The Dead Don’t Hurt Star Danny Huston Opens Up About Working With Director Viggo Mortenson

Danny Huston recalls what it was like to work with Viggo Mortenson on The Dead Don’t Hurt. Mortenson is a jack of all trades, writing, directing, and starring in The Dead Don’t Hurt, a Toronto International Film Festival selection. The Western takes place during the Civil War and also stars Vicky Krieps in a complicated love story. Legendary actor Danny Huston stars in The Dead Don’t Hurt as Mayor Rudolph Schiller, and is also a director in his own right. This gives him the perfect knowledge of the highs and lows of being behind the camera, and gives him the insight into what Mortenson went through during production.

ComicBook spoke to Danny Huston about The Dead Don’t Hurt, where he was asked how Viggo Mortenson’s directing style compared to other directors he’s worked with, as well as what are the benefits of working with a director who is also an actor. 

“I felt very protected by Viggo because he wrote the screenplay, he acted in it, but he also wrote the music, so he’s kind of embracing the film,” Huston said. “To have that clarity of vision is a wonderful thing as an actor. The film was shot under a certain schedule, it was shot in Durango, in Mexico, so we also had the elements to contend with, so sometimes I could see the wheels turning from wearing many hats. I described it as him being slightly schizophrenic. He disagreed with that description [laughs].”

He added, “You’re kind of holding each other up in a sense. It creates a sort of waltz. You’re there to help each other out.”

Danny Huston on starring in movie reboots

Danny Huston stars as the villain in the upcoming reboot of The Crow, which hits theaters later this year. In 2025, he’ll appear in the reboot of The Naked Gun, which is gearing up for production. While speaking to ComicBook about The Dead Don’t Hurt, his new movie hitting theaters on May 31st, Huston opened up about the challenges that come with remaking a popular title.

“What I find challenging is, in a way, the idea of remaking something that’s already good,” Huston told ComicBook. “It’s like you kind of don’t want to touch it. You want to leave it alone. I remember my father saying, ‘Why are we remaking good movies? We should be remaking the bad ones and make them good.’ So that’s where you’re cautious. And yet you have to kind of reinvent it. You can’t imitate it. But you’re inspired by it and that’s the tough balance to get.”

The Dead Don’t Hurt is in theaters nationwide on May 31.