Why Stuart Townsend Was Fired as Lord of the Rings’ Aragorn, According to Sean Astin
There are famous stories surrounding the making of Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” film trilogy. Viggo Mortensen broke his toe hitting an Uruk-hai helmet on set. Sean Bean hated flying and traveled to the mountains to film on them. And then there’s the story of Irish actor Stuart Townsend, who was recast as Aragorn in a risky move that ended up paying off big for Jackson and his friends.
The reasoning behind the recast, according to most reports, is that Townsend was in his late 20s at the time and simply looked too young to play the venerable 87-year-old ranger, especially alongside his younger hobbit teammates. But Sean Astin (who plays hero Samwise Gamgee in the films) had some additional thoughts on the actor’s firing. In one word (or rather seven words), Astin described Townsend as “a black hole of negative creative energy.”
Astin shared his thoughts in his 2004 memoir “There and Back Again: An Actor’s Tale.” After pointing out that he and his family suffered from Stuart’s pain after being released, Astin pointed out that, to some extent, the actor had planned it. During wardrobe fittings, Astin noticed that Townsend was really struggling to adapt to the role. He explained:
He just didn’t look good, he didn’t feel good, and he couldn’t explain what needed to be done to correct the problem.
Lord of the Rings costume designer Ngila Dickson and even Jackson himself tried to help, but they couldn’t get anywhere. According to Astin:
Stuart wasn’t helping matters. It was a black hole of negative creative energy. I kept wondering why he couldn’t just relax and enjoy the process.
Stuart was in agony (according to Astin)
Astin said Townsend’s agony was evident. He didn’t enjoy the process. And yet, in all honesty, Astin went out of his way to emphasize that this was true agony. “You could see him struggling to understand the character, and he was so tied to the nature of the struggle that the solution didn’t present itself,” the actor explained before adding:
There was something about his recognition of the magnitude of the role that carried with it the promise of making him a true movie star and serious actor for generations. Maybe he just couldn’t handle it. Or perhaps Peter determined that Stuart’s handling of the role would have been inconsistent with the spirit of the production.
Anyway, in the end, Townsend had to leave, and after a shove, Mortensen was brought in. While everything ultimately worked out (for everyone except Townsend), Astin added that at the time the upheaval was disconcerting. Even if the replacement made sense, this development indicated that job security was not a given, even if production had started.
“Job security should not be taken for granted, and so a prudent man had better not whine too loudly every time his ego was bruised,” the actor concluded.
