in play, run(s)

Dangers of working on a set.

he would spend multiple days walking overland to locations in full pack, sword, & armour when everyone else was travelling in trucks

refused to use any prop swords that weren’t actual steel

basically lived in the forest in-costume, sleeping rough under the sky, even fishing & foraging for his food when possible

often spent hours in the barn just bonding with the horses. He adopted the horse he rode, Uranus, after filming ended

repaired all his own gear by hand, which was often since he never took it off

had a tooth knocked out during filming but had the crew simply glue it back in place so they could keep filming

the instructor who taught everyone swordplay said Viggo was the best swordsman he had ever trained

carried his sword literally everywhere & practiced non-stop, resulting in the cops being called when locals reported “a wild man swinging a sword around his head" outside a gym in Wellington

an orc actor fucked up & accidentally threw a dagger directly into Viggo’s face, but Viggo just deflected it with his sword. They kept that shot

infamously broke 3 toes kicking that helmet but stayed in-character & sold his very real scream as part of the scene. They also kept that shot

Viggo insists on doing his own stunts; in The Two Towers where Aragorn is unconscious & floating down the river, the strong current pulled him underwater for so long that a rescue team had to go in to save him. Viggo survived by grabbing a boulder on the riverbed and pulling himself to the surface

[3 seconds into plank]

student 1: planks aren't even yoga

instructor: you think i give a fuck?

student 2: i mean, it's a yoga class

instructor: it's masshole yoga. it's different. it's its own thing. you think i give a fuck what they do in Bangladesh or whatever?

student 1: India

student 3: isn't that cultural appropriation?

instructor: ooh, look at havahd ova' there

[10 seconds silence]

instructor: you guys see that new Greek place they're puttin' in on mass ave?

[various noises of assent]

instructor, con't: looks like shit.

By Scott Wheeler | Published May 20, 2026 | The Athletic

Jaxon Cover was raised on Grand Cayman and is expected to be selected in the first two rounds of the 2026 NHL Draft. Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; photos courtesy of the Cover family, St. Andrew's College, Luke Durda / OHL Images