Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis and Viggo Mortensen on Making Lord Of The Rings

Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis and Viggo Mortensen discuss the making of Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings trilogy, their experiences on set and the fans' reactions.

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#BAFTAGuru

[HShravzP]

I think we will never get bored with Lord of The Ring content ...like ever.

[gamble]

Vigo as Aragon, McKellen as Gandalf... Two of the best casting choices in the history of cinema imo.

[lordofgraphite]

I swear every actor, technician, cook, candlestick maker etc was absolutely essential for these films to be what they are. Marvelous x

[paryanindoeur]

I wonder if the cast ever thought they'd be telling stories about the minutiae of every detail of making these movies 25 years later... but people still want to hear all of it!

[bittybagare]

The fact that Vigo turned so quickly to the Volsunga saga and other norse sagas for inspiration tells tales of how well he understood Tolkiens work, despite not having read it beforehand.

[Tawadeb]

This movie was perfectly cast!! Perfectly. Thank goodness for Viggo

[UTUBEJC]

I literally cry every time he goes “my friends, you bow to no one” during the coronation scene and he bows to the hobbits as king and so the whole kingdom then bows and the hobbits are just SHOCKED the people are doing this

[kamuelalee]

Love Andy Serkis' commitment to creating a legendary, albeit digital character.

[treytilley]

If it wasn’t for Viggo’s son Henry (great name btw) he wouldn’t have been Aragon. He wasn’t familiar with the material but His son is obsessed with the books and told his dad he has to do it. Viggo is such a brilliant actor. If you haven’t seen Captain Fantastic go see it!

[anthtan]

Andy Serkis and the digital team that animated Gollum should have gotten a special achievement award at the Oscars. No category? Make a special award!

[Brunette_Rapunzel]

All of the casting for Lord of the Rings was expertly done! And thank God they decided to use Andy Serkis as the actor for Gollum, not just the voice actor. He did such a fabulous job!

[VincitOmniaVeritas]

“I don’t take credit for the success of the movie. I just did my part.”
It’s so rare to see actors today being so humble as Sir Ian Mckellen was here

[TheEvertw]

Serkis not getting an Oscar for acting Gollum is one of the great injustices of our time... At the very least, he should have gotten one shared with the digital animation department for inventing a whole new way of performing.

[random]

Wow. Viggo Mortensen's assessment of Aragorn's transformation from Strider the Ranger to King of Gondor, as 'his masks dropping away'... *chef's kiss * 😘😘 And Andy Serkis's analogy of Gollum's condition as being the same as a heroin addict, an ADDICTION...just, wow. These men reached the core of character analysis in these descriptions. 💜💜

[shannonmcstormy]

One of the reasons for the success of LotR was casting. Ian has the perfect demeanor and skill set as an actor for Gandalf (playing very very old characters is something most actors can't pull off IMO). Cate blows away Galadriel with elemental elfishness, again someone who is ancient in age. Part of playing ancient characters includes, at least sometimes, a softness, a wisdom that, again, most actors can't pull off. Andy nearly singlehandedly created motion capture for use in a film as we know it today. There are many many more exceptional choices for specific actors,  from every member of the "Fellowship of the Ring" to The Steward of Gondor, the other wizards, etc.

However, Aragorn was one of those, like Gandalf, that had to be perfect: highly complex, a reflective softness, wisdom, heartfelt empathy, age, a certain humbleness, but also having to display a hard edge as both are deadly. Aragorn had to noble and keep this part of himself unmistakable, but nuanced, under the surface. Viggo was the perfect choice. They all

.

[pauloliveira]

I don't think I have ever seen someone casually bring the Volsunga Saga into an interview like Viggo Mortensen just did...

[michaelmcglone]

I can't believe I just stumbled across this. When Viggo talks about the accent change throughout the 3 films, holy shit, that just floured me! I've always been able to pick up on the difference in the accents between FOTR and the others, but I always thought it was because he came into the project so late and hadn't read the books that he was unsure how he thought Aragorn would sound. Now that I know it was intentional!!?? Holy Shit Viggo, like you needed to add another layer in your performance in my eyes. I salute you Sir. 👏

[MrCrimsonhermit]

I dont think a movie nor trilogy will ever reach the level LOTR did but if one ever does.... I cant wait to see it.

[thisisbrad]

It’s crazy to me that Peter Jackson was figuring everything out while they filmed, experimented with the CGI, and Gollum, and just spearheaded those obstacles, overcoming them, and releasing one of the most iconic stories to hit the big screen.
I would have curled up into a ball. I don’t know how these directors do it (I’m sure funding helps) but it all fascinates me.

[tuber]

Every scene was a work of cinematic brilliance. We will never see a work as great as LoTr in our life times, thankyou PJ and cast for producing one of the greatest stories of all time.