Actors Who Refused Roles In Lord Of The Rings

the Lord of the Rings trilogy has become so ingrained in popular culture that it's difficult to imagine how it might have looked with a different cast but several notable actors turned down big roles here are some of the names who could have resided in middle-earth according to reports Sean Connery was offered the role of Gandalf before it went to Ian McKellen Peter Jackson was apparently so keen on landing the former Bond actor that he convinced newline to offer Connery a 15% slice of the box-office takings plus a 30 million-dollar pay packet the Lord of the Rings trilogy made just shy of 3 billion dollars worldwide so it was a pretty costly decision especially when you consider the fact that Connery went on to star in the career-ending the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen instead so why did the iconic Scott turn down the chance to play Tolkien's most famous wizard I'll take shorts for 400 in 2012 a retired Connery admitted that he said no to the Lord of the Rings because he just couldn't get his head around the sprawling story the actor said I read the book I read the script I saw the movie I still don't understand it Ian McKellen I believe is marvelous in it when McKellen was asked about Jackson's pursuit of Connery during an interview with Total Film he joked that the film's would have been quote very different had Connery chosen to take on the role saying Gandalf would have come from Scotland for a start your shall not pass doesn't have quite the same ring to it does it stay back if you value your life Christopher Plummer grew up reading the Lord of the Rings and has admitted to being a huge fan of Tolkien's world but he still chose to turn down the opportunity to play Gandalf when Peter Jackson came calling years later the actor revealed that he had an issue with the level of commitment required for Plummer spending three years in New Zealand at his age just wasn't an option he explained to Conan O'Brien I thought either other countries I'd also like to visit before I croak he added that quote absolutely marvelous ian mckellen brought a warmth to the wizard that he himself may not have been able to produce i've might have been a little cold and imperious wanna has still done some memorable work since passing on rings not that he had anything left to prove after carving out his illustrious career he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for playing Cardinal Bernard law in the Catholic Church abuse drama our fathers in 2005 and in 2012 he scooped up his first Academy Award triumph thing in the Best Supporting Actor category for beginners his win made him the oldest actor to take home a competitive Oscar Plummer almost beat his own record in 2018 when he was nominated for all the money in the world a role he famously took over for a scandal hit Kevin Spacey at the last minute but he was beaten by Sam Rockwell for three billboards outside Epping Missouri Peter Jackson is said to have attempted to convince Daniel day-lewis to take on the role of Eragon on numerous occasions supposedly the three-time best actor winner repeatedly spurned his advances according to the One Ring which had the inside track on all things the Lord of the Rings back when the trilogy was still in development in October 1999 a source told the Tolkien fan site that producers have made one final push to get day-lewis on board stating DDL has been offered the Aragorn role again he has been offered the middle-earth to take the role the producers think he'll say no again but they don't want to miss the chance to try him day-lewis addressed the long-running Aragorn rumours over a decade later confirming that he was indeed off at the part speaking to MTV's Josh Horowitz in 2009 the notoriously picky method actor said but he rejected the role because big franchise films just aren't his bag he explained they can be fantastically entertaining for the people who love to see them but it's not for me if I find myself working on a film and during the course of that work I was bored because I didn't really know what the hell I was involved in I would find that infinitely demoralizing and it might well make me decide to pack my bags day-lewis retired from acting in 2017 the idea of Nicolas Cage playing Aragorn might sound like nightmare fuel but believe it or not this almost came to pass Cage was a headliner at the time fresh off starring roles in Connor face off and Snake Eyes taking the lead in the big-budget epic like the Lord of the Rings would have been the next logical step for him but he was forced to turn down Peter Jackson's offer because he had quote family obligations that he couldn't ignore it wasn't the only huge role he passed on either cage also said no to the matrix the actor said both are great movies but they both shop for great quantities of time I mean years Australia was the matrix and New Zealand was the Lord of the Rings cage expanded on his explanation during a 2015 interview with Newsweek where he said of the Lord of the Rings there were different things going on in my life at the time that precluded me from being able to travel and be away from home for three years he has absolutely no regrets however saying I get to enjoy the movies as an audience member because I don't watch my own movies have his schedule been different perhaps the state of his career today would be different - for better or worse cage was unable to take the part and we're left wondering what bizarre accent he might have given the future king of Gondor by the time New Zealand native Russell Crowe was approached about the Aragorn vacancy the Lord of the Rings budget was starting to look a little stretched they didn't have enough cash to give Crowe a suitable upfront fee so producers offered him a percentage of the takings instead it wasn't enough to tempt him though years later Crowe conceded that it would have been a risk well worth taking in 2011 the actor delivered a lecture about his career in the business to film students at England's Durham University according to the Telegraph Crowe talked about turning down the Aragorn role joking that he wouldn't have needed to do paid appearances had he agreed to new lines offer of 10 percent of The Lord of the Rings profits so why didn't