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But not for the fearless Peter Jackson.
The director who nabbed Titanic's Kate Winslet for her
feature debut, 1994's Heavenly Creatures, has a
keen eye for talent. And he already had in his head specific
choices for Rings.
"It was fun. I think everybody who reads
the books starts to imagine what actors you'd pick for those
roles." Luckily, many on his dream team signed up.
Web rumors suggested Sean Connery was
Jackson's wish for Gandalf the wizard. In reality, Ian
McKellen "was always our first choice. He knows Gandalf better
than we did." Other early hires: Ian Holm as elder hobbit
Bilbo and Sean Bean as brooding warrior Boromir.
As Frodo, the young hobbit who must
destroy the ring that threatens Middle-earth, "We didn't cast
Elijah Wood. He cast himself." He donned hobbit garb, headed
to the L.A. hills and had a friend shoot an audition tape.
Horror master Christopher Lee sent Jackson a photo of himself
as a wizard to prove he'd be a convincing Saruman.
The elves, statuesque beings with silky
locks that would make a Breck girl envious, were more
difficult. Says Jackson: "We compensated by casting the most
perfect human beings in the world, like Liv Tyler and Cate
Blanchett."
As for archer Legolas, "We couldn't think
of an actor." But during Orlando Bloom's tryout for another
part, Jackson says, "We thought, 'Well, actually Legolas looks
very much like Orlando Bloom.' " Problem solved. | 
