[Theron Bugtussle]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR><B>Mister Underhill:</B> Day-Lewis was considered for the part. Great actor. First thing I thought of when I read that above was <I>Last of the Mohicans</I>.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Actually, I think this would have been a great idea, casting him as Aragorn. When you mentioned <I>Last of the Mohicans (LotM)</I>, I thought about book vs movie differences there, too. Day-Lewis is rather too short to have played the scout, but the height discrepancy was insignificant to his excellence in the rest of the role.<P>Similarly, I doubt that either Day-Lewis or Mortenson are up to Tolkien's measure of height for Aragorn. But since Mortenson has neither the broad shoulders nor the deep, rich voice of Tolkien's Aragorn, I think that Day-Lewis could have done as well. And where the voice is concerned, who couldn't have done better? <P>*Aragorn pinches nose, squeals out:* <I>"We are no spies!"</I><P>I think 'grim' and Viggo's voice are like oil and water! (That is, unless grim is portrayed as <I>high-pitched muttering</I>.)<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> He certainly could have played the part, but there's something distant about him which I think makes him an inferior choice to Mortenson. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I am not aware of the 'distance' you mention in Day-Lewis' acting. I found him intense, engaging, and confident in LotM. I am comparing him quite favorably to Mortenson's Aragorn, whom I found distant and floundering with a severe lack of confidence, though much of that was the writing, certainly. <P>But was it directing or acting that was at fault in the following scene? At <I>The Prancing Pony</I>, when the Nazgul are puncturing the erstwhile hobbit beds with maggot holes, Mortenson sits in a chair looking out the window as if he is watching the TV program playing in the neighbors' living room--<B>the picture of distance</B> if I ever saw it.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Another factor is that Day-Lewis is Day-Lewis, whereas Mortenson was something of an unknown quantity coming into LotR. Day-Lewis would've (IMO) been fighting his recognizability in a way that Mortenson didn't have to. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><B>Recognizability.</B> I think the producers/directors may have had a bigger issue with that than was needful. That's the reason, however, that I might have had second thoughts about Mel Gibson. Though, if you watch <I>Braveheart</I>, how long does it take before Mel is William Wallace? Not long. He would have done great in the Aragorn role. I think that Daniel Day-Lewis would have grabbed Aragorn-recognition from the outset--and not let go.