The Trivia of: Lord of the Rings

Peter Jackson's first two choices for the role of Aragorn were Daniel Day-Lewis and Russell Crowe. Crowe was excited about the prospect of being involved with a major motion picture in New Zealand, but couldn't commit due to scheduling conflicts in America. Crowe was born in and lived in New Zealand until he was four years old and his family moved to Australia.

Jake Gyllenhaal auditioned for the role of Frodo. Dominic Monaghan (Merry) originally auditioned for the role of Frodo Baggins.

Sean Connery turned down the role of Gandalf. He said in an interview that he "didn't understand it" and therefore didn't want to spend 18 months on the project.

John Rhys-Davies, who plays Gimli the dwarf, is the tallest of the actors who play members of the Fellowship. He is 6' 1”

Eight of the nine members of the Fellowship got a small tattoo of the word "nine" spelled out in Tengwar, which is the Elvish script created by Tolkien. They got it at a tattoo parlor in Wellington, New Zealand, to commemorate the experience of the movie. The ninth member, John Rhys-Davies, declined and sent his stunt double in his place. Elijah Wood's tattoo is on his lower stomach. Sean Astin and Billy Boyd have the tattoo on their ankles (to commemorate all those hours in the hobbit feet). Orlando Bloom, who plays the archer elf Legolas, has his on his forearm. His tattoo is visible during a fight scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Ian McKellen's is on his shoulder. Dominic Monaghan's is on his shoulder. And the eighth member, Sean Bean, has his tattoo on his right shoulder. Viggo Mortensen has his tattoo on his left shoulder. It is visible on some pictures from the movie Eastern Promises

Milla Jovovich was considered for the role of Arwen

Pregnancy changed Peter Jackson's vision of "Lord of the Rings". Originally, he wanted to cast Lucy Lawless as Galadriel and Uma Thurman as Arwen. Unfortunately, both actresses became pregnant after being asked to read, and the roles were filled in by Cate Blanchett and Liv Tyler, respectively.

Sean Astin's father, John Astin, auditioned for the role of Gandalf.

Although David Bowie was said to be keen on playing Elf Lord Elrond, the part went instead to Hugo Weaving.

Sam Neill was considered for the role of Gandalf.

Originally the narration at the prologue was to be spoken by Elijah Wood, but it was felt that the information imparted had little bearing on the character of Frodo. Ian McKellen also recorded a narration but once again it was felt that Gandalf wasn't the right character to speak it. They eventually settled on Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, as it emphasizes the timelessness of the elves.

Stuart Townsend was originally cast as Aragorn, but was replaced by Viggo Mortensen after four days of shooting because Peter Jackson realized that an older actor was needed.

Although Bilbo Baggins's opening scenes are in Hobbiton, Ian Holm never actually worked on the location. His scenes were all done against blue screen.

Director Cameo Peter Jackson: As the belching peasant, outside the Prancing Pony Inn in Bree.

New Line insisted on a prologue of two minutes. What they got was one that lasts for seven and a half.

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