Can you imagine anyone else playing Gandalf the Grey in The Lord of the Rings movies other than Sir Ian McKellen? Imagine someone else saying the famous “You shall not pass!”? Someone like singer David Bowie? It’s hard, right?
It’s been fifteen years since The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and casting director Amy Hubbard has confirmed that yes, director Peter Jackson was really interested in having Bowie play Gandalf. It turns out that Bowie was unavailable at the time to commit.
“He was unavailable. It was a very quick conversation with the legendary Chris Andrews at CAA. I do believe that [Bowie] went over and played for everybody at the Millennium party. That would’ve been New Year’s Eve in the year 1999, which was when the films were being shot. He went over and entertained everybody, but he never auditioned. That’s for sure. We approached him. I’m pretty sure it was Peter Jackson’s idea in the first few weeks that we got going. It was one that he’d always wondered about, and we rang Chris, and [Bowie] was far too busy.”
So Bowie never auditioned for the Lord of the Rings role either. It’s always fun to learn about these little tidbits long after the movies have been out, but I’m glad that McKellen got to play Gandalf because he fit the role pretty well.
What do you think about Bowie almost being cast in the Lord of the Rings trilogy? Would he have made a good fit? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: Huffington Post
