Goonies and Rudy actor Sean Astin starred in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings series as the ever-faithful and genuine Samwise Gamgee. The character appears in a number of emotional and impactful scenes as he helps Frodo to Mordor to destroy the One Ring, but there is one scene in particular that always makes Astin choke up.
Speaking to CinemeBlend, Astin said he always tears up during the scene in Return of the King when Aragorn expresses his gratitude to Sam and the rest of the Hobbits for their part in destroying the One Ring. It’s an emotional scene on its own, but for Astin in particular, it has a special resonance because it was the final scene he filmed.
“The last [scene] we shot was a scene that always makes me cry in the movie, when Aragorn turns and looks at us and says, ‘Oh, my friends, you bow to no one.’ That was the last shot of the four Hobbits. My last shot,” Astin said.
“The movie had more to do, but the four Hobbits were basically, we stood against a green screen or blue screen, or whatever, and we just hit it,” he added. “And the camera just kind of did a little push in, and we all gave this sheepish like, ‘Oh, I guess they’re all bowing for us?'”
This is just the latest anecdote that Astin has shared recently from his time filming the epic fantasy trilogy. He also recalled some “brutal” feedback he got from Jackson, and he opened up on how this “Mortal Kombat death blow” actually positively impacted his performance.
The Lord of the Rings is back in the spotlight with a new 4K UHD trilogy that launches on December 1–early reviews are very positive.
In other Lord of the Rings news, HarperCollins is releasing a new Middle-earth book that will, among other things, explain who can grow beards.
Amazon is currently filming a very expensive TV show based on the fantasy series in New Zealand, while there are multiple Lord of the Rings video games in the works, including an MMO and a title featuring Gollum.
