Viggo Mortensen rides back in ‘Hidalgo’

It’s not often an actor buys his co-star. But then again, Viggo Mortensen isn’t your average actor. And come to think of it, the co-star isn’t some hot young filly — it’s a real horse. “I just fell in love with him [on the set of ‘Hidalgo’],” Mortensen says. “He doesn’t live with me [in Venice, Calif.]. He stays at a friend’s house, and I go over to ride him as much as I can.”

All in the family

There is a moment in Steppenwolf’s production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” that is especially poignant. Looking nervous and unsure, Tim Sampson, the actor who portrays the childlike Chief Bromden, announces that he doesn’t feel big, like his father. At 6-foot-3, Chief Bromden isn’t talking about his height, but rather his inability to come to terms with self-esteem issues that were passed down from father to son.