Viggo Mortensen was so concerned he might develop dementia, that he took an early-screening test.
Both of the “Lord of the Rings” star’s parents struggled with the condition — as well as three other extended family members — leading the actor, 63, to take a blood test to determine if he was genetically predisposed to develop the syndrome.
“They said — remarkably because my family is rife with it on both sides — they said, ‘You don’t seem likely to get it at all,” he tells Page Six exclusively at the New York premiere of his latest film, “Crimes of the Future” at the Walter Reade Theater on Thursday night. “Of course, one never knows. I try to make the most of every day because someday it will all be over. All you can do is make the most of the time you have.”
Mortensen stars in the David Cronenberg film — his fourth film with the Canadian director — in which he plays a celebrity performance artist who showcases the metamorphosis of his organs.
“David wrote the script 20 something years ago,” the Oscar-nominated actor shared. “The issue of privacy and a person deciding what their sexuality is, what their sex is to them, what to do with their own body, those are very current issues.
“As usual, I think, when he wrote that script he was well ahead of his time and I think the movie has resonance for us now and will in the future,” he continued. “That’s the thing about his movies, when you watch them a second and third time, you find more layers.”
Co-stars Kristen Stewart, Scott Speedman and Léa Seydoux also attended the screening of the film that received a rapturous reception at the Cannes Film Festival.