Viggo Mortensen on ‘Hateful Eight’: “I Wish It Had Worked Out”

Viggo Mortensen has revealed that he was in negotiations to star in Quentin Tarantino‘s hotly anticipated Western The Hateful Eight but had to regrettably pass due to scheduling issues.

In an interview with Grantland, the Lord of the Rings actor said he met Tarantino and auditioned for the film last year but was tied up with personal projects, such as Juaja in which he was acting and producing and Far From Men.

“Yeah, we did meet. … [Tarantino] wanted to start shooting at the end of the year and do rehearsals before that, and I just couldn’t do that schedule-wise. That’s the only reason [I passed on the project],” said Mortensen. 

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He added: “It would have been really, really fun to work with [Tarantino]. I think he’s really smart and funny.”

Speaking more about the reasons he had to pass, Mortensen said: “I wish [The Hateful Eight] would have worked out, but that’s what I’m talking about — you either see these films through to the end or you don’t.”

In the interview, Mortensen also revealed that he had previously auditioned for Tarantino’s 1992 debut Reservoir Dogs as one of the crew who takes part in the failed bank heist.

“Mister … I don’t know which one it was,” he said. “It was one of them. I might have auditioned for two. I had fun. I did one take where I made the character Hispanic. I remember it was in this tiny office on the Fox lot, I think, and I read with Harvey Keitel.”

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