The Lord Of The Rings might be one of the most successful film series of all time, but they could have looked a lot different, had David Bowie not starred in Labyrinth years earlier.
While David Bowie first kicked off his music career back in the ’60s, it wasn’t until the ’70s that the music icon took up his first acting role. Starting with The Man Who Fell To Earth in 1976, Bowie went on to act in numerous other films, including Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, and The Prestige.
However, his most famous role, might have been that of Jareth, the Goblin King, from Jim Henson’s 1986 film, Labyrinth, even though it appears to have cost him a role in The Lord Of The Rings.
Over the years, there have been a few rumours that David Bowie was once involved in the production of The Lord Of The Rings, but now it’s been confirmed that his chances of being in the film were long gone before production even began.
As The Huffington Post reports, screenwriters Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh confirmed that the film studio wasn’t too keen on David Bowie being in the film, because of the fact he’d played The Goblin King in Labyrinth.
While Walsh noted they never met Bowie but were “quite keen to”, they noted that the film’s producers didn’t give him much of a chance.
“I don’t think the studio were that keen at that point,” Walsh recalled, “so we never did meet with him.”
“I remember that conversation,” Boyens noted. “There was a little hesitancy there because Elrond and the Goblin King. I mean, you know, elves.”
The pair dismissed the previous notion that Bowie had been considered for the role of Gandalf, stating that Bowie would have been cast in the role of Elrond, which ultimately went to Australian actor Hugo Weaving.”He is an elf, don’t you think? He is,” explained Philippa Boyens. “He would’ve been Elrond.”
So there you have it, we never did quite get the chance to see David Bowie as part of The Lord Of The Rings as an elf because he’s already played a goblin. We’re sure there are more ridiculous reasons that roles weren’t cast, but this one is taking the cake right now.
Check out David Bowie in Labyrinth:
