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London Nov 29, 2007

Viggo Mortensen's performance in Cronenberg's "Promises," which includes an infamous naked knife fight in a sauna, secured best actor honours on Wednesday night at British Independent Film Awards.

Reuters UK

Viggo Mortensen was deservedly named Best Actor for his role as a svelte Russian chauffeur in David Cronenberg’s ‘Eastern Promises’, beating off powerhouse performances by Jim Broadbent, Cillian Murphy, Jamie Bell and the aforementioned Sam Reilly.

Time Out

Dennis Hopper on Viggo Mortensen

"Viggo is so minimal and so stoic. His performance in 'Eastern Promises' is one of the best I've seen all year. Viggo is such an inventive actor; he is wonderfully intuitive, and he has great improvisational skills. He does great preparation. I understand he watched Russian TV for hours. He just looks Russian in 'Eastern Promises.' There's one scene where Naomi Watts gets on the motorcycle. Viggo is standing by a post and not moving: 'Where'd you get that bike?' I was impressed with how minimal he was; I just bought that he was a Russian hitman. And I love the fight scene, and doing it nude is quite an achievement. You have no protection, no room for pads. You have no room for faking. Yes, I'm going to vote for Viggo."

Variety