Viggo got a phone call about a film he didn't know anything about, where he would get the chance to play leading man -- replacing the almost-confirmed Stuart Townsend. Keen on spending time with his son instead, he was all set to turn the role down, but young Henry wouldn't hear of it.

A huge J R R Tolkien fan, Harry insisted his father join the already-underway project for director Peter Jackson, and the rest is blockbuster history. Mortensen played Aragorn in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, a mammoth success that turned him from an actor to a pin-up hunk, a star.

Also read: Nominee Spotlight: Paul Thomas Anderson

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