GFF 2024: Viggo Mortensen and Solly McLeod on The Dead Don’t Hurt

Another missive from the Glasgow Film Festival. On this one, we chat with the mighty Viggo Mortensen. Yes, Aragorn himself!

The Lord of the Rings and A History of Violence star was in town for the UK premiere of The Dead Don't Hurt, a sinewy western that Mortensen wrote, directed, composed the music for and starred in. 

Set in the 1860s in a small Nevada outpost, The Dead Don't Hurt is both a beautiful homage to the great westerns of the past and a subversion of this most macho of film genres. It centres on the romance between Mortensen’s character Olsen, a Danish carpenter, and Vivienne, a fiercely independent French-Canadian woman who grew up dreaming of being Joan of Arc, played by Vicky Krieps.

Mortensen and Krieps are an acting match made in heaven. They’re ably supported by a cast that includes Danny Huston, Garret Dillahunt, and the young Scottish actor Solly McLeod, who plays a brutish psychopath who will change Vivianne and Olsen’s lives forever. 

The day after The Dead Don’t Hurt’s UK Premiere, we sat down with Viggo Mortensen and his young co-star Solly McLeod to discuss the film. 

TIMESTAMPS:

Jamie introduces The Dead Don't Hurt (0:05)
Viggo and Solly's first impressions of Glasgow (1:40)
Viggo's love of classic westerns (3:00)
How Solly got cast (4:30)
The film's non-linear structure (7:30)
Working with Vicky Krieps (12:10)
What Viggo learned from observing other directors (16:10)
Sparks of inspiration on set (18:20)
What Viggo and Solly are doing next (20:30)

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Recorded on location at Glasgow Film Festival

Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod  (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license