John Wick star Keanu Reeves has many talents, but can you picture him as the Lord of the Rings star in Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth trilogy? The actor himself had this dream of the fantasy performance par excellence and was almost begging for his cast at the time.
Keanu Reeves was keen to play Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings trilogy
As reported by Portuguese site Adoro Cinema, in an Australian interview with Rip It Up magazine in 1999, Keanu Reeves revealed that he was very keen on the role of ranger Strider (aka Aragorn) was. 24 years ago, at the time of The Matrix, he excitedly shared his efforts to be part of the now world-famous fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings:
I am applying for the role of Streicher. I would love to work with Peter Jackson but I don’t know if it will happen. I hope it does. I have a lot of people on the phone now about it. I hope he thinks I’m right for the role. I am the right one! I am here!
Universal
Keanu Reeves in 47 Ronins
We know the outcome of the story: The then 35-year-old Keanu Reeves was not selected for the Lord of the Rings cast. In fact, the part of the future King of Gondor initially went to Stuart Townsend, who, after 2 months of preparation, only spent one day on the set before a last-minute cast change Viggo Mortensen to the chosen Aragorn made that we all know today.
Keanu Reeves doesn’t have to give up his Middle-earth dreams entirely just yet
If Keanu Reeves is still a secret Lord of the Rings fan, he could still get a second chance for his Middle-earth bid soon. Because for them new Lord of the Rings movies, which Warner wants to bring to the cinema in a few years, no actors have yet been cast. Come on, Keanu!
Even if it would then probably be a different role than Aragorn for the now 58-year-old star. So far, however, only one other former Middle-earth star has expressed interest in a Lord of the Rings return.
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