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Cygnus
Lorien
Jan 28 2019, 5:15pm
Post #1 of 15
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Are you interested in the actors?
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I'm struggling with this. The more I get into Tolkien, the more I'm interested in the actors. I'm a little concerned though. I'd like to learn more about them but would that be a good thing? I suspect many folks here know a lot but does that change the way you see them when watching the movies? I just don't want to see one of our heroes slay an orc and all of the sudden a recipe they put out on social media pops in my head. I don't want to see the beautiful waterfalls of Rivendell and for some reason an actor's recent car accident comes to mind. Or (worse case scenario) I don't want to think about their thoughts on a controversial subject in the middle of a great movie scene. Does knowing everything about the actors hurt the fantasy? I suspect for me it probably would so I guess I'll avoid it. How do you folks feel? By the way, I heard on the radio this morning that Elijah Wood had a birthday today. I think he's 38. That might be as far as I want to go with that information. Still, I have a great debt of gratitude to him and all the other folks who put Tolkien's work on the big screen and wishing him happy birthday won't hurt the fantasy. I would respectfully request that in your responses here you don't reveal too many secrets about the actors. (although I have to admit I would be interested).
"I found it is the small things.....everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay.....simple acts of kindness and love." - Gandalf (movie quote)
(This post was edited by Cygnus on Jan 28 2019, 5:18pm)
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CuriousG
Half-elven
Jan 28 2019, 7:46pm
Post #2 of 15
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Yes and no (as the Elves would say)
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I was more interested in their film careers than anything. Did you know Aragorn/Viggo Mortenson had a small role in "Witness" and also played a treacherous, murderous boyfriend in another movie? And in that other movie, he was an artist, and in fact he's an artist in real life and they featured his paintings in the film? That's actor trivia that I don't find distracting. I think it was a shocker to me that Sean Bean had a lonnnngggg career behind him and was known to audiences south of the equator. I thought: "Who is this guy, and why is he so good as Boromir if he's a newbie actor?" I felt like I knew Liv Tyler (Armageddon) and Hugo Weaving (The Matrix) too well, by contrast, and had trouble picturing them as Tolkien's Elves. I had to work at it. And I'd seen Cate Blanchett in lots of roles, which made it distracting to see her as Galadriel. Seeing Dominic Monaghan talk so much in the DVDs on behind the scenes stories made me like him more as an actor and as Merry--he seemed to have a truly hobbity personality.
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entmaiden
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 29 2019, 12:59am
Post #3 of 15
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but I don't let it affect my enjoyment of the movies. Of course, as a book-firster, I had my own ideas about the characters, and I was always able to separate those two images - my book understanding of the character and the movie actor. Peter had a different vision for each character than mine, and then the actor brought his or her own interpretation. One thing I have no interest in ever seeing, is the famous blooper reels where the actors flub their lines, or move wrong, or deliberately mess up a scene. I don't want to see the characters "out of character" where the actor as a person overtakes the role that he or she is playing. I think I'm in the minority in this, though
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Cygnus
Lorien
Jan 29 2019, 4:26am
Post #4 of 15
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I know what you mean. I wouldn't want to see bloopers either. I have watched a little bit of the actors talking about their filming experiences but they were in modern clothing with no make up and nothing they said or did popped up in my head while later watching a movie. I found the interviews interesting but wouldn't want to dwell too deeply into them.
"I found it is the small things.....everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay.....simple acts of kindness and love." - Gandalf (movie quote)
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Noria
Gondor
Jan 29 2019, 3:23pm
Post #5 of 15
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I don’t follow the actors in any detail, but my ears perk up if one of their names is mentioned in the media, like last week when Viggo Mortensen was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. When I’ve been rewatching the movies, as I have been recently. I sometimes look the actors up to see what they’ve been doing. When I watch movies that I love like LotR or The Hobbit, I am immersed in that world. Even after all this time, I still get teary at the deaths of Boromir or Theoden or Thorin. I forget about the actors’ other roles, everything I learned from interviews, the Appendices and elsewhere. In fact I enjoy watching the Appendices, particularly for TH, almost as much as the movies. So I’d be happy to see a blooper reel. The only time this separation doesn’t work for me is when the actor is associated with something particularly unsavoury, like Kevin Spacey or Mel Gibson or Woody Allen. Then I sometimes have problems getting past my distaste, no matter how great their art. So far, fortunately, that hasn't happened with any of the LotR/Hobbit actors.
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Chen G.
