 Fran Walsh said that two years after the shoot, it still never feels done.
Elijah Wood: It some ways, it feels like it never will be. But that's great. The sense that the work continues is actually great. When it came time to finish principle photography two years ago, it was such a sad experience. And very difficult for us. Exhausted as we were, we didn't want to let this great experience go. There was a separation anxiety. Obviously, next year, when we go back to New Zealand and then do the final press tour, that'll be it. Which is weird. We had an end already, but there'll be a final end, which'll be bizarre.
Is it easy for you to fall back into being Frodo?
Yeah. I think it's only easy because of how long I spent with that character. It puts an imprint on you that you can't easily get rid of. Part of that character will be with me for the rest of my life. So it's always been really easy to jump back in. Certainly, when you put the hobbit feet back on. The wig and the ears. It's always good to go back to New Zealand as well. I love New Zealand. It's like home.
What kind of impact has being Frodo had on your life so far?
It's funny. The success of the film has certainly had an impact on me and my life, but I think that the experience [of making the film] has actually had more impact on me than anything else. Being in New Zealand for that length of time. Going on that journey and having that adventure that in many ways mirrored that of the book. Other than that, I've never been so recognizable in my life, being a part of something so massive. It's been different but not terrible. As much as that's increased, I still feel as though I go about my life in much the same way. Mainly out of an effort not to have something change my life so much. So I still go where I want to go and just deal with whatever attention that I get.
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Éowyn and Éomer: On Peter Jackson
Miranda Otto: About me being Australian and Karl being from New Zealand. When I got involved with the project, I didn't realize how big the project was going to be. I'd done a film with Robert Zemeckis, a friend of Peter Jackson's, and he asked if I knew him. I said I'd been a fan of Heavenly Creatures and heard that he was making this Lord of the Rings down there. I'd seen a lot of Peter's other small films, you know, all the gory ones which are so fantastic. But you know, they're very low budget, low-key kind of productions. So when I was actually asked to audition when I went back to Australia, I just imagined that it was, you know, Pete making one of his small movies. Or maybe three small movies put together. I had no idea that it was such an enormous thing. And that was probably some silly Australian thing, thinking, Oh, well, if it's in New Zealand...
Karl Urban: His image before Lord of the Rings in New Zealand was one of a revered and respected filmmaker. He had shot Brain Dead, The Frighteners, Meet the Feebles --
Otto: My image of him is eating his own vomit! [laughs]
Urban: He's a unique individual. He actually managed to... How do you say it? Piss a few people off. He did this mockumentary called Forgotten Silver and they screened it on New Zealand television this year. This lost New Zealand filmmaker --
Otto: Who created these epic films --
Urban: Exactly. And literally, so many people in the entire country watched this thing and bought it. And it wasn't until after it was screened that they found out that they'd been taken for a ride.
Otto: And they had Sam Neill and all these famous actors coming in, saying, "It's incredible the work that's been lost," and now it's been dug up. This man had invented all these cameras before the rest of the world had seen them. And everybody believed it!
Urban: Oh, it's still going on. I was shooting a film in Australia and one of the runners was driving me to work one day and was talking about this amazing documentary he'd seen and about this filmmaker and, as he was describing it to me, I was going, Oh, no, he's bought it. He's totally bought it. I said, "Was that directed by Pete Jackson?" And he said, "Yes, yeah, Peter Jackson!" I said, "Um, it wasn't real," and he said, "Naaahhh...."
Miranda, you've worked with both Terrence Malick and Peter Jackson now. Would it be possible for you to make comparisons?
Otto: Yes, I didn't shoot with Terrence Malick for an enormously long time. I did a lot of the stuff for The Thin Red Line in about three days. We shot, I think, about half an hour's footage in three days. I think that what you can say about both of them is that they have a looseness. They like to be inspired by what's happening at the time. As big a production as this was, as many extras as you had and cameras and cranes and different units, he still wanted to keep a looseness to it. And I think that the looseness is where the magic comes into it. If you've defined and exactly organized how everything is going to be done and you don't want to shift from that, you often miss those great moments.
Terrence is somewhat like that as well. You'll be in the middle of shooting something and he'll go, "Oh, look at the light on that. We should get a shot of that." He was very inspired in the moment in the way that Peter is. And both -- you know, Terrence is famous for not being in the press and so on, and even though Pete does all this publicity, he's doing it for the film; he's a very humble, low-key person. He just loves movies and loves making movies.
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It must be strange not being able to go anywhere without people calling attention to you. Because you look so much like Frodo.
Right. It's not totally strange. It's expected. I know how much people love the movies, how popular they are. It doesn't freak me out. I actually love it. I'll be out and people will yell out, "Frodo!"
You must be hating it at some point.
No, really, I actually really enjoy it. I mean, look. A certain amount of attention can be overkill.
But how about a constant association with a short little guy with hair on his feet?
