VENICE (AFP) - "Lord of the Rings" star Viggo Mortensen, an avid follower of Argentine football club San Lorenzo, said on Tuesday that he hopes to persuade fellow fan Pope Francis to join him at a match.

Mortensen, in Venice for the premier of his latest film "Far From Men", by French director David Oelhoffen, broke off from interviews to pose in front of the team's flag and chat about this year's FIFA Club World Cup.

"I want to invite the pope to see the film and attend the match in Morocco between San Lorenzo and Real Madrid for the Club World Cup," the 56-year-old said with a grin.

The Danish-American actor was born in New York but speaks fluent Spanish, having moved to Venezuela before settling in Argentina where his father managed chicken farms.

The pope has been a supporter of the Buenos-Aires based outfit since he was a boy.