35:T46d,

Viggo Mortensen became a global star as a valiant crusading king in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. But then he deftly complicated this virtuous image with a series of dark, dense character studies for the director David Cronenberg. And his latest role is perhaps his most complex yet. In "Captain Fantastic," Mortensen plays a father who raises his six children in the wilderness—then reassesses his convictions as this bucolic fantasy collapses. The fame that came with his "Lord of the Rings" role also gave Mortensen the freedom to exercise his wider artistic imagination: he's a distinguished author, poet, painter, and publisher. Mortensen tells host Alec Baldwin how he got his acting start in school playing the ass-end of a dragon, and explains how his eleven-year-old son convinced him to say yes to the role that would make him famous.

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36:T41c,Christmas continues to come early on Soundtracking, as once again we have two guests for you instead of one.First up, a bit of a legend in our mind, given that he scripted both American Beauty and Six Feet Under. Alan Ball has now written and directed a little gem of a movie in the shape of Uncle Frank, which you can watch on Amazon Prime. Starting Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillas, Uncle Frank tells the story of a gay man forced to confront his past on a road trip with his niece, and has all the wit and nuance of Alan's previous stellar work.Then, perhaps even more impressively on a certain level, Edith is joined by Viggo Mortensen, who not only wrote and directed, but also starred in, and composed the score for, Falling - his first film behind the camera. A long time in the making, Falling sees Lance Henriksen play the homophobic Willis, who is forced to move in with his gay son when he starts to exhibit signs of dementia. Falling has a cinematic release, but you can also watch it at home. Head to modernfilms.com/falling to find out how.

Sean Astin | Viggo Mortensen