10 Genuine On-Screen Acting Injuries You Probably Missed

3. Aragorn's Anguish Isn't Just Method

In one of the key sequences in The Two Towers, which establishes the depth of the Fellowship's commitment to one another, as well as giving an insight into Aragorn's more heroic and emotional side, the ranger, Gimli and Legolas come upon the scene of the orc massacre and assume that Pippin and Merry are among the dead. We see the full gambit of reactions, from Gimli's surprisingly tender response, to Legolas' immediate spirituality, but it is Aragorn's pained anguish that really sells the emotion of the scene. His response is authentic and utterly convincing, and it probably has something to do with the fact that the actor broke his toe kicking an orc helmet, as director Peter Jackson confirmed in the Extras. Mortensen's fifth attempt to kick the helmet correctly beyond the camera came with a grim, anguished scream, which impressed Jackson enough to make it into the final film, before the director became aware that his star had broken two toes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n0Uj41zlhU Much like the Leo DiCaprio example from Django Unchained, this particular painful moment was clearly deemed too authentic, and too fitting with the character portrayal that Mortensen had put together that it made it into the final film, but it's fairly obvious that Aragorn is not in the greatest amount of comfort.