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Sean Astin starred in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings series as Samwise Gamgee, but early on, it appears he was gunning for a very different role. Astin and other Lord of the Rings cast members recently spoke to Stephen Colbert for an Alamo Drafthouse event, and a few of these videos were shared with Esquire.
In one of the videos, Astin said he got the impression that he was being pigeon-holed into playing Sam when he might have had an opportunity to play a different character. Maybe that was true, but one part he was never in the running for was Aragorn.
“The way the agent and the Victoria Burrows the casting director were talking to me, all of a sudden I got this sense, like, ‘Wait a minute. Are you pigeon-holing me? Is this typecasting?” he said. “‘Who else could I be because this Aragorn guy looks really cool–he’s got a sword! Could I play Aragorn?’ And I remember them going, ‘No. No, you couldn’t play Aragorn.”
Prior to The Lord of the Rings, Astin had played a few down-on-their-luck teenagers and young men, including a lead role in Encino Man and the title character in Rudy.
Sam is one of the central characters in The Lord of the Rings and some believe he is the true hero of the story, so Astin did in fact land a very important role in the film.
Astin and his castmates spoke with Colbert for the Alamo Drafthouse event that aims to help revive the theater business. You can attend a screening of The Lord of the Rings at an Alamo Drafthouse theater to watch these videos featuring the cast and crew that made the films.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The franchise remains popular and in the news frequently, with the Amazon TV show and the various video games in the works.
