10 Mind Blowing Facts You Never Knew About The Lord Of The Rings

7. The Cast Got Seriously Hurt From Doing Their Own Stunts

Peter Jackson Lord Of The Rings
New Line Cinema

Actors doing their own stunts SOUNDS cool, but when you actually stop and think about the implications thereof, it shouldn't be surprising that stunt doubles are one of the financially safest, most in demand positions in Hollywood.

Look no further than Lord Of The Rings for proof of the consequences of wanting to do it all yourself. Orlando Bloom, for example, fell off his horse during one scene and broke three of his ribs. Viggo Mortenson, meanwhile, broke one of his toes and even chipped off a sizable chunk of his tooth while filming a fight scene.

Now, a toe is one thing, but having one of your teeth broken off would at least be cause for taking five among any other actor. But for Viggo, the show must go on. So the badass just whipped out some super glue and stuck the tooth back together so they could keep filming.

Just goes to show what happens when you hire actors who are fully aware of what they're a part of, and want to get it right as much as humanely possible.

Contributor
Contributor

John Tibbetts is a novelist in theory, a Whatculture contributor in practice, and a nerd all around who loves talking about movies, TV, anime, and video games more than he loves breathing. Which might be a problem in the long term, but eh, who can think that far ahead?