LOTR casting question (this has to be a mistake)

[LAW]

I read an old magazine interview with Billy Boyd (Pippin in LOTR) that was asking him about how he felt about getting the part in LOTR and being able to work with Sean Connery (who I know was being considered for Gandalf but I think he turned it down) and Al Pacino (?). Is it true that Pacino was being considered for a part in LOTR and if so what part? I can't picture him in any of the roles. I'm not putting him down - he is of course a versatile actor and acting royalty - but I can't begin to imagine what part he would have played in LOTR. Anyone know if this is true, and if so, what role was it?

[Highspeed]

Well...he could have been a black haired Saruman...

[LAW]

Saruman? Too Short, too young and I can't quite imagine his voice in an English accent.

[Highspeed]

Really can't think of anyone else...

[dh1989]

Pacino was probably considered for a role in TTT or ROTK. Maybe he was offered Theoden or Denethor.



No wait. Pacino would have made an awesome Haldir. Yeah thats it. :)

[kiwihitman]

dh1989 is it just me or are you changing your harry potter pic every minute lol.

[LordKaruku]

You're all wrong -- it was Gandalf! :)

This rumor came from back in '98 or '99... the source was a "casting sheet" given to a video game company working on an official LOTR game by New Line. The game company was told that the actors listed were "similar to those being considered" for roles in the trilogy, so the game people would have an idea what kind of peope to cast for their voice acting and what body types to base the models around. These people were probably all on the short list for the various roles, or maybe just some executive's dream cast.

I found that old story and here was the full list:

The Fellowship: GANDALF -- AL PACINO (!!!!)

FRODO -- ELIJAH WOOD

STRIDER -- DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, RUPERT EVERETT

BOROMIR -- BRUCE WILLIS, LIAM NEESON

LEGOLAS -- JUDE LAW

Others:

SARUMAN -- SEAN CONNERY

DENETHOR -- HARVEY KEITEL

THEODEN -- PATRICK STEWART


Some of those are freakin' weird, eh? :) It'd be interesting to see Harvey Keitel's Denethor...

[LAW]

Thanks for answering my question.

Can you imagine Bruce Willis as Boromir?

OH THE HUMANITY!!!!

[fryman_3000]

Oh dear lord!!

Could you imagine how horrendous that would be? :eek:

[Tuukka]

I think Sean Connery, Al Pacino, etc, are just rumours. I don't think PJ and New Line ever intended to get them, simply because they are too expensive. The trilogy was originally supposed to cost 190 million, and in this type of event film Pacino and Connery get BIG paychecks, and they would have distracted from the film anyway. PJ said early on, that right from the start he intended to get relative unknowns for both artistic and financial reasons.

[Movie Hunter]

At the end , he choose a great cast .. each actor was great for his role .. good job PJ

[dh1989]

I remember an old interview with Sean Connery(wish I could find it) and he said he got the script and all, but did not understand anything. He had never heard of hobbits, Uruks, Saruman, or even Middle Earth. So he turned it down. YAY! He would have been bad, although it should have been Paul Newman, Mckellen was damn good.

[Congerking]

The Fellowship: GANDALF -- AL PACINO (!!!!
STRIDER -- DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, RUPERT EVERETT
BOROMIR -- BRUCE WILLIS, LIAM NEESON
LEGOLAS -- JUDE LAW
Others:
SARUMAN -- SEAN CONNERY

I can see daniel-day lewis as striker, but that is about all and connery as saruman. the actual cast from the movie was perfect. the cast listed here would have been quite expensive and IMO wouldn't be fit for their respective roles.

[Scarface98.9]

The only possible role I can imagine Pacino in is, damn, what's his name? The guy who rules Rivendell, played by Hugo Weaving. But it still wouldn't fit seeing Scarface, aka Michael Corleone, aka Lefty w/ point eyes and in Middle Earth

[dannywalker17]

I once saw something that ROWAN ATKINSON (Mr. Bean) was being considered for Frodo! That would have been absolutely horrible.

As far as the rumors above, I could see Day-Lewis as Strider and maybe Jude Law as Legolas. The rest of those sound bad, of course except for Elijah which was perfect casting.

[ANTBond007]

Elijah Wood as Frodo... yeah, right! :D

[Dumb-Fokker-**]

Yeah, some of those would have been HORRIBLE! And, just to stop any confusion, Ian McKellen was always the #1 choice for Gandalf, and Christopher Lee was always their #1 Saruman; PJ himself stated that. As for Jude Law as Legolad: I think Bloom is great in the part, but Law would have been another great choice. I always envisioned him as a great Glorfindel, however. But, he got cut to make room for Arwen, so,....no place for him, really.