Just as the 15-month-long shoot of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was beginning, Irish actor Stuart Townsend was fired from his role. Peter Jackson later claimed that Townsend was too young for the part, although the last-second timing led to suspicion about severe "creative differences." Still, Jackson's subsequent casting choice lended some plausibility to his stated reasoning: which actor, 14 years older than Townsend, was hired to fill the role?
Viggo MORTENSEN