Q: We hear the actors playing the hobbits were very close. How close?
A: Among other things, we learned to surf together! Often times, you make great relationships [while working] on films. But we spent all our free time together, and that's a real testament to the relationship. We never got sick of each other. They're some of the best relationships I've ever had.
Q: Did you have the most shooting days out of all the actors?
A: In the year and a half we filmed, I think I had maybe three weeks off. Total. I worked nearly every day. I stayed in New Zealand the whole time. We took trips here and there. We went to Australia and visited the "Star Wars" set.
Q: Really? That must have been a real culture clash.
A: Dude, let me tell you: It was weird. The "Lord of the Rings" people were constantly dirty … the world of Middle-earth we portray is very messy. The "Star Wars" sets were pristine; they were shooting digitally, so there wasn't much equipment. They had a digital-editing bay that was right on set. It was cool, air-conditioned and everyone was well dressed. We were constantly in snow, rain--you name it. We referred to each other as hobbits. They thought we were weird.
Q: Did you mind all the prosthetic makeup you had to wear every day?
A: Well, all of it is important to the film. Wearing the ears and the feet, it changes the way you feel. The wardrobe and swords, too. It felt very real. Our sets were amazing. They were so realistic, with details you may not even see in the film, but [that] added to our reality. It was like we were in Middle-earth. They built Hobbiton about a year before they filmed it. They got John Howe and Allen Lee, two famous Tolkien illustrators, to help build it into the existing New Zealand landscape. But going there, after letting the earth grow around it and weather it, it felt like home. Ian McKellen put it best. "When I went to Hobbiton, I believed."
Q: Is there a downside to being so closely related to a character like this?
A: I think there's a lot of humanity to Frodo. Apart from [hobbits'] physicality, I don't think that there's anything that sets these characters apart from anything we can relate to. I don't think there's any way I could be typecast, but I certainly will be associated with [the movie], and it's going to be around for a while. If I maintain my role as an actor and continue to do varied things, I can't be hurt by this.
Q: So this was a positive experience all around.
A: It was the most incredible experience of my life. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I knew that taking it on would be an adventure that would, in some ways, mirror the book. I made lifelong friends and grew as an individual. We went to place most New Zealanders have never seen. It was a life experience as much as a filmic experience. As difficult as it was, I would jump at the chance to do it all again.
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