners of both the family and London itself.

About Viggo Mortensen

Viggo Mortensen previously starred for Eastern Promises director David Cronenberg in "A History of Violence."

Since his screen debut in Peter Weir's award-winning Witness, Mr. Mortensen's film career has encompassed diverse portrayals in over three dozen features.

With his fellow actors from Peter Jackson's Academy Award-winning The Lord of the Rings epic trilogy, he shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, among other honors.

Mr. Mortensen's other films include Sean Penn's The Indian Runner (opposite David Morse and Patricia Arquette); Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way (with Al Pacino); Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady (opposite Nicole Kidman); Ridley Scott's G.I. Jane (with Demi Moore); Tony Goldwyn's A Walk on the Moon (opposite Diane Lane); Augustin Diaz Yanes's Alatriste; and Vicente Amorim's upcoming Good.

The native New Yorker spent several years living in Venezuela, Argentina, and Denmark before beginning his acting career back in NYC. There, he studied with Warren Robertson and acted in plays while also beginning to work in movies.

Mr. Mortensen is also an accomplished poet, photographer, and painter. In 2002, he founded Perceval Press, an independent publishing house specializing in art, poetry, and critical writing. Perceval's mission is to publish texts, images, and recordings by artists that might not otherwise be presented.

He recently exhibited the photographic series "The Nature of Landscape and Independent Perception" with George Gudni at the Track 16 Gallery in Santa Monica, where he had twice shown mixed media previously, in 1999 and 2002. In 2008, he will have photographic and painting exhibitions in Iceland and Denmark. His past shows include "Miyelo," at both the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles and the Addison Ripley Gallery in Washington, D.C. Mr. Mortensen has also shown his work at the Robert Mann Gallery in New York City; as well as in Cuba, New Zealand, and Denmark.

About the Role "Eastern Promises"

There was only one actor considered for the lead role of conflicted Vory V Zakone foot soldier Nikolai Luzhin. Cronenberg muses, "When I worked with Viggo Mortensen on A History of Violence, I noted that he had a kind of Russian or Slavic look to him. He is in fact half-Danish. After our experience on A History of Violence, I wanted to work with him again. In reading the script, I immediately thought of him. Viggo is a brilliant actor, beyond what people realize, and I believe that with Eastern Promises, that is going to be more evident.

"His character this time is very precise and controlled, and highly cautious. Nikolai seems at first glance to be a thug, but he also has a softness, and is therefore strong and delicate at the same time."

"When we first meet Nikolai, he's almost dead inside," adds Knight. "He lives in a world of violence and as such is a violent person. But there is also a gentleness about him that comes as a surprise to Anna."

Mortensen says, "Nikolai is a man who has a lot of secrets. He came to London by way of the Ural mountain region, which is a kind of dividing mountain range a couple of time zones east of Moscow on the edge of the Siberian plain. He's seen a lot and, being close to Kirill, is on the front lines of the family's doings."

The actor's assessment of the character's history comes from an informed perspective; while preparing for the part, Mortensen spent weeks in Russia. He traveled to the Urals, among other places. He immersed himself in Russian culture, watching Russian movies and television, reading or re-reading the works of authors such as Vladimir Nabokov, listening to spoken-word tapes, and testing his knowledge of the language – which he had studied in advance of the trip. He also did research on the sex trafficking trade and the gangs that are based in the Ural area.

Knight marvels, "He went away and immersed himself in that world – and spent time with a lot of very disreputable Russian people! I wrote the lines, but the heart and soul of Nikolai is really from Viggo."

During the film shoot, Mortensen had with him artifacts that he had brought back from Russia, including worry beads made in prison from melted-down plastic cigarette lighters. He decorated his trailer with copies of Russian icons, and created an atmosphere conducive to maintaining his character.

Cronenberg reports, "He learned to speak Russian quite well for this role. He brings the intensity and humor and subtlety to Nikolai that he brings to every performance, all the while speaking with a Russian accent, so his voice has a different timbre than you've heard in his other movies. It's a complete transformation from the inside out. He played two characters, really, in A History of Violence, and I saw traces of neither one of them in his portrayal of Nikolai."

Says Webster, "Among actors, Viggo is completely unique in my experience because of his attention to detail; the research he did – months before we started to film – was incredible. He is an artist in his own right and brings an artist's sensibility to the process, as well as an actor's craft."

Mortensen says, "Being able to think about what I'd seen, by going to where the character was from, provides something real for scenes. I believe it's helpful to the other actors, too, if I'm convincing."

About the Movie "Eastern Promises"

The new thriller re-teaming acclaimed director David Cronenberg with his A history of violence leading man Viggo Mortensen, Eastern promises is written by Steve Knight (Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of Dirty Pretty Things).

As in the earlier film, director and star together explore the psyche, physicality, and fortunes of a man whose true nature may never be wholly revealed.

The mysterious and charismatic Russian-born Nikolai Luzhin (Mr Mortensen) is a driver for one of London's most notorious organized crime families of Eastern European origin. The family itself is part of the Vory V Zakone criminal brotherhood. Headed by Semyon (Academy Award nominee Armin Mueller-Stahl), whose courtly charm as the welcoming proprietor of the plush Trans-Siberian restaurant impeccably masks a cold and brutal core, the family's fortunes are tested by Semyon's volatile son and enforcer, Kirill (Vincent Cassel), who is more tightly bound to Nikolai than to his own father.

But Nikolai's carefully maintained existence is jarred once he crosses paths at Christmastime with Anna Khitrova (Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts), a midwife at a North London hospital. Anna is deeply affected by the desperate situation of a young teenager who dies while giving birth to a baby. Anna resolves to try to trace the baby's lineage and relatives. The girl's personal diary also survives her; it is written in Russian, and Anna seeks answers in it.

Anna's mother Helen (Sinéad Cusack) does not discourage her, but Anna's irascible Russian-born uncle Stepan (Jerzy Skolimowski) urges caution. He is right to do so; by delving into the diary, Anna has accidentally unleashed the full fury of the Vory.

With Semyon and Kirill closing ranks and Anna pressing her inquiries, Nikolai unexpectedly finds his loyalties divided. The family tightens its grip on him; who can, or should, he trust? Several lives - including his own - hang in the balance as a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution reverberates through the darkest corners of both the family and London itself.

A Focus Features presentation in association with BBC Films of a Kudos Pictures/Serendipity Point Films production in association with Scion Films. A Film by David Cronenberg. Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel. Eastern promises. Armin Mueller-Stahl. Casting by Deirdre Bowen, Nina Gold. Music by Howard Shore. Costume Designer, Denise Cronenberg. Editor, Ronald Sanders. Production Designer, Carol Spier. Director of Photography, Peter Suschitzky. Co-Producer, Tracey Seaward. Executive Producers, Stephen Garrett, David M Thompson, Jeff Abberley, Julia Blackman. Produced by Paul Webster, Robert Lantos. Screenplay by Steve Knight. Directed by David Cronenberg. A Focus Features Release.

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Best Picture

Best Actor

Best Actress

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