James Corden, who is perhaps best known for The Late Show with James Corden, is also an actor who has appeared in films like Into the Woods and Cats. In a new interview, Corden confirmed a popular rumor that he auditioned for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings–but it didn’t go so well.
Speaking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Corden confirmed that his try-out for Samwise Gamgee was one of his first auditions as an actor. How did it go? “Not good,” Corden said bluntly.
“Every single person in London auditioned for The Lord of the Rings–everybody. I auditioned for Samwise,” Corden said.
Corden recorded an audition tape in which he did the full-on Sam accent and belted out Sam’s popular line, “Mr. Frodo!” Corden said he got called back twice, but never made it further. The audition video and other details about his take on Sam will evidently be kept a secret, as Corden didn’t sound enthusiastic about sharing more details during the interview.
Corden didn’t get the part, but he said that didn’t stop him from watching and enjoying the Lord of the Rings films. “I very much enjoy those movies,” he said.
The role of Samwise eventually went to Sean Astin, who starred in The Goonies and Rudy before landing The Lord of the Rings in a career-defining role. Other actors who tried out for, or were considered for parts in The Lord of the Rings included Nicolas Cage and Daniel Day-Lewis for Aragorn, Patrick Stewart and Sean Connery for Gandalf, and Jake Gyllenhaal for Frodo.
Filming on the popular series began with Stuart Townsend as Aragorn, but he was replaced at the beginning of the shoot by Viggo Mortensen.
As for Corden, he is retiring from his CBS late night show, The Late Show with James Corden, later this year. The final episode is scheduled for mid-2023.
The Lord of the Rings film series will continue in 2024 with the animated film The War of the Rohirrim. A second season of The Rings of Power is in the works as well.
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