Back when he was still best known as an acclaimed dramatic actor and not a throat-punching purveyor of bad-assery, Liam Neeson was Peter Jackson's first choice for the role of Boromir, a part which would have yet again seen the Irish actor be killed off in the first installment of a blockbuster fantasy trilogy, hot on the heels of his Qui-Gon Jinn's in The Phantom Menace. There is no doubt that Neeson would have delivered a memorable take on the character, but after reading the script he decided to pass on the project. Instead, Sean Bean took on the role and added another notch to his ever-increasing big-screen death count, although not before delivering the line that would spawn a thousand memes. In Liam Neeson's case, one does simply turn down the role of Boromir.