Lord of the Rings’ Viggo Mortensen’s portrayal of Aragorn has long been hailed as one of the franchise’s best developed characters. However, one scene in the trilogy actually saw him put his life on the line.

Some of his phrases from the movies have stood the test of time along the list of most famous quotes from the films. Whether it’s the emotional final scenes of The Return of the King when he simply tells the four hobbit pals “Friends, you bow to no one” or is inspiring war speech at the dreaded Back Gate of Mordor. But it turns out, as the final Lord of the Rings film reached its climax, Viggo Mortensen’s life was in danger as cameras rolled.

Lord of the Rings set was a real life-and-death situation

The final installment of Peter Jackson’s three-part masterpiece, released 20 years ago. But there’s still some lesser known insights from the films. Hollywood fans had followed their favorite Fellowship of the Ring throughout epic battles, witnessed tragic deaths, and moments of sheer determination.

One of the iconic scenes of The Return of the King sees Aragorn deliver a war speech to inspire the down-trodden and exhausted resistance. Stood outside the Black Gate of Mordor, under the watchful eye of Sauron, he roused the fighters.

The scene was filmed out in New Zealand, in a spot once used for military training. But that in itself threatened the celebrity cast and crew – and, most scarily, Viggo.

The Lord of the Rings sequence was actually on top of unexploded artillery shells in the Rangipo Desert. The crew managed to find a safe area within the ground covered in bombs to shoot the film, and that’s where the cast had to stay. However, when Viggo was moved while acting, he apparently rode outside the safe zone when cameras were on.

And Peter Jackson was terrified.

‘He was freaking out’

In his book, Anything You Can Imagine: Peter Jackson and the Making of Middle-Earth, Ian Nathan detailed the scary moment.

When Viggo improvised on set, it didn’t sit well with the cinema director.

“Jackson remembers waiting for the explosion,” Nathan writes.

“Having found their perfect Aragorn, they were going to watch him get blown up by an unexploded New Zealand bomb.”

Watch the scene here.

Jackson found his perfect Aragorn but someone else was given the part first

It’s tough to imagine Lord of the Rings without Viggo protecting Frodo and the ring. But in the first cast, Viggo wasn’t on the list, someone else was.

Stuart Townsend was originally offered the role and spent weeks training for the part. However, on the first day of shooting, Peter Jackson changed his mind. He felt Townsend was too young to play Aragorn.

At the time, Viggo wasn’t a huge actor in Tinsel Town. The Danish-American had done smaller roles and has always been picky on what he chooses to accept. Even after the success of the J R R Tolkien franchise, he has considered each of his roles before signing on the dotted line.

He wasn’t up for Lord of the Rings at the start, but it’s believed his teenage son convinced him it would work out. Not only that, but his young son also bagged a role as a research assistant on the film, and played an orc in the last battle.

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