Viggo Mortensen confirms that his Lord of the Rings horses have died (2024)

Viggo Mortensen has said that two of the three horses that he bought when filming The Lord of the Rings have since died.

The American-Danish star – who famously portrayed Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s trilogy – revealed to NME that he had purchased the horse that his character rode in the film, as well as two other horses used in the film.

Mortensen said: “There were actually three horses that I bought, they were up for sale once the movies were done.

“There were the two I’d ridden – a chestnut and then the big bay that Aragorn rides – but I also bought the white horse that Arwen rides in The Fellowship of the Ring when she’s being chased through the forest by the Black Riders.”

The 62-year-old said that the only horse that is still alive today is the one that he purchased for a stuntwoman “who I ended up becoming friends with”.

He said: “I knew how much she liked that horse, so I bought it for her. That one is still around, but the other two have passed away. They were of a certain age already when we were shooting and that's 20 years ago now.”

The actor has previously shared the names of his two horses as Uraeus and Kenny. The animals lived in the care of a vet in New Zealand where Mortensen would visit periodically.

During a recent interview with The Independent, the actor defended his 2018 film Green Book against allegations of white-washing, calling the criticism “not only unreasonable but it was inaccurate, mendacious, and irresponsible”.

The movie – which stars Mortensen as a racist Italian-American driving a black musician (Mahershala Ali) across the US in the Sixties – has been attacked for perpetuating a white saviour narrative.

Despite the criticism, however, Green Book went on to take home an Academy Award for Best Picture and earned Mortensen his third nod for Best Actor.

The New York-born actor recently made his directorial debut with Falling. The forthcoming film has attracted criticism from some viewers who take issue with its casting of a straight actor (Mortensen) in a gay role.

In response to the criticism, Mortensen has defended the decision by calling into question his own sexuality. He told The Times: "You’re assuming that I’m completely straight. Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. And it’s frankly none of your business."

You can read The Independent’s three-star review of the movie here.