6. Viggo Mortensen Brakes His Toes Kicking A Helmet - Channels Pain Into His Performance
No actor likely disappeared into their role for Peter Jackson's
Lord of the Rings trilogy more than Viggo Mortensen, who insisted on taking his sword with him everywhere - including restaurants - and becoming best friends with his in-movie horse. But ol' Viggo was even more committed to his role of Aragorn than you might think, given that during one particularly dramatic sequence, he broke a couple of toes to truly express his character's anguish. That's right: during the scene in
The Two Towers in which Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli mistakenly believe that Merry and Pippin have been murdered by orcs, Aragorn kicks a Uruk-hai's helmet, screams out and falls to the floor. Why does this particular seen seem
so angry, though? Well, presumably it's because Viggo Mortensen broke two toes when he delivered that almighty helmet kick and - instead of calling for aid - opted to keep the cameras rolling. The result is an accident that manifests itself into a truly great movie moment, and one that's perfectly condensed into a piece of bite-sized trivia, so be sure to tell all your friends that you know this.