FROM:Watertown Daily Times October 1991

Fresh off a co-starring role in "The Indian Runner," former Watertown resident Viggo P. Mortensen Jr. is on his way to Cairo, Egypt, to begin filming "Ruby Cairo."

"The Indian Runner," a film about two Midwest brothers - one good, the other bad - has Mr. Mortensen playing opposite David Morse from TV's "St. Elsewhere." The cast features Hollywood stars Charles Bronson, Dennis Hopper and Sandy Dennis.

The MGM-United Artists film was written and directed by 31-year-old Sean Penn, perhaps best known for his brief marriage to pop star Madonna.

Mr. Mortensen was praised in the movie section of Interview magazine in June for his portrayal of the troubled Frank Roberts: "Word is that he fires up the screen in Sean Penn's directorial debut ... "
"The Indian Runner," inspired by Bruce Springsteen's song "Highway Patrolman," is showing in New York City and Los Angeles; Mr. Mortensen's publicist said the general release date has not been announced by the studio.

With "The Indian Runner" behind him, Mr. Mortensen - now begins four to five weeks of filming "Ruby Cairo" in Egypt.

The movie features Andie MacDowell, who appeared in "sex, lies and videotape" and "Green Card," and Liam Neeson, who starred in "Next of Kin" and "Darkman." Graeme Clifford is the film's director.

Mr. Mortensen plays Miss MacDowell's husband, who presumably has died in Mexico. Her search for him leads her to Berlin, Athens and Cairo, where she finds him alive.

Mr. Mortensen, a 1976 graduate of Watertown High School, graduated cum laude in 1980 from St. Lawrence University in Canton, majoring in government and language.

A year later, he moved to New York City, where he attended the Warren Robertson Theatre Workshop.

Acting, he has told The Watertown Daily Times, was "something to try. I went to a workshop and kept going."

His credits include "Witness" (1985) with Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis, followed by appearances in "Prison" (1986), "Fresh Horses" (1987), "The Reflecting Skin" (1989) and "Young Guns II" (1990).

Mr. Mortensen lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Christine Lee "Exene," and their son, Henry Blake.

When asked why Mr. Penn chose obscure actors for his film debut, Mr. Mortensen said: "Sean took a chance on us."

Mr. Penn has said his acting experience didn't always serve him well when handling the actors in "The Indian Runner."

"There was nothing that a director in my past ever did that I hated that I didn't do to every actor on this movie," he told the Orlando Sentinel recently.

"I went through the years making notes and notes about what I would and wouldn't do in terms of how I dealt with actors - and violated every one of them."

The director rejects the notion that the warring brothers in "The Indian Runner" reflect any schism in himself. He said he sees the film as a comment on the state of modern manhood.

"I hope this doesn't sound sexist," he said in an Associated Press interview, "but I'm drawn to things that tend to have a more dramatic dynamic, and I think it shows up more in men. I think that the myths that surround men are absurdly pressed into the male consciousness. I think men lead more trivial lives."