Completely OT: LOTR Aragorn casting
So, I was a pretty huge fan of the Lord of the Rings books as a kid (and adult), and I've had an ongoing debate with friends, family, and strangers about the movies since they came out. The point: Viggo Mortensen was a very bad choice for Aragorn.
Viggo Mortensen is a fine actor, but he is not the King of Men. His beard is weak, his voice is high, and he has too much of a quivering, uncertain nature to him. His casting was the major reason that the movies were somewhat unfulfilling for me.
For any LOTR fans among the U-M ranks, what do you think about Viggo as Aragorn, and who can you think of that would have been a better cast? My top choice, if they were to be shot again during the same era would be Daniel Day Lewis. What have you got?
This probably isn't the forum for this, but what the hell: people here are smart, articulate, and I like your opinions.
(The Road with Viggo came out this week)
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:50 AM ^
Charles Woodson
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:53 AM ^
Chuck Norris, Sauron wouldn't have done shit in the first place if he knew he had to fuck with Chuck Norris
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:55 AM ^
Sauron wouldn't have done shit in the first place if he knew he had to fuck with Charles Woodson.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:00 AM ^
Sauron would try something, but Woodson would just intercept it and return it for a Touchdown
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:16 AM ^
Someone has to MS Paint Woodson MSU stretching to intercept the ring out of the air...
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:12 AM ^
(English Aristocratic Accent): Well played sir!
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:36 AM ^
And then he would do the Heisman pose in front of all of Mordor.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:04 AM ^
Ever see an Ork shit itself?
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:06 AM ^
Tom Selleck?
(Seriously, though... I didn't mind Viggo in the role. Love those movies!)
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:20 AM ^
"Viggo Mortensen is a fine actor, but he is not the King of Men."
Um, is Daniel Day Lewis the King of Men? Step away from the hairdryer.
How about this?
Frodo: Sauron is sending an army of 10,000 orks against us!
Brandon Graham: Can't nobody fuck with me!
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:54 AM ^
Viggo, imo, was a very good Aragorn. Maybe you can find a better Aragorn, but Daniel Day Lewis wouldn't cut it for me.
Don't get me wrong, DDL is my favorite actor but he's way too intense to be in a LOTR movie. If I see him smashing an orc's face in, I'd be imagining him smashing Paul Dano's face in and screaming "I drink your milkshake!"
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:34 AM ^
you're just thinking of the DDL that played There Will be Blood and Gangs of New York..
think of the DDL that played Last of the Mohicans..
one of the best ending scenes OF ALL TIME... OF ALL TIME!!!
lol in all seriousness.. that movie probably has one of the most powerful endings I've ever seen.. a huge part of it is due to the theme song.. it's perfect
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:04 AM ^
And as I like to point out, this movie featured the only simultaneous three-language translation scene in film history. I love this movie, and the ending is fantastic -- with the climbing of the actors matching the climbing crescendo of the music, and then the climactic fight scene where less was more.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:55 AM ^
i personally loved Viggo Mortenson
he's even better in GI Jane. he was a beast as the Master Chief
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:58 AM ^
in Eastern Promises.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:03 AM ^
Don't forget his bad-assness (bad-assity?) in A History of Violence. Underrated movie imo.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:09 AM ^
He also has a new one coming out called "The Road" in which he looks like he will be continuing his streak of bad-assterdly deeds.
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:29 AM ^
Have you read The Road? I can almost guarantee it's going to badass, but be prepared to be depressed as all get out when you leave the theater.
Who wants to have no hope for the future of humanity? I do, I do!
December 2nd, 2009 at 11:50 AM ^
I've read The Road, and think all of us that have will be disappointed by how Hollywood butchers McCarthy's work. No Country was phenomenal, but the Cohen bros. did it. To be honest, I'll probably keep my own mental imagery of post-apocalypse Appalachia, and skip on the movie.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:29 PM ^
What's the difference?
(West Virginia, we love you!)
December 3rd, 2009 at 7:29 PM ^
Did it actually reference where the story was set? I don't remember that at all. I envisioned it as west coast the whole time.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:27 PM ^
Underrated nudity too.
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:44 AM ^
Vigo was freaking outstanding in it.
I thought the casting in LoTR was excellent. Sean Bean was perfect as Boromir. I've always loved that character.
