The reason why Russell Crowe walked away from ‘Lord of the Rings’
There will probably never be a cinematic event like Peter Jackson’s The Lord of The Rings ever again. Even with the millions of spin-offs out these days, Jackson created lightning in a bottle with the first trilogy of films based around J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy world. Although every one of the cast was perfect for their roles, there was a good chance that another familiar face could have joined the ranks in Middle Earth.
When casting the film, Jackson was working with some of the biggest actors in the world, like Sir Ian McKellan, bringing worldly wisdom to the role of Gandalf. However, the one role that was getting difficult to nail down was Aragorn. Being the future King, Aragorn was the perfect version of an epic hero, having a healthy respect for fighting enemies in his path while also showing compassion to his Hobbit friends.
Before casting Viggo Mortensen for the role, Russell Crowe was actually in the running to play the hero by turning it down. Crowe was one of the biggest movie stars at the time, fresh from his work in the epic film Gladiator. While a role like that set him up for being a fantastic epic hero, he mentioned feeling uncomfortable if he were cast, telling Howard Stern: “I didn’t think Peter Jackson actually wanted me on the film. I think he was forced into talking to me because it was a moment in time where everybody wanted me in everything”.
Although the studio may have been hopeful for Crowe to don the steel boots and warrior’s sword, Crowe figured that Jackson didn’t want him to work on the movie anyways, saying that he could tell from his tone of voice that he had other plans. Continuing, he explained: “My instinct was that he had somebody else in mind, who turned out to be Viggo. He should be allowed to hire the actor that he wants.”
Then again, Crowe was leaving a hefty salary on the table, revealing later that he was also being offered 10% of the royalties from the franchise. After those plans fell through, Crowe took his career in a far different direction, working on more heavy films like A Beautiful Mind.
Granted, Mortensen didn’t have a cakewalk when working on the film either. Spending months in New Zealand to film the landscape shots, Mortensen was in danger while filming The Fellowship of the Ring. During one of the fights with the orc army, one of the body doubles threw a real sword at his head, which he could deflect easily.
That was just the tip of the iceberg regarding injuries, though, with Mortensen later breaking his toe during a scene in The Two Towers, screaming out in pain when he kicked a helmet in frustration after thinking that Merry and Pippin died at the hands of the orcs.
When talking about his filmography, though, Crowe would later explain why he has never made a sequel to any of his films, saying, “I grew up in a time where they were always shit. There are many characters that I’ve played where I’d love to see where they are now. It would be a great opportunity”.
