The huge movie Uma Thurman rejected: “One of the worst decisions ever made”
First ushered into the spotlight through a career in modelling, Uma Thurman soon gained the approval of many film critics during the late 1980s and early ‘90s. At the age of just 18, she starred alongside Glenn Close and John Malkovich in 1988’s Dangerous Liaisons, proving herself to be an incredibly talented actor.
Since then, she has found herself in a range of movies, from the sexually provocative Henry and June, inspired by Anaïs Nin’s book, to the iconic Pulp Fiction, playing Mia Wallace with her recognisable white shirt, black bob, cigarette and bloodied nose. The ‘90s were a good decade for Thurman, rising to prominence in a series of popular movies and only making a few missteps, such as portraying Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin, which ended up being universally derided.
Thurman found further acclaim in the early 2000s when she played the lead role in Kill Bill, reuniting with director Quentin Tarantino for the film, which was released in two parts. Heavily praised for her complex portrayal of a woman seeking vengeance, Thurman was nominated for several accolades, such as a Bafta and a Golden Globe, winning several MTV Movie Awards and a Saturn Award.
Yet, just before she took on the iconic role, Thurman almost starred in a franchise which became a huge success, even making it onto the list of the highest-grossing movies of all time. The actor, believe it or not, turned down the role of Eowyn in the Lord of the Rings movies, who was eventually played by Miranda Otto.
Talking to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, Thurman revealed, “I do consider it one of the worst decisions ever made.” Yet, her justification for turning down the role was the fact that she’d recently given birth to her first child, Maya Hawke, with her then-husband Ethan Hawke. “I was a little house-bound,” she admitted, although retrospectively, she “regrets” not accepting the role, which would have required her to up sticks and move to New Zealand for three years of filming.
Eowyn is largely considered the most independent female character in the series, which is predominantly led by male characters. Still, her character arc has still been criticised by feminist scholars since she happily accepts domesticity as her fate.
However, the movie gave Otto a chance to rise to greater acclaim, following her previous performances in heralded movies like The Thin Red Line. She was subsequently cast in movies like War of the Worlds following her success in Lord of the Rings playing Eowyn. Meanwhile, Thurman was able to concentrate on Kill Bill, which truly established her as a recognisable star, allowing her to thrive in less commercial and indie roles.
Thurman isn’t the only actor who turned down Lord of the Rings for family-related reasons. In an interview with People, Nicolas Cage revealed that he turned down the trilogy because “there’s no version of Nick Cage in reality that doesn’t want to spend time with his children,” adding, “I didn’t want to go to New Zealand for three years or Australia for three years because I needed to be home with my son Weston.”
It seems as though Lord of the Rings was a demanding series of movies to be a part of, requiring an intense level of commitment that certain actors, like Thurman, just didn’t have time for.