Gondor
Jan 29 2019, 3:58pm
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The only time this separation doesn’t work for me is when the actor is associated with something particularly unsavoury, like Kevin Spacey or Mel Gibson or Woody Allen. Then I sometimes have problems getting past my distaste, no matter how great their art. So far, fortunately, that hasn't happened with any of the LotR/Hobbit actors. Interesting. I'm a big proponent of seperating the art from the artist. Even though I'm Jewish, from Israel, I love Mel Gibson's directorial work (I'll be first in line for his Wild Bunch remake), not unlike how I love Wagner's work. The artistry there is just too much to overlook. I'm always happy when members of the cast and crew of these films meet success and especially are granted accolades - it'll benefit the legacy of these films. For instance, I was glad to learn that Billy Connoly (Dain) has recently been knighted; or that Howard Shore was made Commander of the Order of Canada.
(This post was edited by Chen G. on Jan 29 2019, 3:58pm)
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Thor 'n' Oakenshield
Rohan
Jan 29 2019, 4:12pm
Post #7 of 15
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I keep track of their birthdays in my calendar, I follow them on social media, I support them when they get nominated for an Oscar (Viggo!), etc. I never have any difficulty separating them from the characters, because - maybe this is just me - but their acting is phenomenal. But yeah, I really like knowing about them!
I love The Hobbit. Always will.
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Cygnus
Lorien
Jan 29 2019, 5:31pm
Post #8 of 15
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I haven't seen any kind of birthday thread around here for the actors and others. Am I missing it?
"I found it is the small things.....everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay.....simple acts of kindness and love." - Gandalf (movie quote)
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skyofcoffeebeans
Rohan
Jan 29 2019, 6:21pm
Post #9 of 15
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is the money. While I'm happy to propagate separating the art from the artist, I don't want necessarily want to contribute to the funds of people I believe should be in prison, but aren't because of their status and power.
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Silverlode
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jan 29 2019, 9:11pm
Post #10 of 15
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Usually there is a mention on the front page of the site mentioning a birthday, which is posted on the boards as a News from Bree post (usually on Off-Topic). Or sometimes someone here will beat NfB to it. Also, I think the TORN Facebook and Twitter accounts tend to wish cast members happy on their days.
Silverlode Roads go ever ever on Under cloud and under star Yet feet that wandering have gone Turn at last to home afar. Eyes that fire and sword have seen And horror in the halls of stone Look at last on meadows green And trees and hills they long have known.
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Starling
Half-elven
Jan 30 2019, 8:24am
Post #12 of 15
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You should have seen the Kiwi audiences
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in the first showings of the LOTR movies, especially TTT, exclaiming, laughing, and pointing and shouting as we recognised numerous well known soapie stars. It was very funny.Actually it still makes me laugh when I see 'Haldir' and 'Hama'. Every time.
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Saruman
Bree
Feb 10 2019, 5:53am
Post #13 of 15
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When I first saw the films I was young and really into finding out more about the actors. I only knew of Elijah Wood (from "The Good Son"), Ian McKellan (from "X-Men"), and Sean Astin ("The Goonies") at the time. I think at the time I recognized Christopher Lee and Sean Bean but didn't know much about them. I started to delve into the biographies of my favorite characters at that time, most notably Billy Boyd and Orlando Bloom. I even followed Boyd's band "Beecake" and saw them play twice in NYC around 2007. I've always loved horror, so when I got a bit older I got into Christopher Lee and naturally gravitated towards Saruman. I loved learning about Lee's horror career, and it was a stroke of genius to cast him as Saruman. Granted, Saruman of the books strikes me as perhaps more physically attractive than Lee (sort of like Lucifer), but I still would argue that Lee was a perfect choice. The only thing that bummed me out in the recent past was learning that Elijah Wood never, even to this day, read the books. I personally like him as Frodo, but I've heard of many who really dislike that casting due to Wood's sort of "flimsy" portrayal of Frodo. This disconnect no doubt arose not only from the writing but also the fact that Wood never read the books, so knows book Frodo only through PJ's vision.
"I have seen it..."
(This post was edited by Saruman on Feb 10 2019, 5:56am)
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Cygnus
Lorien
Feb 15 2019, 2:40am
Post #14 of 15
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My wife was watching Grey's Anatomy tonight. She 's not really a fan. In fact she's only ever seen the show a couple times and I'd never seen it. A shooting victim was being brought in and his father was clinging to the cart as they were rolling him in. The father looked familiar to me. Then I heard his voice. Immediately I knew it was Pippin. (Billy Boyd)
"I found it is the small things.....everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay.....simple acts of kindness and love." - Gandalf (movie quote)
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Annael
Immortal
Feb 24 2019, 5:21pm
Post #15 of 15
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Some yes, some no, and it has more to do with the stuff they've said in interviews. I think Viggo, for one, would be a very interesting person just to sit and talk with about art, music, acting - he seems like a deep thinker. Billy Boyd is another person who interests me because of his interests and his musical talent. I have a huge crush on Sean Bean, always have had, but meeting him would probably wreck that. I'm content to just look at him onscreen.
I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the words begin to move around … The words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young. -- Gaston Bachelard * * * * * * * * * * NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
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