Gladiator star Russell Crowe has revealed he turned down a major part in The Lord of The Rings trilogy because he got the feeling Sir Peter Jackson "already had somebody else in mind".
During a Q&A with GQ magazine, Crowe was asked about the role, and said at first he had been excited as he was a fan of the books.
However, he said a conversation with Sir Peter convinced him that perhaps the studio had been pushing for him to get the role, instead of the director.
"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," said Crowe.
"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."
Crowe also said his New Zealand heritage helped him suss out that Jackson was being polite but didn't want him in the role.
"We come from the same place. 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."
He revealed the role that he had been approached about was that of Aragorn - a part which was ultimately played by Viggo Mortensen.
Crowe said he had "no regrets" about walking away from the role.
Sir Peter may possibly want to revisit that decision.
In May, it was announced the multiple Oscar-winning team behind the nearly US$6 billion Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies is reuniting to produce two new films.
The first of the new projects from Sir Peter, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens is tentatively titled Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, Warner Bros. Discovery announced Thursday. It will be directed by Lord of the Rings alum Andy Serkis. Walsh and Boyens have been tapped to write the screenplay, along with Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou.
