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Stuart Townsend was originally cast to play Aragorn, but was replaced by Viggo Mortensen after four days
of shooting.
Daniel Day-Lewis turned down the role for Aragorn
The back to back shooting of the LOTR triology took 274 days (16 months)
For high-tech tasks, a computer program called MASSIVE made armies of CG orcs, elves, and humans. These
digital creations could 'think' and battle independently - identifying friend or foe - thanks to individual fields of vision.
Jackson's team could click on one creature in a crowd scene of 20,000 and see through his "eyes". Different species even boast
unique fighting styles.
Sean Astin gained 30 pounds for his role as Samwise
Elijah Wood dressed up in breeches and a flowing shirt to shoot his audition tape
When the FOTR trailer was released on the 7th April 2001 it was downloaded 1.6 million times in the first
24 hours
The appearance of the hobbits being smaller than everyone else was acomplished using force perspective placing
the hobbits further away from the camera than the other actors to trick the eye into thinking everyone else is towering
More than 1,600 pairs of latex ears and feet were used during the shoot. Each were 'cooked' in a special
oven running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
There was no way of removing the feet or ears at the end of the day so each pair could only be used once
The used feet were burnt so they couldn't be sold on the blakc market but apparently Domonic Monaghan kept
a pair
Viggo Mortensen did his own stunts. He also insisted on using a real sword instead of a significantly lighter
aluminium one or a rubber sword made for the battle scenes and stunts
John Rhys-Davis developed an allergic reaction to his makeup
The map Gandalf picked up in Bilbo's study was a reproduction of the map Tolkien drew for the book 'The
Hobbit'
Sean Bean in a UK TV series played a soldier with the name of Richard Sharpe. He also appeared in series
of commercials where he would say 'Sharp(e) idea'. The joke continues when, after touching the Sword of Elendil he says 'still
Sharp(e)'.
Christopher Lee was the first person to be cast in the triology because of his knowledge of the books. He
also frequently visited the makeup department to offer tips about the facial design of the monsters
Peter Jackson also got a tattoo but instead of the Elvish symbol for '9' he got the Elvish symbol for '10'
Peter Jackson gave one of the rings used in the movies to both Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis as a gift at
the end of the shoot. They both thought they got the only one.
The 3 trolls that were turned into stone in 'The Hobbit' are in the background during the scene where Frodo,
Sam, Merry, Pippin and Strider are resting after fleeing from Weathertop
Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, changed its name to Middle Earth for the film's opening
Peter Jackson's two children are listed in the end credits as 'Cute Hobbit Children'
Cate Blanchett joked that she took the role of Galadriel because "I've always wanted pointy ears"
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Ian Holm (Bilbo Baggins) was the voice of Frodo Baggins in the Classic BBC Radio adaption of 'The Lord of
the Rings' in the 1970s.
David Bowie was said to be keen on playing Lord Elrond (actually played by Hugo Weaving)
The plants in the Hobbiton village were planted a year before filming to make it look like Hobbits had lived
there for hundreds of years
The original cut of LOTR ran for 4 hours and 30 minutes
1,460 eggs were served to the cast and crew for breakfast every morning
To make the force perspective look less obvious when the camera moved the actors also moved. They also used
different size props to interact with different size characters.
Orlando Bloom originally auditioned for the part of Faramir
Viggo Mortensen lost a tooth while filming the Helms Deep fight sequence. He went to the dentist on his
lunch break and had it patched up so he could continue filming in the afternoon
Liv Tyler left her pair of prosthetic ears on the dashboard of her car. When she returned they had melted
Domonic Monaghan wore a fat suit made of foam and drank 3 litres of water a day so he would not dehydrate
Orlando Bloom did most of his own stunts and broke a rib in the process
While filming the end scene in the FOTR film Sean Astin stepped on a shard of glass that was in the riverbed.
It peirced his foot (and the prosthetic foot) and it bled so much he has to be helicopted to the hospital
Christopher Lee reads LOTR once a year and is the only cast/ crew member to have ever met JRR Tolkien
8 of the 9 members of the Fellowship got the Elvish symbol for '9' at a tattoo parlor in Wellington. John
Rhys-Davis declined and got his stunt double to go instead.
Elijah Wood got his on his lower stomach, Billy Boyd and Sean Astin got theirs on their ankles, Orlando
Bloom got his on his wrist, Ian McKellen on his shoulders and Dominic Monaghan on his shoulder. Sean Bean's is unknown.
During the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, 20 minutes of the film were shown to a crowd at a nearby castle, including
members of the production- the first time the film's actors had seen any completed footage
Peter Jackson plays a belching peasant outside the Prancing Pony Inn in Bree
Ian McKellen based Gandalf's accent on that of Tolkien himself
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