In 2001, when the first in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy was released in theaters, actor Russell Crowe was arguably at the height of his stardom.
He had headlined films like L.A. Confidential, The Insider– for which he was nominated for his first Oscar, Gladiator– for which he won his first Oscar, and Proof of Life, and in 2001, he received his third nomination for his role in A Beautiful Mind.
He was very well known, and despite his personal life, in which he was seen as kind of an asshole, he was at the top of his acting game. So it makes sense that the studio, New Line Cinemas, would be interested in Crowe for a part in the LOTR trilogy.
He was best-suited for the rugged character Aragorn, and executives passed his info on to Jackson, who gave the actor a call. Crowe ultimately passed on the films, but he recalled the interaction in a recent interview with British GQ (via Variety), in which he was asked if he has any Rings regrets:
“I don’t actually. 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.
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.”
Jackson ended up casting Viggo Mortensen in the iconic role. The director is now returning to Middle-earth as the producer of a new Lord of the Rings movie that is going to be directed by Gollum actor Andy Serkis.
The movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, is being eyed for a 2026 theatrical release. Would Mortensen return as Aragorn? He doesn’t seem opposed, but the story would have to make sense.
Mortensen recently told British GQ:
“I don’t know exactly what the story is, I haven’t heard. Maybe I’ll hear about it eventually. I like playing that character. I learned a lot playing the character. I enjoyed it a lot.
I would only do it if I was right for it in terms of, you know, the age I am now and so forth. I would only do it if I was right for the character. It would be silly to do it otherwise.”
It all worked out for the best as far as Crowe and Mortensen are concerned. Both have had great careers. If we get to see Mortensen back in the role of Aragorn, lucky us. If not, it just wasn’t meant to be.