During an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Russell Crowe said he doesn’t regret turning down a fixed fee to play Aragorn in the ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.
Russell Crowe, known from “Gladiator,” told the host he felt that Peter Jackson, the director of the films, was looking for someone else for the role, which eventually went to Viggo Mortensen.
“I think he was forced to talk to me because there was a time when everyone wanted me to be in everything,” he commented.
“He’s a compatriot, so I can hear his voice. I’m talking to him on the phone and thinking: ‘I don’t think he even knows what I did,’” the New Zealand actor noted.
According to Howard Stern, the amount Russell Crowe would have received for the role included 10% of everything the film earned, in addition to the fixed fee, totaling \$100 million.
In an interview for British GQ, Crowe talked about the “nuances” of the conversation he had with Peter Jackson. “In his way, without saying anything negative, he had another plan,” he said. “So I just left it like that,” he concluded.
Russell Crowe also revealed that he turned down the role of Wolverine in “X-Men” and said there was no chance he could have done a better performance than Hugh Jackman.
Watch Russell Crowe’s interview here
Photos: Max and YouTube The Howard Stern Show. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
