10 Most Paused Lord Of The Rings Moments
2. Aragorn Kicking The Helmet
In the beginning of The Two Towers, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are hunting a rabble of Uruk-Hai who've kidnapped two members of their fellowship, Merry and Pippin. When the trio discover one of the hobbits' scabbards in a pyre of Uruk-Hai corpses, they naturally assume their comrades are dead. In his grief, Aragorn kicks a goblin helmet across the field and lets out a piercing scream that brings him to his knees.
For this shot, director, Peter Jackson, asked the actor portraying Aragon, Viggo Mortensen, to belt the helmet as close to the camera as possible. Mortensen tried four times but never managed to knock the headgear anywhere near the camera.
On the fifth take, he kicked it right towards the camera, nailing the shot. Unfortunately, Mortensen hit the helmet with such ferocity, he broke two of his toes. Instead of breaking character and ruining the scene, Mortensen channeled the pain into his performance, making this already harrowing scene more moving. Jackson believed this was the best take by far and so, had to include it into the final cut.