Among Mortensen’s many interests is hockey, with stories saying that he wore a Montreal Canadiens T-shirt under his armor in Lord of the Rings throughout filming. In fact, it seems like hockey was important enough to him that he made it his job.

He worked as a translator for a Swedish hockey team during the 1980 Winter Olympics. As a result of his gig, he witnessed firsthand the “miracle” hockey game (US. vs. the Soviet Union).