Today, it’s hard to imagine “Lord of the Rings” movies with a cast other than the one we know. The faces of Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, among others, were immortalized forever in the characters of Middle Earth.
However, there was a time when director Peter Jackson had to choose the actors who would bring hobbits, elves, dwarves and more to life.
At that time you certainly came across long lists of names. One of them was Jake Gyllenhaal, who would eventually rise to fame with films like ‘Donnie Darko’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’. However, the then-promising youngster made serious mistakes in her audition. At least that’s what he said on one occasion.
Jake Gyllenhaal auditioned for ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and it went really badly
As the actor said in an interview on Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night in 2016, when his agents heard about Peter Jackson’s project, they excitedly called him, assuring him that he would make an excellent hobbit.
When it came time to audition for the role of Frodo, he was asked to perform a scene with almost no dialogue in which the character takes the ring.
Unaware of the subject’s weight in the narrative, Gyllenhaal portrayed the moment haphazardly, almost unintentionally. According to the actor, Peter Jackson’s only reaction was to lower his head and cover his face in a gesture of frustration.
However, Gyllenhaal was given the opportunity to do another scene. Although in this he had a chance to redeem himself and show better performance with dialogues, he made another big mistake: “I didn’t do an accent.” Remember that the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings speak with an English accent.
Once again, Peter Jackson was disappointed. And he said to him in words: “You are the worst actor I have ever seen.”
“Did anyone tell you you had to do an accent?” the director asked the actor, to which he replied no. “Well, fire your agents,” advised the director.
Did Jake Gyllenhaal lie? Peter Jackson’s daughter would have denied his story
According to “Frames,” the story of Jake Gyllenhaal’s audition for “Lord of the Rings” was also recorded in the book “Anything You Can Imagine: Peter Jackson and the Making of Middle Earth,” which chronicles the making of the films.
However, when the actor told the joke in 2016, Katie Jackson, Peter Jackson’s daughter, denied it had happened. On his Twitter account he expressed: “To clarify: my father has never met Jake, was not present at his audition and never made these comments about his performance.”
He didn’t deny that Gyllenhaal auditioned for the role of Frodo, but didn’t meet his father along the way: “Maybe he’s confused about the events […] “I don’t know, maybe he wanted to make a bad joke,” he added.
What do you think about the story of Jake Gyllenhaal and “The Lord of the Rings” Would you like to see the actor in the role of Frodo? Write your opinion in the comments.
Source: univision
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
