It’s one of the biggest blockbuster franchises of all time.
And now Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe has opened up about why he turned down a prized role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The 60-year-old Oscar winner says now he has ‘no regrets’ after he walked away from the part of Aragon in the Peter Jackson epic saga that went on to make over $2billion at the box office.
The lead part of Ranger of the North Aragon was later made famous by actor Viggo Mortensen.
Crowe made the surprising comments during a recent fan Q and A video for GQ magazine.
Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe (pictured) has opened up about why he turned down a prized role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He was offered the part of Aragon
The role was later made famous by actor Viggo Mortensen (pictured in The Lord Of The Rings – The Return Of The King from 2003)
At first he said he was very excited about the production since he was a fan of the books by author JRR Tolkien.
Still, Crowe became wary about taking on the part ahead of filming, because he felt the studio was behind the offer and not the film’s director Peter Jackson.
Crowe continued: ‘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.
‘I just kind of got a sense that he already had somebody else in mind that he wanted to do.’
He continued: ‘And me stepping forward and saying ”yes” was actually going to get in his way. We come from the same place’.
Crowe said he became wary about taking on the part ahead of filming, because he felt the studio was behind the offer and not the film’s director Peter Jackson. Pictured with his sons
Crowe, who was born in New Zealand, said his background helped him understand that Jackson (pictured) was not keen. ‘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’ he said
Crowe, who was born in New Zealand and moved to Australia at age four, said his background helped him understand that Jackson was not keen on him.
‘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’ he said.
It comes after the famously outspoken actor recently weighed in on the upcoming Gladiator 2 movie, the long-awaited sequel to the blockbuster that made him a global superstar.
Crowe won an Academy Award for his role in the original Gladiator, which first hit screens in 2000 and earned close to half a billion dollars at the box office.
The famously outspoken New Zealand-born fan favourite admits he feels ‘uncomfortable’ about the new film, which he says he had ‘no say in’.
Peter Jackson’s epic saga that went on to make over $2billion at the box office
Russell Crowe won an Oscar for Gladiator (pictured)
He made the comments during an interview on the Kyle Meredith with… podcast on Monday.
As fans will recall, in the film Crowe played Roman general Maximus, who is enslaved and becomes a famed gladiator before dying tragically.
‘I’m slightly uncomfortable with the fact they’re making another one – because, of course, I’m “dead” and I have no say in what gets done,’ Russell joked during the interview.
He also hinted that he was not fully in support of some story aspects of the new film, which have been leaked – even though it is being directed by 86-year-old Ridley Scott, who made the original Gladiator.
‘But a couple of the things I’ve heard I’m like, ”No, no, no, that’s not in the moral journey of that particular character”’, the Beautiful Mind actor said.
‘But I can’t say anything, it’s not my place, I’m “six foot under”. So we’ll see what that is like.’
He confirmed last month on UK radio that he was not working on the sequel starring Irish actor Paul Mescal, 28.
In the new film Mescal takes over the role of Lucius Verus (Spencer Treat Clark), the grown-up nephew of the late Roman Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) who idolized the late general-turned-slave-turned-gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe).
Ridley Scott’s original Gladiator famously amassed $465.4 million at the global box office and won five Academy Awards including best picture.
Gladiator 2 is scheduled for release in Australia on November 22, 2024.
