Interview: Viggo Mortensen & Léa Seydoux on Crimes of the Future

David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future is being hailed as a return to form for the genre maestro. His first “body horror” in decades, it stars Viggo Mortensen as a performance artist in the future who can grow new body parts, which are removed by his assistant and lover, played by Lea Seydoux. In this world, pain doesn’t exist and, as they say in the movie, “surgery is the new sex.”

We recently sat down with the film’s stars, Viggo Mortensen and Lea Seydoux, to discuss their roles. Mortensen, of course, is a Cronenberg veteran, having starred for him in A History of Violence, Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method. However, this is his first time doing body horror for the director. Meanwhile, Seydoux is new to Cronenberg’s world but fits right in with the cast, being a veteran of challenging cinema herself.

Crimes of the Future is in theaters now. The reviews have been mixed, but our own JimmyO loved it. You can also check out our interview with Cronenberg and co-star Scott Speedman below, as they discuss the film’s polarizing reaction at Cannes.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:

As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, the body undergoes new transformations and mutations. With his partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux), Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), celebrity performance artist, publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. Timlin (Kristen Stewart), an investigator from the National Organ Registry, obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed… Their mission – to use Saul’s notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.

Have you seen Crimes of the Future yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!