This actor played Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings – but the director fired him, ruining the star’s career

Peter Jackson began filming the first film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy in 1999, and it was already clear during the preparation phase that the film world was in for a big event. The casting was watched closely by film fans and fans of the Tolkien saga. And the director himself had a clear idea of ​​what the main characters should look like and who would play them. Today, years later, we can safely say that they all did a great job.

The team included both well-known and novice actors. Someone cemented their position on the Hollywood Olympus, someone woke up as a celebrity, and many remained representatives of one star role in The Lord of the Rings – but they still had that role!

Jackson paid special attention to the choice of the performer of the role of Aragorn the Wanderer – this is one of the key characters that goes through three parts of the transformation from an anonymous to a real king of the West.

The director dreamed of seeing Daniel Day Lewis in the shot, but unfortunately the Oscar winner flatly refused. It is also known that there were negotiations with Nicolas Cage (that would be a completely different film), Russell Crowe (hmm) and Vin Diesel (everything is simple here – he did not pass the test, but he was not too upset).

As a result, Irishman Stuart Townsend was approved for the role of Aragorn. Yes, few people remember this name today, but in the late nineties, this handsome man born in 1972 was in sight and within earshot. A bright appearance provided Stewart with good roles and the attention of movie fans.

Townsend signed the contract that became Aragorn and spent six weeks preparing for the role, getting used to it. There was a lot of work: the actor rode a horse, fought with swords and hand to hand, mastered other medieval wisdom.

However, Stewart’s Aragorn did not take to the web. On the eve of filming, Peter Jackson announced to Ira that… he was fired. According to the official version, the director was categorically not satisfied with the way Townsend looked in the shot. He decided he was too young for the role of the Tramp. According to anecdotal reports, Jackson and Townsend did not get along. For the Irishman, the glory of the brawler stretched.

So Viggo Mortensen, born in 1958, became Aragorn. He got the offer in a hurry, by accident, and he didn’t want to agree at all. If not for son Viggo, a fan of the Tolkien saga, who talked his father out of it, we might still have to admire Nicolas Cage under the white tree of Gondor.

Being fired from The Lord of the Rings was a huge blow to both Stuart Townsend and everyone who was able to work with him during those six months. The most unpleasant thing for the actor was the refusal of the film company to pay him money: the contract was written in such a way that the time of his work on the film was recognized as insufficient.

The story with The Lord of the Rings had a bad effect on Stewart’s career: not only did he lose the star role, but the circumstances in which it happened caused the figures of the film industry to move cautiously. In 2002, Townsend played the vampire Lestat in Queen of the Damned, and perhaps this character remains the pinnacle of his achievements.

Subsequently, he got several more or less prominent roles, after which he began to act in television shows. For almost 10 years, the Irishman did not appear on the screen in new projects. His long romance with actress Charlize Theron also ended without marriage.

But everything can be different!