Viggo Mortensen ‘very happy’ with Oscars nomination

Viggo Mortensen is "very happy" with his Oscar nomination for ‘Green Book’.
The 60-year-old actor has been nominated for Best Actor at the 91st Academy Awards – which are set to take place on February 24 – for his role as Frank ‘Tony Lip’ Vallelonga in the comedy-drama, and although he believes the movie’s director Pete Farrelly should have been nominated in the Best Director category, he’s still happy with his own accomplishment.
He said: "I’m very happy for ‘Green Book’, obviously; it’s very good for our team. I wish Pete Farrelly had got in as director because I think he’s done something incredible. What he did with ‘Green Book’, in my opinion, puts him in the same league, at least for this movie, as Billy Wilder, Frank Capra, Preston Sturges. He’s at that level, [with] what he’s accomplished, and I don’t think anybody was ready for him."
The film received five nods in total, with a nomination for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and a Best Supporting Actor nod for Mahershala Ali, who plays ‘Doc’ Don Shirley.
And Viggo is pleased the movie "got some really nice" recognition by the Academy, as he believes the Oscars buzz will drive more people to want to see the feature.
Speaking to Deadline, he said: "You can’t have everything, but you can’t complain. We got some really nice ones, and I think we’re going wider in the U.S. in the next week, so that’ll help us. This kind of thing really helps people want to go see it, and that’s the most important thing. That’s why I’ve been working on both movies since last summer, non-stop, even as I was preparing this movie I’m going to direct. Anything that gets people to keep going to theatres, and to keep our numbers up."
‘Green Book’ tells the story of a tour between African-American classical jazz pianist Doc, and Italian-American bouncer Tony, who served as Doc’s driver and bodyguard.