Viggo Mortensen (far left) in a scene from 'EASTERN PROMISES'

The actor stripped for the brutal scene in new Russian Mafia thriller Eastern Promises and admits director David Cronenberg and his hit-happy co-stars weren't pulling any punches.

Mortensen says, "There's two big guys in leather jackets and knives and I'm naked. It felt really awkward and dangerous - perfect for the scene.

"I couldn't wear pads for obvious reasons, so I knew I was gonna get banged up. It could have been much worse, but David was pretty efficient about it and got it over with after two days, so I could heal up."

Director Cronenberg admits he carefully choreographed the fight scene in an effort to make sure his star's pounding wasn't worse than it needed to be.

He says, "The preparation was very extensive so we could do that quickly and that helped a bit because, if we had the normal five or six days for that kind of scene, Viggo would've been a total mess.

"As it was, Viggo was covered with bruises. At the end of the scene our make-up man was saying he'd spent more time covering the bruises than he did putting on Viggo's extensive tattoos."

And Mortensen's co-star, Naomi Watts, is convinced the pounding the actor took for the scene was worth it - because the fight will make movie history: "It's a memorable moment. I think it will go down in cinema history, because you just can't believe it."

Source: WENN