Viggo Mortensen has been up to a lot of things since he finished making The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Among them, the New York-born actor has turned to directing his own movies. This is surely a way for him to express his own opinions and explore issues that perhaps he wasn't able to do in his previous work. This includes his experience on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, which surely contributed massively to his net worth.

Regardless of Lord of the Rings being a studio fantasy film, Viggo made an effort to use it to make a political statement. Or, at the very least, counter-act a political comparison people were making about it. Let's take a look...

The T-Shirt Viggo Wore On Charlie Rose

In 2002, while promoting the release of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on the show of the now-disgraced Charlie Rose, Viggo Mortensen wore a shirt that was highly controversial at the time. It read, "No More Blood For Oil". This was, of course, referring to the Iraq War which really gained a lot of traction in The United States after the events of 9/11 and the planned attacks by Osama Bin Laden and his cohorts despite the country of Iraq having nothing to do with it. While much of the Iraq War has been proven to be based on lies in recent years, in 2002 the vast majority of Americans were for it. After all, they just suffered a brutal and life-altering attack. Still, the Lord of the Rings actor saw something wrong with what was happening in Iraq and decided to take a stand that surely angered a lot of people, including Charlie Rose.

Viggo Mortensen on Charlie Rose
Youtube

"You're obviously making a political statement with your t-shirt?" Charlie Rose asked Viggo.

"I wouldn't normally, but this is sort of a reaction. I've heard a lot of people say to me, and I've read in a lot of places about the first [Lord of the Rings] movie and increasingly about the second one, I've seen more people try to relate it to the current situation," Viggo explained. "Specifically, The United States and their role in the world right now. If you're going to compare then you should get it right."

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Viggo went on to say that he doesn't think that his work, or author J.R.R. Tolkien's work, or director Peter Jackson's work, has anything to do with the foreign ventures of The United States. Especially when people compare the Fellowship with America. He also went on to say that he doesn't like how people are getting to angry with him for questioning what America was doing in Iraq.

"This country is based on the principle of if the government isn't serving the people, you at least have the right to say, 'Wait a minute, what's going on?' And there's no questions really being asked at large about what we're doing [in Iraq]," Viggo continued. "Whereas, in The Two Towers, you have different races, nations, cultures, coming together examining their conscious and unifying against a very real and terrifying enemy. What The United States has been doing for the past year is bombing innocent civilians without coming anywhere close to catching Osama Bin Laden or any presumed enemies."

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn from The Two Towers
Via: New Line Cinemas

The 'Unfair' Comparison Between Iraq And Lord Of The Rings

On top of this, Viggo stated that he doesn't think the civilians in Iraq look at Americans in the same way that Europeans did at the end of World War 2.

"I think that they see the U.S. government and Sauroman," Viggo said. "And they're terrified and have been for a long time and I think we are not the good guys, unfortunately in this case."

"Even though right after 9/11 there was extraordinary support for The United States to do something?" Charlie Rose asked.

"I'm supportive of The United States. I'm an American. And I have nothing against patriotism. But if one is going to compare [The Iraq War with The Lord Of The Rings] then the comparison is quite the opposite of what's being made."

Charlie then pressed Viggo to further explain the comparison that was being made about The Lord of the Rings and the war. That comparison was that America was like the good guys in the movie and Iraq was the bad guys. Viggo continued to disagree with this thought, which is why he wore the t-shirt (which he made himself) during the interview.

"We're the bad guys because we responded to the attack against The United States?" Charlie asked.

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"The peoples of Helms Deep are outnumbered. And this incredible violence and desire to control. To destroy the people of Rohan and the rest of the free peoples of Middle Earth. To control their wills. To control their infrastructure. Or destroy it. That's what we're doing in these [Middle East] countries. That's really what we're doing, unfortunately."

Viggo continued by saying that his intent isn't to try and make Charlie, Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood (who was also in the interview), or anyone believe what he believes. Instead, he just wanted people to ask questions. And that he only made a political statement during the press for The Lord of the Rings because of disliking the comparison he keeps hearing.

Charlie then asked Viggo what he would have done after the events of 9/11 if he had the power. Viggo's answer was direct and emotional. He said that he wouldn't have randomly dropped bombs on "innocent civilians" in Iraq "from 30,000 with no possibility of being accurate."

Viggo continued by saying, "And maiming and destroying the lives of many more people who died at the World Trade Center. What does that do? Does bombing people make us safer? Does bombing people make us more loved or appreciated overseas?"

Viggo's point was that a response to 9/11 was necessary, but "it's how you respond".

While many of his points were validated by the mainstream years later, the Lord of the Rings actors did face a lot of backlash for taking a stance when he did.

Next: Film Critics Ebert & Roeper Initially Hated 'Lord Of The Rings', Here's Why