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:53 AM ^
"I am only driver."
December 2nd, 2009 at 4:28 PM ^
"He is no driver, he is the undertaker."
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:17 AM ^
I think Russell Crowe would've worked better.
Also, Lewis was offered the role, but declined.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:26 AM ^
I think Russell Crowe has too much star power to be in LOTR. I think one of the reasons I liked LOTR so much was because I didn't identify the actors with other major movies (Ian Mckellan was disguised well).
And ya Lewis is really picky about his movies. He starred in only 4 movies since 1997. BOOM WIKIPEDIA'D.
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:17 AM ^
Except Rudy and The Good Son. Creepy little halflings
Ah yes, and the Matrix.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:29 AM ^
I don't think Crowe would want to do a movie like LOTR, for fear of being type-cast.
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:42 AM ^
Russell Crowe plays the same role with a different background story in every movie..
mysterious borderline creepy dude with serious social issues...
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:15 AM ^
I didn't read LOTR, so I don't know how this his role was portrayed in the book.
But to me, Aragorn has to be portrayed as struggling (both with his situation as well as himself) since he is a ranger at the beginning of the movie. I also think that his "weaknesses" or character flaws at the beginning makes for a more dramatic story.
So I think his portrayal of him works as he doesn't start with all of the qualities of being a king (how could he, he was a ranger) but grows into a king. Just IME.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:41 AM ^
Gerard Butler. He was a bad ass in 300.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:53 AM ^
can be King.
December 2nd, 2009 at 6:53 AM ^
viggo was fine. Did you know they were thinking about casting John Cusack. That would have been much worse. Also, they originally cast Stuart Townsend, but he was too weak for the role.
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:10 AM ^
Wow! I knew that Townsend was the guy Viggo replaced at the last minute, but I never knew that John Cusack was actually considered for Aragorn. Man, talk about a casting FAIL that would have been.
(Shivers)
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:39 AM ^
If John Cusack had been Aragorn, Sauron would have won.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:28 PM ^
When I first read this, I thought it said "Joan Cusack"...
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:11 AM ^
I thought Viggo was fine. Obviously Zoltan would have worked out better though. Sure he's the Emperor of Space now, and King of Men seems like such a step down, but he was like 13 when the movie came out so it's a good stepping stone.
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:23 AM ^
Aragorn comes off as a bit emo in the flick, it's true. And most of the cast, as well, but let's not forget that Tolkien was a consummate softy, sitting by himself making up vast, imaginary play-worlds and fake languages. His heroic characters reflect his personality, methinks.
But as has been noted, the story of Aragorn is one of a man coming into himself. He starts out in the frozen northlands, roaming around aimlessly.... obviously down from the Witch King's conquest. The soft voice and weak beard fit this part of it.... maybe they could have had Gimli's voice dubbed over his in Return of the King?
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:59 AM ^
If there was a voice-over needed it would have to be James Earl Jones. You wouldn't even need to see Aragorn. Just the voice would make men bow down.
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:13 AM ^
Boy, and to think I had "adult time" with my wife last night instead of pondering that question.
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:17 AM ^
Seriously, watched all 12 hours of LOTR this weekend, and I think Viggo was fabulous. Love DDL and Russell Crowe but I don't know that they would fit. Watch Eastern Promises, where he kicks dude's asses naked! "We don't need no stinkin' weapons!"
December 2nd, 2009 at 11:04 AM ^
"A man got to have a code."
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:32 AM ^
I didn't like him as the big stud in the movie. Whenever he tried to yell or give a big speech I felt like he sounded like Kermit the Frog
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:40 AM ^
Also being a huge fan of the books I thought Viggo was okay. My wife of course loved him. Crowe may have been too much - the character in the books is fairly torn and Viggo seemed to do it pretty well.
If you saw DDL in Last of the Mohicans (an equally great book/story) you can see him as Aragorn. I also recall reading he was offered the role.
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:32 AM ^
How about the guy that played Ellis in Die Hard?
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:40 AM ^
that the trilogy grossed over $2.9 billion in ticket sales worldwide and has the highest per-film gross of any movie series in history.
Everybody's entitled to their opinion, but saying Mortensen was a bad choice is like saying that Bogart was a bad choice for Casablanca, and that it would have been better with George Raft, who turned down the role.