Russell Crowe Reveals the Reason He Turned Down Lord of the Rings Role

The Lord of the Rings franchise could have looked a lot different had it included Russell 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 Ring began Peter Jackson’s trilogy of films that would go on to earn a combined total of nearly $3 billion dollars at the box office. Adapted from the novels by author J.R.R. Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings movies are widely considered some of the best epic fantasy films of all time.

Appearing on British GQ’s Actually Me YouTube segment, Russell Crowe sat down to answer fan questions via social media, and was asked 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. But
I 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.”

Crowe would go on to say that while talking to Jackson he got the sense that the Academy Award-winning director already had someone else in mind for the role of Aragorn, and it was then that Crowe bowed out of the project, allowing Jackson to pursue 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 imagine anyone else in the role of Aragorn all these years later following Viggo Mortensen’s epic portrayal of the character, the actor was actually not the first person to be cast. Peter Jackson initially 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’s Queen of the Damned, while Crowe was nominated for an Academy Award in 2001 for his part in A Beautiful Mind.

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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 Rings saga 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 Mortensen has mentioned that he is open to a return should it make sense for his character.