According to Sean Astin, playing Frodo in “Lord of the Rings” “defined” his entire life.
The 51-year-old actor pondered on how much the role affected his life after the first film, “Fellowship of the Ring,” marked its 20th anniversary. The actor played Samwise Gamgee in the original trilogy of the fantasy film franchise, which is based on the novel series by J.R.R. Tolkien.
He stated: “The films date back 20 years. You now possess this DVD set, which includes 31 DVDs and is the complete set. It is the utterly crazy, unbelievable, and I had no idea there was so much love in the world collection of Lord of the Rings. And nothing can ever take the movies away from me. Nothing can undo the 20 years of fandom I’ve experienced, including the conventions, autograph signings, interviews, award shows, and everything else that went into it. My entire life—from my 30s to my 50s—has been defined by it. That cannot ever be taken away.”
The actor of “Stranger Things” continued by saying that he could now enjoy reading the book series without being concerned about finding work after filming the initial movies.
He stated to Collider: “Therefore, I can now truly afford to read the books without feeling pressure from my career or [worrying] about how it would affect my career. What will my agents think about this? When I was growing up, so to speak, all of that neurologic machinery was at work. However, my acting career is now free to go where it wants. I’ll keep working. What if I never work again? I wondered as soon as I finished “Lord of the Rings”? At one point, [director] Peter Jackson made fun of me. Considering that we were playing these tiny hobbits. Additionally, it’s adorable, humorous, and charming. But in a way, we are small.”
