Editing Viggo Mortensen (section)

== Early life ==
Mortensen was born in [[Watertown, New York]], on October 20, 1958,<ref name="birthday"/> to Grace Gamble ({{nee|Atkinson}}; July 8, 1928 – April 25, 2015) and Viggo Peter Mortensen Sr. (May 8, 1929 – March 2, 2017). His mother was American, while his father was [[Danes|Danish]]. They met in Norway.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=133016&ran=177221 |title=Viggo Mortensen gets nude for 'Eastern Promises' fight scene |website=HamptonRoads.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012003144/http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=133016&ran=177221 |archive-date=October 12, 2007}}</ref> His maternal grandfather was a Canadian from [[Nova Scotia]]. His paternal grandmother was from [[Trondheim]], Norway.<ref name="SLU">{{cite web |url=http://www.stlawu.edu/commence/mortensen_speech.html |title=St. Lawrence University: Commencement |website=stlawu.edu |date=May 21, 2006 |access-date=February 23, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213215756/http://www.stlawu.edu/commence/mortensen_speech.html |archive-date=February 13, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vg.no/film/artikkel.php?artid=578600 |title=Film: Viggo Mortensen magret seg ned 15 kilo for drømmerollen VG Nett |publisher=Vg.no |date=May 20, 2009 |access-date=May 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419080009/http://www.vg.no/film/artikkel.php?artid=578600 |archive-date=April 19, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1961,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=April 27, 2015 |title=Grace Wright |url=https://www.nny360.com/news/obituaries/grace-wright/article_e451fe59-f16f-57b8-b12a-af1ec8a24cd2.html |access-date=August 7, 2024 |website=NNY360 |language=en}}</ref> the family moved to Venezuela, then Denmark, and eventually settled in Argentina. They lived successively in the provinces of [[Córdoba Province (Argentina)|Córdoba]], [[Chaco Province|Chaco]], and [[Buenos Aires Province|Buenos Aires]]. Mortensen attended primary school and acquired a fluent proficiency in Spanish while his father managed poultry farms and ranches.<ref name="chicago">{{cite web |last=Pearlman |first=Cindy |url=http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/pearlman/548894,SHO-Sunday-cindy09.article |title=Superstar Viggo's a serious soul at heart |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912044118/http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/pearlman/548894,SHO-Sunday-cindy09.article |archive-date=September 12, 2007 |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] | date=September 9, 2007 |access-date=November 26, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dwyer |first=Brian |date=March 6, 2017 |title=Father of Viggo Mortensen Passes Away |url=https://ny1.com/nyc/queens/north-country-blog/2017/03/6/father-of-viggo-mortensen-passes-away |access-date=August 7, 2024 |website=ny1.com |language=en}}</ref> He was baptized [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]], the tradition of his father, though he now identifies as an atheist.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/11/18/how-viggo-mortensen-got-inside-sigmund-freuds-head/ |title=How Viggo Mortensen Got Inside Sigmund Freud's Head |year=2011 |work=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=June 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620130401/https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/11/18/how-viggo-mortensen-got-inside-sigmund-freuds-head/ |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

When Mortensen was 11 and his brothers 8 and 6, their parents divorced. In 1969, the three boys returned with their mother to the United States, where Viggo spent the rest of his childhood in [[North Country (New York)|Northern New York]] State.<ref name=":0" /> He graduated from [[Watertown High School (New York)|Watertown High School]] in 1976.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stlawu.edu/magazine/spring03/viggo.html |title=Viggo Mortensen '80 REMEMBERS |last1=Doyle |first1=Macreena A. |year=2003 |work=St. Lawrence Magazine |publisher=St. Lawrence University |access-date=October 2, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924110815/http://www.stlawu.edu/magazine/spring03/viggo.html |archive-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=DePaulo |first1=Lisa |title=Why Viggo Mortensen Is Off the Grid |url=http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a45212/viggo-mortensen-profile/ |website=Esquire |date=May 25, 2016 |access-date=June 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604231344/http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a45212/viggo-mortensen-profile/ |archive-date=June 4, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> He attended [[St. Lawrence University]] in [[Canton (village), New York|Canton, New York]], earning a [[bachelor's degree]] in 1980 in [[Spanish studies]] and government.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=2008 |title=The Great Dane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ciwdAQAAMAAJ |magazine=[[Men's Vogue]] |location= |publisher= |volume=4 |page=2}}</ref>

After graduating, Mortensen moved to Europe and lived in the United Kingdom and Spain before returning to Denmark. There he took various jobs such as driving trucks in [[Esbjerg]] and selling flowers in [[Copenhagen]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=Xan |title=The happy trails of Viggo Mortensen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/apr/17/viggo-mortensen |access-date=October 15, 2014 |work=[[The Guardian]] | date=April 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023192934/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/apr/17/viggo-mortensen |archive-date=October 23, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lane |first1=Harriet |title=My mother is very happy about it |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/feb/22/awardsandprizes |access-date=October 15, 2014 |work=The Guardian |date=February 22, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006193100/http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/feb/22/awardsandprizes |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1982, he returned to the United States to pursue an acting career.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://denmark.dk/en/meet-the-danes/great-danes/actors/viggo-mortensen |title=Viggo Mortensen |website=denmark.dk |access-date=March 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409093126/http://denmark.dk/en/meet-the-danes/great-danes/actors/viggo-mortensen |archive-date=April 9, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>