10 Actors Who Got Fired From Roles Of A Life Time
7. Stuart Townsend - Aragorn (The Lord Of The Rings)
When Peter Jackson came to casting the role of Aragorn, he went through a whole list of possibilities. Russell Crowe, Daniel Day-Lewis, and even Nicholas Cage (if you can believe it) were all considered. Eventually Jackson settled on a relatively unknown actor, Stuart Townsend. Several months before principle photography started, Jackson flew his cast out to New Zealand to take part in a number of training exercises, which would also give the actors a chance to develop a sense of camaraderie.
Townsend was supposably uncooperative in the run up to filming, but the story that's prevailed over the years, is that he was simply too young to portray his character. After months in New Zealand the actor was given the boot just days before filming got underway.
Jackson's scramble for a new actor led him back to Russell Crowe, who again turned it down. Finally he landed on Viggo Mortensen, but it was no certain thing. Mortensen was unfamiliar with Tolkien, and was only given 24 hours to make the decision. Luckily, Mortensen's young son got wind of the offer, and being a huge fan of the books, insisted that his father must take the role.