'Good' friendship forms
Stars Mortensen, Isaacs say Chicago Film Festival's curtain closer created bond based on mutual respect
October 30, 2008
BY BILL ZWECKER Sun-Times Columnist
In ''Good,'' the film that officially closed this year's Chicago International Film Festival on Wednesday night, Viggo Mortensen and Jason Isaacs play best friends in a tale about friendship, betrayal and the consequence of misguided decision-making, set in Nazi Germany in the early years of Hitler's regime.
After spending time with the actors Wednesday afternoon, it's clear that acting experience turned them into pals for real.
While both men now feel they've developed insights into each other's personalities, they are amused by the whole concept of ''fandom.''
Mortensen nodded vigorously when Isaacs quipped, ''Those fawning women screaming near the red carpets at premieres aren't in love with Viggo -- it's Aragorn they really want,'' referring to Mortensen's heroic character in the ''Lord of the Rings'' films.
''Yes, there's still a lot of Aragorn autographing going on, but I'm getting a lot of requests to sign Cronenberg stuff lately too. That has me a bit worried. That's more about hate, not love!''
The actor was talking about his frightening turn in director David Cronenberg's acclaimed ''Eastern Promises,'' a very violent role that brought Mortensen his first Oscar nomination.
''I know some women like 'bad boys,' but that's a bit much.''
Isaacs, who plays the evil Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter flicks, laughs about his own fan base -- ''a wildly disproportionate group of about maybe 12 sites on the Internet, as opposed to the thousands devoted to Tom Cruise. ... But whatever, it's not Jason or Viggo they're obsessed with -- it's the characters we play.''
The Brit gave an example of how actually ''getting to know an actor, away from his roles'' can provide a reality check for people.
''Some time ago, a fellow was working on my house, a guy named Trevor. At one point I had to ring up his house and ended up speaking with his wife. She asked if Trevor had ever requested an autograph -- and I told her no, but doubted he even knew I was an actor.
" 'Oh, he knows all right. We've got posters of you all over the house!' said the wife.
''But then she got a bit tongue-tied, before admitting he likely didn't ask for an autograph since I sort of disappointed him. According to his wife, he thought me in real life 'a bit of a wimp and so very middle class and kind of boring' ... and that was just fine with me!''
Thanks to the enormous success of the Potter films, Isaacs has become close to Daniel Radcliffe, and he wanted to correct a widely reported Internet story ''that was due to a stupid joke I told at the Toronto Film Festival.''
Isaacs was quoted as saying he wouldn't go see Radcliffe on Broadway in ''Equus'' because he thought the idea of seeing Harry Potter naked was twisted.
''Total rubbish. I missed seeing Daniel in 'Equus' in London because I was doing [the Showtime series] 'Brotherhood,' and now I'll miss him again because I'm off to Morocco to finish [the movie] 'Green Zone.' ... Of course, I would love to see him in the play.''
Mortensen stressed that after next year's release of ''The Road,'' the film based on Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, ''I really don't plan to make films for at least a year -- maybe longer. ... I still love to act and love telling stories that way, but I think I'd like to do it on the stage.
Isaacs jumped at that point, saying he's been trying to figure out a way to do a play with Mortensen.
How about in Chicago?
''We'd love that,'' both men said, virtually in unison.
Are you listening, Goodman or Steppenwolf honchos?
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Subject: 44th Chicago International Film Festival 
Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:28 am
Great news Viggo is getting another award. Photos please Lil Star 
It was still great to see the movie.