[BittenBuggy]

I have recently been watching a lot of extra footage from the EE of the FotR and TTT. I have noticed little oddities about the actors, and I was wondering if anyone else felt the same?

-Orlando Bloom seems to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic. I mean, he's very sweet and all, but some of the things he says are like...dumb. I don't know, there is just a very native, almost innocent quality about him. It's like, wow buddy, did you live in a box?

-Elijah Wood doesn't strike me as being very 'nice.' Perhaps it's all the cursing and smoking (I don't like either) but he just rubs me the wrong way.

-John Rhys Davis loves to hear himself talk! My goodness, the man goes on forever.

-Liv Tyler has a crush on Orlando. She kept talking about how she couldn't drive in New Zealand so ORLANDO had to take her to and from work. I mean come on honey, we can see right through that excuse. But...knowing Orlando, he didn't quite pick up on that.

Please keep in mind that I love all the LotR characters and the actors. I just find these traits to be a bit quirky. Anyone else notice anything?

[Elvenesse]

I'd have to agree with you on Orlando Bloom, neither he or Elijah Wood seem to be able to talk properly either. But both OB and LT come across as very sweet.

I'm not actually sure OB can act, or at least he hasn't managed the movies he's in so far very well. He's just expected to prance around looking good. His Ned Kelly accent was very funny. Maybe if he's given a decent part in a film he'll do okay.

[JennnLee]

Elijah cracks me up. One of my favorite things on FOTR is listening to the parts of the commentary that have the hobbits talking about all the behind the scenes stuff they were up to, all the picking on each other and all, and I found it hysterical. Swearing and all that doesn't bother me. I grew up working in theatre, and that's where I met my husband - working in a regional theatre right out of college. And Elijah reminded me of a handful of actors I've worked with.

Watching one of the featurettes with Liv Tyler talking about Orlando and Orlando talking about Liv, my husband nodded sagely and said "Yep. He pegged her." So that's our take on that.

Personally, I like Orlando Bloom. Not just because he's very pretty to look at. I was actually talking about this last night with my husband while we were watching Pirates for the millionth time. Yes, he's beautiful, but I almost think it's too bad that he's so beautiful, because then he gets all the squealy fangirl attention and not as much attention is paid to his acting. Reminds me of when Leonardo DiCaprio did Titanic, and all of a sudden he was the latest fangirl thing, when he was really a solid actor.

Yeah, Orlando seems goofy, at least in the FOTR extras, but he was young when he got that gig; wasn't it his first out of school? And contrast that real-life youth and goofiness with the grace he brought to Legolas. I thought he did a great job of appearing to be an old soul. And I thought he was great in Pirates, despite the shameful lack of nudity. The director said in a commentary that he kept giving Orlando the note of "No, you're still a dork. You're not cool yet." And that perfectly describes the way he played Will at the start of the movie, and then we got to watch Will kind of grow up and take charge and accept who he was. Become comfortable in his own skin.

Sorry to make this a long essay, but I found it funny since my husband and I were talking about this last night: about Orlando Bloom's subtle, earnest performance constrasted to Johnny Depp playing a cartoon character. So I had to weigh in...

[sindohte]

[Thuriniel]

[Hathor]

[Panneth]

[sindohte]

[SilverMoonLady]

hmmm.. I have to admit to positively blushing with embarassment the one time I saw a recent interview (I think on Letterman or something) with Elijah Wood.... and I was alone in my living room! It was just so.... I don't know, I guess I expected to hear something interesting, even funny, but well intelligent? mature? I don't know, I just pretend I never saw it at all....

I did see Dom Monaghan on Late Late with somebody or other, and that was fun:) And I heard Sean Astin on a quick phone interview on the radio, which was neat. Ian McKellen real late one night, boy he looks different! But he had some fun/smart things to say. You can tell he has a sense of humor:)

I choose to reserve judgement on Orlando Bloom, but I agree with whoever said that his good looks might well be a bit of a handicap to getting his acting noticed. A pretty face will get your foot in the door, but it makes it hard to get respect as a thinking being (or so I hear!)

Enough rambling, gotta go pretend to work!

[Hathor]

[SilverMoonLady]

I don't have cable, but if I did I'd get the references, really I would!! *grin*

Well, I'd pretend anyway I'm awfully clueless when it comes to these things...

[Andreth]

[miriel361]

I'll agree that John Rhys Davies likes to talk alot, but what a wonderful voice he has.

As to Orlando and Liv fancying one another. Well maybe they did, but obviously not enough to get together. I must add however that I can understand Liv's reluctance to drive in NZ - you must remember that we drive on the left hand side and the hills in Wellington are really mountains. Add to that gale force winds on a regular basis and the occasional earthquake - I can understand why the dyslexic girl decided to give it a miss.

I was surprised to see Liv and Orlando sharing a car in Wellington for the world premiere. I had asssumed that Aragorn and Arwen would arrive together.

As to whether or not Orlando can act - time will tell. He worked for me in Pirates - although of course next to Depp and Rush, he looked pale in comparison - but then wasn't he supposed to be?

One thing that I spotted in TTT specials DVD was in the sequence - Cameras in Middle Earth. Jackson is talking about the 'bearded ladies' and there is a quick pan of a bearded lady standing next to a horse and trying hard not to be noticed. Well guess whose horse she was standing next to? Yup I figured - this was the bearded lady that Viggo fancied....

[BittenBuggy]

[Thuriniel]

And what about "the injury that rocked the Western hemisphere"? by Dom ... Dom who "injured" himself while wearing his Hobbit feet with a pretty small thorn (according to the rest of the Hobbits) ... and then he makes this big deal about Orlando being a whiner because he broke a rib ... !

But I must add, that instance, plus the Viggo love affair with a bearded woman were my favorite of "Cameras in Middle Earth." Dom just knows how to tell a story and how to make it sound absolutely hilarious. He's just great !

As for Liv and Orlando sharing a car during the New Zealand premiere ... yes, I also thought that it should've been Aragorn and Arwen arriving together ... but I guess they're both elves, so it's also logical ... unless, to put it in JennnLee's husband's words, "he pegged her."