This actor played Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings – but the director fired him and ruined his career

Peter Jackson began shooting the first film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy in 1999, and already at the preparatory stage it was clear that the cinema world was waiting for a major event. The casting was closely followed by moviegoers and fans of the Tolkien saga. And the director himself had a clear idea of ​​how the main characters should look like and who will play them. Today, after a few years, we can confidently say that everyone did a great job.

The team included well-known and aspiring actors. Someone strengthened their position on the Hollywood Olympus, someone woke up as a celebrity, and many remained the performers of a starring role in The Lord of the Rings – but they still had this role!

The choice of the interpreter of the role of Wanderer Aragorn, Jackson paid special attention – this is one of the key characters, going through three parts of the transformation from anonymous to true king of the West.

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

As a result, Irishman Stuart Townsend was approved for the role of Aragorn. Yes, today few people remember this name, but at the end of the 90s, this handsome man born in 1972 was in sight and in audition. Bright appearance provided Stewart with good roles and the attention of moviegoers.

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

However, Stewart’s Aragorn did not take root on the site. The day before the shooting, Peter Jackson announced to the Irishman that he… was fired. According to the official version, the director was categorically not satisfied with the appearance of Townsend in the frame. He decided he was too young for the role of the Wanderer. According to unofficial data, Jackson and Townsend did not get along. The glory of a brawler extended for the Irishman.

Thus Viggo Mortensen, born in 1958, became Aragorn. He received the offer in a hurry, by accident, and was not going to accept at all. Without the son of Viggo, a fan of the Tolkien saga, who persuaded his father, perhaps we would still have to admire Nicolas Cage under the white tree of Gondor.

Being fired from The Lord of the Rings was a huge blow for Stuart Townsend and everyone who managed to work with him during those six weeks. The most unpleasant thing for the actor was the refusal of the film company to pay him money: the contract was drawn up in such a way that the duration 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 a starring role, but also the circumstances in which it happened made film industry figures suspicious. In 2002, Townsend played the vampire Lestat in Queen of the Damned, and perhaps that character remained the pinnacle of his accomplishments.

Subsequently, he received several more or less significant roles, and then began to act in television shows. For almost 10 years, the Irishman has not appeared on the screen in new projects. His long romance with actress Charlize Theron also ended without marriage.

But everything could be different!