Why Sam Neill's Lord Of The Rings Role Never Happened
"The Lord of the Rings" has a laundry list of famous actors who almost landed or even refused roles in the titanic fantasy trilogy. Russell Crowe famously lost out on a hefty chunk of change by turning down the role of Aragorn. James Corden almost got a callback to play Samwise Gamgee, too. And then there's the mysterious, almost Middle-earth career of Sam Neill, who was offered an undisclosed role in the franchise at one point.
Speaking to CinemaBlend, Neill said the role was a good one, with the actor explaining, "Interesting, isn't it? There's always conflicts. I was asked to do something good in 'The Lord of the Rings,' but that conflicted with 'Jurassic Park III.'"
The worst part of Neill missing out on Jackson's Tolkienian masterpiece is that the third installment of the "Jurassic Park" saga was terribly received by audiences. It still has a lousy 49% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, accompanied by a miserable 37% audience score. If it weren't for Dr. Alan Grant's second trip back to the Jurassic Park franchise, we would have gotten to see him play ... someone in a less science-focused fantasy saga.
Fortunately, Neill doesn't harbor any hard feelings about the unfortunate way things played out. "People's careers can often be extremely random," he added. "I always just think one's lucky to have a career at all. But there's not a lot you can do to shape your own career, really. It's something that happens very haphazardly."
Who was Neill going to play in The Lord of the Rings movies?
The nagging question is who Sam Neill was in line to play in Peter Jackson's movies. In most cases, the background behind those iconic films is fairly transparent. For instance, we have a thorough explanation of Viggo Mortensen replacing Stuart Townsend due to age issues.
In the curious case of Sam Neill's casting, though, we don't know who he was supposed to play. When asked, the actor simply stated that he didn't want to answer, adding, "No, I couldn't say that, because that would make the person who played it feel like I was a prick."
All we know is that it was a good role — i.e., he probably wasn't in line to make a quick cameo as a Hobbiton Hobbit or a Gondorian soldier. The actor was in his early 50s when "The Fellowship of the Ring" came out — which puts him between Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen's age. Could he have been in line to play the gray-bearded Wizard? Was he a good fit for the venerable human king in exile? He could have played a smorgasbord of similar characters, such as Boromir (Sean Bean), King Théoden (Bernard Hill), or Denethor (John Noble). Heck, Neill could have even pulled off a somber Elrond in the same vein as Hugo Weaving. With so many middle-aged male characters to choose from, it's likely we'll never know what role the "Jurassic Park" actor was in line to play unless he chooses to spill the beans himself at some point.