Viggo Mortensen reveals why he's snubbed major Hollywood franchises after Lord of the Rings

Viggo Mortensen hasn't joined a major Hollywood franchise since 'The Lord of the Rings' because they're "not usually that good".

The 65-year-old actor played Aragorn in Peter Jackson's epic film trilogy between 2001 and 2003, and he admitted that he's open to any role as long as the character and story is a good fit for him.

He told Vanity Fair magazine: "That goes for franchises.

"If somebody came to me with X movie, the third part or the ninth part, and I thought it was a great character and I wanted to play that character and I thought I had something to contribute, I’d do it. I’m not against it.

"But they’re not usually that good. I mean, to me, they’re not usually that well-written. They’re kind of predictable. I mean, of course, there’s always the issue of if I run out of money.”

Mortensen insisted he is open to "any kind of genre" or budget for his projects, and he's not motivated to take on a role just to work with a certain filmmaker.

He explained: "I don’t really look for or avoid any kind of genre or any size budget. I just look for interesting stories.

“It doesn’t matter to me what the genre is or what the budget is or who’s making them. I would never do a movie just because so-and-so is directing it.

"It has to be about the story. And if I think I’m right for the character, that always comes first.”

Fans have been wondering if Mortensen could reprise his role as Aragorn in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum', which is being directed by Gollum actor Andy Serkis with Jackson returning as producer.

He told GQ UK magazine: "I don’t know exactly what the story is, I haven’t heard. Maybe I’ll hear about it eventually.

"I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I enjoyed it a lot.

"I would only do it if I was right for it in terms of, you know, the age I am now and so forth. I would only do it if I was right for the character. It would be silly to do it otherwise.”