It's great! See, I love the films just as much as everybody else does. I love it when people come up and express their interest in the movie. I can relate. I think that takes people aback, actually. They'll come up and go, "Oh, man, I love Frodo! And I love the films! The first movie was so great!" And I'm like, "Wait til you see the next film!" I share their excitement which, I think, freaks them out a little bit.
Is that a copy of the ring you're wearing?
No, no. God, that would be slightly twisted, wouldn't it?
Where is the ring?
It's at home. I've got it on the chain and everything in a box tucked away in my office. I haven't seen it in quite some time, actually.
You get to keep it?
It was given to me as a gift by Peter and Fran. We had two sets of pick-ups off of the first film and the last time I was in New Zealand for the first movie, I went to their editing office to say goodbye. They said, "Oh, we've got a gift for you." They had a big box. I opened it up and there was a little box. And this little box was this really beautiful carved wooden box. And I said, "Oh, this is beautiful." And they said, "No, no. Look inside that box." So I opened it up and there was a pouch inside with the one ring. Which seemed kind of appropriate, that they would bestow the one ring on me. So I'll never actually be able to be rid of it.
Is there now a superstition that will surround this ring that's inside your house?
No, no...
But someone will try to steal it.
Yeah... Um, I'm moving to a new house now. At an undisclosed location. [laughs] But yeah, I know. I keep it very well-hidden.
Any idea what some fans might give to have that ring?
It'd be pretty massive, wouldn't it? But you know, speaking of value. Some guy, somewhere in the world, decided to make an offer for something like $20,000 for a pair of used hobbit feet. During the process of making the movie, he made this offer. I don't know who he made it to; someone in the Weta workshop. "I will pay you $20,000 for a pair of used hobbit feet." The fact that they were supposed to be used kind of disgusted us all. "Why the fuck would he want used hobbit feet?" All kind of nasty and wet and disgusting. But yeah, I imagine the ring would go for a lot.
In the year that has passed between the first and this movie, and given the rise of the Internet and how much fans compete with each other about how much they know about each movie, have you seen anything where you thought, "God, look at them! They've gone out of their bloody minds!"?
Well, there's quite a lot of fan fiction out there. I only know a very small degree of what all goes on. On the Internet, people will create these fantasy stories with these characters. Some of them have a really odd sexual nature, some of them carry on the legacy of the story, and then there are the fans of the writers of fan fiction and it gets bizarre. There are some odd practices with fanatical people.
Are there also interesting recommendations?
I never really consulted fans on what their view of the character was or how I should play him. The only reaction I heard initially was when I was cast. They announced it on Harry Knowles's site, on Ain't It Cool News. And maybe half of the fan reaction was awful. I'm mean, it was serious, like, "Kill me now! This movie's going to fuckin' suck! How could this loser be Frodo? It's over!" You know, freaking out. And then there were others, like, "No, he's cool. He's going to be fine." It was hilarious. So I went to New Zealand thinking I might not have the full support of the fans. But it didn't really matter. I knew that I was entering something that would be completely separate from all of that.
Have you ever wanted a mission as large as Frodo's in your real life?
Not quite. In some ways, the responsibility of carrying out the character in the way that I was meant to, of handling that in the process of that journey was somewhat similar to what Frodo had to go through. Certainly not as dark and not nearly as profound, but similar. I don't think anybody wants to have a journey quite like that in their own life. As much as something like that changes you for the good in the end, by the end of it, Frodo is so scarred and so fucked up by the experience, I don't know if I would want that.
He sort of steps aside and makes room for the other characters in this movie.
Frodo starts to lose his strength and his ability to carry on alone. Sam really picks up the slack and becomes stronger for us than in the first movie. And obviously, Gollum, just in terms of introducing him, sort of takes center stage as well. His journey and his relationship with Frodo and Sam is an integral part of the next film.
Do you feel upstaged by a computer-generated character?
I don't feel that at all. The fact that the character is so brilliant and has come across so well is such a relief! There's a fear associated with a character that's completely animated and it turned out so well -- so well, in fact, that you almost forget that he's computer-animated. That's the true achievement. But no, I don't really think of it in terms of who gets more screen time.
He was your favorite in the book.
Yes, absolutely.
Why?
When I first read about Gollum, it was in The Hobbit, in the famous "Riddles in the Dark" chapter. It's still one of my favorite chapters in literature. Because of how mysterious the character was. And because of the way that he speaks, this odd schizophrenic, multiple-personality disorder that he has. This "us" and "we". And he speaks in riddles in that part of that book. So I was amazed and intrigued by the mystery of this character. The more you learn about Gollum, the more sympathetic he becomes. That's an important part of Gollum for Frodo, this hope that there is still good left somewhere in this wretched creature. If that can be extracted, then there's hope for him, too. There's a desperation in their relationship as well, trying to understand what the effects of this ring really are.
