Entertainment

Liam Neeson: The ‘Lord of The Rings’ Role He Turned Down and Why 

Liam Neeson, known for his memorable role and quotable dialogue in Taken (“I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you”) and for being the voice of Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, has built a reputation as one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors.  However, despite his vast number of blockbuster roles, there’s one role in a major franchise that he turned down.  Liam Neeson Turned Down LOTR Role  According to Movieweb, Liam Neeson turned down the chance to be included in Peter Jackson’s epic saga. When Jackson was casting characters for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Neeson was considered for the role of Boromir, the elder brother of Faramir and the heir of Denethor II, the steward of Gondor. The role ultimately went to Sean Bean.  Being cast in a Jackson film (eventually a franchise) should have been an easy decision for Neeson. After all, he’s no stranger to being part of a blockbuster franchise. However, it seemed it was his role in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace as Qui-Gon Jinn that helped him decide to turn down the role.  Reportedly, Neeson didn’t want to play another character that dies early on (same as Qui-Gon Jinn who was killed early on by Darth Maul. The character did, however, appear again as a Force Ghost on Disney+’s animated series Tales of the Jedi).   The role later went to Sean Bean, who had no problem with his character dying early on. In fact, it seemed that Bean's characters often meet untimely deaths. Aside from Boromir, Bean famously played Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, who was executed in season 1. He also portrayed Dr. Bernard Merrick, a scientist who was shot and hanged in Michael Bay's The Island. Additionally, his character, Errol Partridge, a police officer killed by another officer played by Christian Bale, in 2002’s Equilibrium, is another example of Bean’s characters dying early.  Had Neeson played Boromir, it wouldn’t just be his character from Taken with a memorable quote. Sean Bean’s portrayal of Boromir became iconic for his now-meme-famous line, “One does not simply walk to Mordor,” which Bean himself has said would “probably be my unintended legacy.” 

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