A global phenomenon, the eleven Oscar saga based on the work of JRR Tolkien is considered one of the most ambitious in the history of cinema. And for good reason ! The trilogy directed by Peter Jackson required no less than $ 285 million in budget to generate nearly $ 3 billion at the global box office. However, the recipe for success is not without consequences… Between the falls and the bad shots, let’s go back to the many setbacks suffered by the actors of The Lord of the Rings!
Viggo Mortensen, the most unlucky actor of the saga
Let’s dive back into the second part of the Lord of the Rings, entitled The Two Towers (2002)… Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) is convinced that Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) were killed by Orcs or Uruk-hai. He then gives a violent kick in the helmet of one of Samuran’s creatures (Christopher Lee). After several takes, it’s the drama. Grand-Pas of his nickname gave everything to send the helm in the direction of the camera and therefore ended up to break two toes. Indeed, the howl he pushes is much more due to the pain he feels than to his acting skills. Kept in the film, this take at least had the merit of being more authentic than ever !
Second injury for Mortensen during the filming of Two towers. The brave Aragorn was accidentally punched in the face. So he ended up with a piece of tooth less. And not least, it was one of the front teeth literally split in half! Not the best in terms of aesthetics for the King of Men. Nevertheless, eager to continue the battle of Helm’s Deep, the latter would have suggested that we glue everything back to him with glue … His request was obviously declined. The actor was therefore sent to the dentist in the costume of a descendant of Isildur.
The last heir to the thrones of Arnor and Gondor has to finish narrowly missed drowning after being dragged by a Warg into the river. The actor had to mimic unconsciousness and let himself be carried away by the waves. But the sequence has drifted … More fear than harm in the end !
Two other stars of the saga were also seriously damaged. First of all Sean Astin, alias Sam Gamegie, during the filming of the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001). The injury occurred as the hobbit rushed into the Anduin River. The goal ? Prevent the ring wearer from leaving without him. During the first shot shown in the making-of of the trilogy, fans were able to discover Frodo’s staunch friend (Elijah Wood) freezing near the boat. Indeed, the actor was slowed down in full race by a large shard of glass sank into his foot. This after having punctured his fake hobbit foot!
When they removed the prosthesis, there was a huge, deep gash in my foot. It was a considerable injury.
This is what Sam’s interpreter reported, who had been evacuated after losing a lot of blood. Despite the injury, the latter was back on the set of the Lord of the Rings the next day.
Orlando Bloom aka Legolas then, the very first official wounded of the mythical trilogy. Back to Two towers and more particularly the attack of the Wargs which went badly for Aragorn. Orlando Bloom and Gimli’s understudy fell from horseback and the second fell on the first. The representative of the Dwarves only suffered a great fright. But the son of the Elven king of the Black Forest ended up with a broken rib. A fall that Viggo Mortensen did not fail to comment on in the making-of :
Elves can be fragile. Especially those from the Black Forest!