One of the projects you've done in the meantime is Try Seventeen, which took Franka Potente away from Germany, where I come from.
Oh, you're from Germany!
Yes. What in your mind is her appeal to an American audience? Also, to you personally, because you guys were in a relationship, as far as I know.
Yeah... as far as you know. [laughs] What is her appeal to an American audience? I guess I can only speak from my perspective. I saw her in Run Lola Run and flipped out. I thought she was awesome in that movie. Not to mention that the movie was brilliant as well. But she really stole that film and carried that movie. There's a real strength about Franka that I think is intriguing. And a confidence in her that I love and really comes through in her performances. But at the same time, there's a vulnerability. You see that in things like The Princess and the Warrior, which I thought she was also brilliant in. But yeah, I think that's part of the appeal. And she's beautiful as well. Beautiful.
 Have you read some of these theories about a gay relationship between Frodo and Sam?
Sean Astin: Yeah. I've seen some things on the Internet. I have my own feeling about it. This is a very powerful love bond between two males where there's the absence of eros. [That reading] doesn't honor the historical context that Tolkien was writing from in terms of the First World War and English officers and their enlisted men. It also cheapens the purity of love in some way. Now, I wouldn't presume to deny any viewer or reader the right to experience the story or the characters in any way that is meaningful to them. But as far as my interpretation is concerned, no. Which is not to say that Elijah's not a good kisser, but still. [laughs] But no, I don't think it's a homoerotic relationship.
Ian McKellen says that anything is possible.
Ian McKellen wants anything to be possible. [laughs] The thing is, he may well be right. He's a lot older and smarter than I am. He did direct me to the passage in the book where Sam comes to the bedside of Frodo and holds his hand. He said, "Audiences will want to be seeing that!"
What was your own relationship to Gollum when you read the book?
He and Treebeard were my favorite characters. I think all the characters in the book are kind of a litmus test for who you are as a reader and what you're capable of sympathizing with. I found him a totally compelling, totally charismatic, empathetic character. To me, he was far and away the most interesting character in the book, while I thought Treebeard was the most important character in the book. I mean, Frodo and Sam and all those people are fine and everything, but those two were my favorites. Of all the characters in the book, Gollum's the one who keeps me connected to the plot. You know, there's so much poetry and so much history and military strategy and philosophy, there's all these things going on, but Gollum always brings you right back to what the ring really represents.
Why do you think that Sam is the only character that is not drawn in by the ring?
There are Tolkien scholars who could probably quote you chapter and verse, but I've always thought that each character passes a test in a certain way and fails to a certain extent. Sam maybe fails the least obviously. But I don't think he was really tested. I think Sam's function in the narrative is to bear witness to it all. I think that, as one of the many audience or reader surrogates, he tries to project onto the reader a sense of innocence and optimism and allow the person to identify with all the righteousness that's in there. It's nice to have a touchstone, to have something to anchor yourself to.
Did you put on weight for the role?
Yes. 35 pounds. 30 pounds, but then it sort of crept up to 35 pounds. It came to me through my agent that Peter really liked my audition but was concerned about how thin I was. I'd just run the LA marathon and I was really lean. For me, for my body type. I was in great shape and he was considering hiring an English actor who was very heavy. My agent put it rather crudely: "It's between you and a fat guy in London." Now, I really wanted to be in this movie and really wanted to be in New Zealand and be a part of Peter and Fran's creative universe, so I started lifting weights. If you lift weights a lot and you eat a lot of protein, a lot of carbs and you build a lot of muscle but then stop building muscle and keep eating, and remain kind of sedentary, depending on your body type, you can put on a lot of weight.
But I need to take it off because I don't want to play the fat guy or the friend for the rest of my life. I'm getting offers, but after Lord of the Rings, all the parts are "the friend." I was thinking, well, that could be a really comfortable career, but I want to have a shot at a really big career.
Did you ever think about trying to get a bigger role for Sam in the story?
No. My heart is with the working class. My parents [John Astin and Patty Duke] are actors, but there's a kind of fellowship among actors traveling between theaters. You know, they were sort of famous for pop culture television shows and they always seem to me like working class people. There's real power and strength in knowing who you are and being good at what you do and realizing that every job has to be done. Somebody has to do it. Those are some of my favorite moments, being deferential. I think it suited my personality for the year and a half that I was doing it. I love attending to Elijah's needs. I really took on the role. If he got locked out of his apartment, I'd say, "Oh, don't worry about it," and I'd arrange for a locksmith and take care of it.
It's actually pretty satisfying to the soul to give yourself over to somebody else. I'm kind of a megalomaniac freak idiot, but once in a while, I give myself over to my wife or to my children, and once you commit to it, there's a kind of euphoria that you experience when you recognize the pleasure that you bring to someone else. And that was Sam's life mission.
Photo of Elijah Wood by Dennis Woo.
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