10 Things You Didn't Know About The Hobbit Trilogy
7. Ian McKellen Almost Bailed
Much as its a strange prospect to think of anyone other than Freeman playing Bilbo Baggins, its almost unimaginable to consider anyone besides Sir Ian McKellen donning Gandalfs robes. Yet that came perilously close to being a reality, both prior to the start of production and on the first few days on set. McKellen was initially reluctant to reprise his most famous role, commenting, At my age, each job might be your last, and he wrestled with the prospect of another lengthy shoot thousands of miles from home. He eventually agreed to appear in The Hobbit for fear of disappointing his fans should he decline, but the first day of filming gave him cause for regret. The demands of shooting in 3D and at a higher frame rate ruled out repeating the forced perspective trick employed on The Lord Of The Rings to make Gandalf appear bigger than the other actors, and instead McKellen was isolated from the rest of the cast and made to perform in a green screen environment. The time he spent alone and responding to the other actors voices via an earpiece was distressing enough to bring on tears, and he considered quitting the role and even giving up on acting entirely. Unbeknownst to McKellen, his distress was audible to all concerned via his microphone, and the cast and crew made an effort to cheer him up by decorating his tent with props and personal messages. Fortunately for all concerned, it did the job.
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