The Lord of the Ringsfranchise could have looked a lot different had it includedRussell Crowe, and now the actor has revealed the real reason that he didn’t pursue the role of Aragorn, who was eventually played by Viggo Mortensen. Released in 2001,The Fellowship of the Ringbegan Peter Jackson’s trilogy of films that would go on to earna combined total of nearly $3 billion dollarsat the box office. Adapted from the novels by author J.R.R. Tolkein,The Lord of the Ringsmovies are widely consideredsome of the best epic fantasy films of all time.
Appearing on British GQ’sActually MeYouTube segment, Russell Crowe sat down to answer fan questions via social media, and wasasked if he regrets turning down the role of Aragorn. The 60-year-old New Zealand native was quick to answer,“I don’t, actually,”before expanding more on his response. He says he got the feeling that it was the studio (New Line Cinema) pushing for him to be cast in the part,rather than director Peter Jackson. Check out his comments below.
“I was a big Tolkien reader when I was a kid, so I got quite excited about the idea of Lord of the Rings. ButI very much felt the studio were making that decision, not the film director. And I talked to Peter Jackson over the phone, and he wasn’t saying the sort of things that directors were saying to you if they were really trying to attract you to a project.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Crowe would go on to say that while talking to Jackson he got the sense that the Academy Award-winning directoralready had someone else in mind for the role of Aragorn, and it was then that Crowe bowed out of the project, allowing Jackson topursue his preferred choice without any ill will.
“And I just kind of got a sense that he already had somebody else in mind that he wanted to do. And me stepping forward and saying yes was actually going to get in his way. We come from the same place, so there’s a nuance in that conversation that other people might not hear –we’re both New Zealanders – in his own way without him saying anything negative, that he had another plan. So I just left it at that.”
Peter Jackson Cast Someone Else to Play Aragorn Before Viggo Mortensen
While it’s hard to imagineanyone else in the role of Aragornall these years later following Viggo Mortensen’s epic portrayal of the character, the actorwas actually not the first person to be cast. Peter Jacksoninitially tapped Stewart Townsend for the part, but after shooting began, New Line Cinema deemed him too young to portray the grizzled Ranger of the North, and the director agreed.Townsend was 28 at the time, while Mortensen was 43.
It was then that talks began between Jackson, Mortensen, and Crowe,with Mortensen being his first choice, and Crowe the backup. As fans well know, Mortensen eventually landed the part, leading to cinematic history. For his part, Stuart Townsend would go on to portray the vampire Lestat in 2002’sQueen of the Damned, while Crowewas nominated for an Academy Awardin 2001 for his part inA Beautiful Mind.
How Peter Jackson’s New Lord of the Rings Movie Could Bring Back Aragorn and Gandalf
With The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis could bring back Aragorn and Gandalf, though they may be recast.
The Lord of the Ringssaga will continue with the newly announced film,The Hunt for Gollum, which is set to debut in 2026. Whether or not we’ll see any of the original cast pop up remains to be seen, but Viggo Mortensenhas mentioned that he is open to a returnshould it make sense for his character.
The Lord of the Ringstrilogy is available to stream onMax, and you can check out our interview with Russell Crowe from last year where he dicusses playing Father Gabriel Amorth inThe Pope’s Exorcist.