he crow didn't reveal the reasoning behind his costly decision until 2019 when Howard Stern decided to probe him about it I didn't think Peter Jackson actually wanted me on the film because I think he was forced into talking to me because there was a moment in time when anything everybody wanted me in everything Crowe knew that something wasn't right when he spoke to Jackson over the phone about the part though he said he had an instinct Jackson wanted someone else for the part Viggo Mortensen Kate Winslet started getting linked with a possible appearance in The Lord of the Rings as soon as new line announced that Peter Jackson was going to spearhead its ambitious three movie project the director gave the British sollett her big break when he cast her in 1994's Heavenly Creatures a psychological drama based on a famous New Zealand case involving two teenage killers by the time Jackson started casting for the Lord of the Rings Winslet was a huge star having been nominated for Academy Awards in the Best Supporting Actress and Best Leading Actress categories for 1995's Sense and Sensibility and 1997 s Titanic respectively she had her pick of projects at the time and the Lord of the Rings just wasn't appealing enough Winslet was reportedly offered the role of Rohan shieldmaiden a win but she had some commitment issues according to an email allegedly written by former New Line Cinema president of production Michael De Luca the supposed email which was forwarded to the Lord of the Rings fan site for One Ring by an inside source read Winslet's unavailable I'm afraid I think she passed on the project due to the length of time it takes some people might view that as a gross error of judgment on Winslet's part but her Korea didn't suffer as a result she's been nominated for another four Oscars in the year since winning one Huma Thurman certainly has a high fantasy look about her it's easy to imagine the actress as Galadriel but it's not the part that Peter Jackson had in mind for her the director wanted Thurman to play a Oh in the same character that Kate Winslet was approached about Thurman also turned the part down though unlike Winslet it wasn't just a time issue she and her then-husband ethan hawke had just welcomed their first daughter Maya when the offer was made presenting the new mother with a difficult choice in the end Furman decided to put family first and reject Jackson's overtures though she later admitted that the decision still haunts her she confirmed to MTV in 2008 yeah I was asked it just caught me at the wrong moment I wish I had done it oh I truly wish I could have been able to take that plunge and maybe I should have but I just couldn't at the time when she appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert almost a decade later the Kill Bill star admitted that rejecting the Lord of the Rings was quote one of the worst decisions of her entire career I just had my first child and I just I don't know a little house bound at one stage husband and wife team uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke looked set to appear in the Lord of the Rings together with the latter confirming his planned involvement at the Toronto Film Festival walk not only revealed that he would be playing for Amir's younger brother Faramir a role that eventually went to Australian actor David Wenham he also let slip that Tolkien's enigmatic supporting character Tom Bombadil had been cut from the screenplay the actor went on to gush over the author's work claiming he had been a fan of the Tolkien series since childhood despite his obvious excitement Hawke pulled out of the picture perhaps leaving his wife at home to care for their newborn daughter after she had turned down a part in the same movie wasn't an option for the actor who takes Parenthood so seriously but he was inspired to write a book about it his now ex-wife has admitted that she regrets rejecting the Lord of the Rings but does Hawke feel the same he didn't explicitly say that he wished he had taken the Faramir role but when he sat down with variety in 2018 he revealed that he was still ting for his big blockbuster moment saying before I die I would really like to give a meaningful performance inside a really commercial film Lucy Lawless is best known for starring in the much-loved Xena Warrior Princess the New Zealander seemed to be the perfect fit she had plenty of fantasy experience and the kind of flawless features that Galadriel is known for in the novel's but it wasn't meant to be sometimes people do things that they regret Lawless was pregnant when Jackson approached her about the role and the director clearly failed to sell the Lord of the Rings to her because she forgot to turn up for the audition in a 2003 interview with hot celebs magazine lawless revealed that she also turned down a chance to appear in Fox's franchise opener x-men at the time despite knowing that she probably wouldn't get another shot at the big leagues she said you know what might happen by the time I'm ready and want to do a multi-year contract they won't want me but what can I do I've turned down great things it's not worth it if your children are miserable her prediction came true and although lawless is still working today having starred in The Australian crime series my life is murder in 2019 and voiced an alien queen in 2 20 20 episodes of Star Wars resistance her career could have been a whole lot different if she had agreed to portray Tolkien's telepathic elf check out one of our newest videos right here plus even more looper videos about your favorite movies are coming soon subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one you [Music]

Channel: Looper

Views: 987,321

Rating: 4.8354602 out of 5

Keywords: looper, looper movies, lord of the rings, lord of the rings almost cast, lord of the rings almost, lord of the rings cast, lord of the rings sean connery, lord of the rings christopher plummer, lord of the rings daniel day lewis, lord of the rings daniel day-lewis, lord of the rings russell crowe, lord of the rings kate winslet, lord of the rings uma thurman, lord of the rings ethan hawke, lord of the rings lucy lawless, lord of the rings first cast

Id: h-_DBmB3nEg

Length: 12min 36sec (756 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 18 2020