Watch: James Corden's audition for 'Lord of the Rings' to play Samwise
Dec 30, 2022
Washington [US], December 30 : Actor-comedian James Corden has disclosed that he auditioned for the role of hobbit Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings' movie trilogy.
According to Deadline, a US-based news outlet, 'The Late Late Show' host laments that the procedure wasn't very smooth in an edition of Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast released on Tuesday.
"Everyone, every single person in London auditioned for Lord of the Rings. " Everybody," Corden says in a segment you can view above. "I auditioned for Samwise...and I was doing it, Josh. I was doing the accent and everything."
Corden said that two of his friends also went in to audition, with all three landing callbacks to take place the next day. "And then we got called back the next day," Corden recalls. "And then none of us got called back after that."
Of course, none other than Oscar contender Sean Astin was chosen to play Samwise, the best friend and sidekick of Elijah Wood's brave hobbit, Frodo Baggins. Even if Corden didn't get the chance to travel to Middle-earth, he could still say that he "very much enjoys" the epic fantasy movies that are based on J. R. R. Tolkien's book series.
"I enjoyed it until the last one," he deadpanned, "and then I was like, 'Okay, I think I've seen this now.'"
As per a report by Deadline, Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings' film trilogy was well received by critics and audiences alike; his three movies earned close to $3 billion worldwide and combined won 17 Academy Awards. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, an epic prequel series created for Prime Video by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, is currently giving Tolkien's source material new life on screen. The first season of the series concluded in October, around the same time that production for the second season began.
After working for The Late Late Show for eight and a half years, Corden revealed in April that he will leave the late-night staple in the spring of next year. He presently stars and executive produces the British dark comedy Mammals, which made its Prime Video debut in November.
