Most of the cast members of Peter Jackson’s film trilogy claim to be fans of the famous fantasy work, but many were not born when the author died.
Summit work of fiction and with the honor of being one of the best-selling books in history with over 150 million copies worldwide, The Lord of the Rings it is not the first nor the only book by JRR Tolkien set in Middle-earth, but it is the most popular. The acclaimed British author published it in three volumes between 1954 and 1955, nearly two decades after the children’s fantasy novel. The Hobbit during which the writer devoted himself body and soul to the development of the story.
Reprinted several times and translated into more than 30 languages, The Lord of the Rings ah has captivated millions of fantasy fans around the world for decades and has become part of popular culture, becoming even the most beloved British novel of all time. Tolkien’s work has also been a source of inspiration for many other authors and served as the basis for games, movies, music and other artistic expressions, but the truth is that there aren’t many adaptations for the big screen.
Indeed, there is an animated version of the year 1978, but Peter Jackson was neither the first nor the only one to take up the challenge of developing a live action version. However, yes, the only one who got it. Several directors, including Stanley Kubrick himself, are said to have considered it and even made some low-impact series, but in the end it was the Peter Jackson trilogy –The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) – what will go down in history.
The New Zealand director was just five when Tolkien released The Lord of the Rings but, like so many people, he discovered it later and became a true fan of history and Middle-earth. In fact, Jackson would have commented on occasion that being the director of the films had prevented him from enjoying them from scratch, knowing nothing, and that he had even thought of doing a hypnotic treatment that would allow him to see them as a spectator. plus. Among the cast of his films there is also another huge legion of fans: some from before facing the characters and others who entered the game once you got the part.
But only one of them, a single lucky actor, had the opportunity to meet JRR Tolkien in person.
–
Since the British author passed away in 1973, when Jackson was only 13 years old but already playing with his 8mm video camera, most of the cast had not even been born, so you can imagine that the lucky one is among the most veteran.
According to Christopher Lee himself, the person in charge of interpretation Saruman in the first trilogy and died in 2015 at the age of 93, in an interview with Cinefantastic In 2003 he had the opportunity to meet JRR Tolkien from complete coincidence. When obviously he hadn’t even imagined that he would be one of the characters in the film adaptation of the author’s most famous work decades later.
“[Lo conocí] by accident, really, “he recalled in the interview.” I met him with a group of other people at an Oxford pub I used to go to, The Eagle and Child. As you can imagine, I was very impressed with him, so I just said, ‘How are you?
Lee had already read the books when they were originally printed in the 1950s and even then became a huge fan.“Like so many other people, I was looking forward to the second and then the third book. Nothing like this had ever been written,” Lee recalled.
A) Yes, when he discovered the project Jackson was working on, Lee literally needed to be a part of it. And that’s how he marked another milestone within the franchise, since, thanks to his extensive knowledge of Tolkien, Jackson gave him a role as soon as he met him, being the first signing for the film. However, in an interview Weekly entertainment with director Peter Jackson it was revealed that the role Christopher Lee desperately wanted was Gandalf, who went to Ian McKellen after Sean Connery’s rejection.
If you want to be updated and receive previews in your email, subscribe to our Newsletter
–
