Lord Of The Rings: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Elves
5. One Elf Extra Started A Fan Cult
When it came to casting elf extras for the trilogy, Peter Jackson set out certain specification for his casting agents. As ethereal beings, the elves were said to be the most beautiful creatures in all of Middle-earth. It was all high-cheek bones and strong jaw lines.
One extra caused such a stir with the fandom, that an entire fan community was born; it spawned a website, dozens of forums, and even a documentary, chronicling fans attempts to track the actor down. He was given the name Figwit, an abbreviation "Frodo is grea...who is THAT?!?" due to the striking impression he made. Not bad given he only appeared for three seconds during the Council of Elrond scene...
The actor turned out to be one half of Flight of the Conchords, Bret McKenzie. The buzz was so huge it was worthy of generating a number of news segments on New Zealand TV, which in turn encouraged Peter Jackson to bring him back during the Return of the King.