Viggo Mortensen looks dapper attending screening of his directorial debut at the Lumière Festival

He’s known the world over for starring roles in films like Green Book and The Lord of The Rings trilogy.

So it is not surprising that the Lumière Film Festival honoured Viggo Mortensen, 61, with a special screening of his directorial debut, Falling on Sunday. 

Viggo’s film tells the story of a middle-aged gay man, whose conservative and homophobic father begins to show signs of dementia.

At a special ceremony welcoming the Lord of the Rings star to the festival, The Danish-American star looked dapper in a navy suit and black T-shirt.

With his mid-length silver locks ruffled to one side, Viggo looked handsome as he laughed and answered questions on stage.         

Falling tells the story of a middle-aged gay man, whose conservative and homophobic father begins to show signs of dementia. 

The film, which Viggo also wrote and directed, is set to be released in the UK in December.

So far, the film has received mixed-to-positive reviews, with Indie Wire describing it as a picture that ‘baffles and enthralls in equal measure,’ while Consequence of Sound called it ‘well-shot, but doomed by an unlikeable lead performance.’ 

Other stars in attendance at the Lumière Festival include Wall Street director Oliver Stone, 74, and Casino Royale actor Mads Mikkelsen, 54. 

The festival is normally a spectacular affair, with more than 5,000 people seated in Lyon’s abattoir-turned-concert hall.

But as a result of the coronavirus pandemic it was a much more subdued affair this year, without the usual glitz.    

One bonus for organisers has been that there are no less than 23 premieres originally due to show at the Cannes Film Festival, which are showing at the Lumière, due to Cannes being cancelled back in May.

Viggo made his film debut with a small role in 1985 thriller Witness starring Harrison Ford.

During his flourishing Hollywood career, Viggo has been tipped for three Oscars yet he has never bagged an Academy Award.

The leading star is best known for his role as hunky Aragorn in the epic fantasy series Lord Of The Rings. 

Viggo attracted a lot of attention during last year’s awards season as he was tipped for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his performance in Green Book.

While the star lost out on the Best Actor title to Bohemian Rhapsody’s Rami Malek, Green Book secured the Best Picture award.