David Cronenberg has said that he had to convince Viggo Mortensen to take on the lead role in his new film, Crimes of the Future.
Harangued him until he finally agreed to play the lead instead,” explained Cronenberg, after Mortensen initially said he wanted to play the role of a “cop” in the film.
The film, which stars Kristen Stewart and Lea Seydoux, received a six minute standing ovation at Cannes.
“In the end I liked [it] as an acting exercise because the foundation of good acting really is good reacting,” explained Mortensen.