Russell Crowe Also Turned Down A Role In The Franchise

New Line Cinema

Peter Jackson had a backup if Mortensen decided he didn't want to play Aragorn. The director had two people in line: Jason Patric (The Lost Boys and Speed 2) and Australian favorite Russell Crowe. Jackson sent Crowe a script, and the actor was reportedly fascinated by the story.

Unfortunately, Crowe's agent called and said the star had recently filmed Gladiator and was moving on to other projects. "Russell was flattered by the approach, but he had other films he was committed to and it obviously wasn't going to work out," Jackson later said of the casting potential.

One cast member actually met the author years earlier.