The Lord of the Rings movie series could have looked quite different.

Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings movie series is beloved and iconic, featuring memorable performances by actors like Liv Tyler, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, and more. But the film could have looked quite different. As is often the case with major Hollywood productions, a number of other actors were in the mix for the leading roles. Aragon, Frodo, Gandalf, Arwen, and others could have been played by different people, and it's fascinating to think about what could have been.

In this gallery, we're running through more than a dozen actors who were, or might have been, in the mix for major roles but ultimately didn't make the cut for whatever reason.

Perhaps the best-known and most dramatic example is Stuart Towsend. He was hired to play Aragorn. He trained for the role and was on the ground in New Zealand before everything changed. It was decided that Townsend lacked a certain quality that Jackson was looking for. In the 11th hour, Jackson fired Townsend and hired Viggo Mortensen. As the story goes, Mortensen's son convinced the actor to fly to New Zealand for three years to play the part he is now known best for.

Other actors who could have appeared in The Lord of the Rings included Jake Gyllenhaal, Russell Crowe, Nicolas Cage (yes, really!), Daniel Day-Lewis, Uma Thurman, and even the singer David Bowie. Here's 15 actors who could have starred in The Lord of the Rings.

Stuart Townsend - Aragorn

Irish actor Stuart Townsend was cast as Aragorn. He says he trained for months and was prepared to go, before he was fired just one day before filming was due to begin. As Townsend tells it, he believes Jackson wanted someone older and didn't realize this until late in the process. Viggo Mortensen, who is 14 years older, got the call--and the rest is history.

Russell Crowe – Aragorn

It's been reported that Russell Crowe was on the shortlist for actors who could replace Townsend as Aragorn. However, Crowe told Howard Stern that he believes Jackson never really wanted him to play Aragorn. He suggested that studio executives pressured Jackson into talking to him because his star was rising at the time. "My instinct was that he had somebody else in mind, which turned out to be Viggo Mortensen. And he should be allowed to hire the actor that he wants," Crowe said.

Nicolas Cage – Aragorn

Actor Nicolas Cage won an Oscar for 1995's Leaving Las Vegas, and he could have broken out into a new level of stardom a few years later by playing Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings. However, Cage said in 2022 that he declined to appear in The Lord of the Rings because he chose to prioritize his family over his career. For The Lord the Rings, he would have needed to live in New Zealand for multiple years as the films were shot back-to-back. Cage also passed on playing Neo in The Matrix (which filmed in Australia) for the same reason.

"There's no version of Nic Cage that didn't put family first over career. I turned down Lord of the Rings and I turned down Matrix because I didn't want to go to New Zealand for three years or Australia for three years because I needed to be home with my son Weston, that's a fact."

Dougray Scott – Aragorn

Mission Impossible actor Dougray Scott said in 2020 that he was approached to play Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, but passed on making any effort to audition because it would involve living in New Zealand for a long time. He was never officially offered the role, but says he was sent the script and received an invitation to meet with Jackson. "The idea of spending that amount of time away in New Zealand at that particular time, I didn't want to do," he said.

Daniel Day-Lewis – Aragorn

According to Collider, Daniel Day-Lewis--an esteemed, award-winning (now-retired) actor known for his method acting--was one of Jackson's top candidates to play Aragorn. Jackson reportedly tried on numerous occasions to get Day-Lewis to play the role, but it didn't work out for reasons that were never made public. Day-Lewis is known to be very selective about his projects, and he's never starred in any film that got a sequel, so it would have been out of the ordinary for him.

Jake Gyllenhaal – Frodo

Today, Lord of the Rings fans know Elijah Wood and only Elijah Wood to be Frodo, but it could have been someone else. Jake Gyllenhaal auditioned for the role, and his try-out went very badly. He said in 2016 that the first phase of his audition was to act out a scene where Frodo finds the One Ring. As Gyllenhaal recalls, he didn't know stage direction would be part of the audition. Not only that, but when he got to speaking, he was supposed to use a British accent. Except no one told him that and he just read the lines in his American accent. Gyllenhaal recalls Jackson telling him to fire his agents for failing to prepare him for the audition.

James Corden - Samwise

Actor Sean Astin turned in a memorable performance as the devoted Hobbit Samwise Gamgee, but did you know it could have been James Corden playing the role? Corden said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2022 that he received multiple callbacks, but ultimately, he admits his audition was "not good."

Sean Connery – Gandalf

The iconic role of the wise wizard Gandalf went to Ian McKellen, but he reportedly wasn't the first choice. McKellen told The Independent that Anthony Hopkins and Sean Connery were ahead of him in line. "They only wanted me because the established stars said no," McKellen recalled. Producer Mark Ordesky didn't remember it that way, saying McKellen was being self-deprecating and that the producers really did want to hire McKellen.

Ordesky said an offer was made to Connery "but he said no." The producer said Connery didn't explain himself until years later. Ordesky said Connery read the script and "just didn't get it."

Uma Thurman – Eowyn

Uma Thurman, known for her roles in Quentin Tarantino movies like Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction, told Stephen Colbert in 2017 that the rumors that she turned down a major Lord of the Rings role were true. She told the late-night TV host, "I do consider it one of the worst decisions ever made." Thurman said she had just had her first child, which factored into her decision-making. In the end, Australian actress Miranda Otto landed the part of Eowyn and performed it memorably.

Patrick Stewart – Gandalf

Another actor who was in the running to play Gandalf was Patrick Stewart of Star Trek fame. At a Star Trek fan convention years ago, Stewart said he met with Jackson about playing Gandalf, but Stewart wanted a different part (one that he has never disclosed). Stewart also reportedly didn't love the script. Stewart and Ian McKellen, who ended up landing the role of Gandalf, are very good friends now. And that's very nice.

David Bowie - Multiple Roles

Singer David Bowie auditioned for The Lord of the Rings, according to Dominic Monaghan, who played Merry in the series. Monaghan said he saw Bowie in a casting office and assumed he was reading for Gandalf. That might have been the case, but it's also been reported that Jackson was potentially interested in casting Bowie as the ancient elf Elrond. Hugo Weaving would eventually land the part.

Ethan Hawke – Faramir

Australian actor David Wenham turned in a memorable performance as the duty-bound soldier Faramir in The Lord of the Rings, but before he got the part, Ethan Hawke was reportedly in the mix. Hawke and Uma Thurman (who was originally eyed for Eowyn) were married at the time. It would have been poetic if it came to fruition, as Faramir and Eowyn end up together in the movie.

Christopher Plummer – Gandalf

Iconic actor Christopher Plummer, who died in 2021, was offered the role of Gandalf. But the Sound of Music star told Conan O'Brien he was hesitant about spending so much time in New Zealand, which was a common refrain among the actors who passed on parts in the series. Plummer said he is a big fan of the Lord of the Rings and read the books growing up. Plummer said his performance as Gandalf might have been "cold" as opposed to the warmer interpretation we got from McKellen.

Tom Wilkinson - Unspecified Role

Actor Tom Wilkinson, a famous character actor who has appeared in more than 100 productions in his career, was apparently at least in the running for a part in The Lord of the Rings. He said he was "never offered a role outright." However, the producers called to conduct an "availability check" to see if Wilkinson might be free, with conversations then continuing from there. We don't know what role Wilkinson might have been considered for, but many speculate it was Gandalf.

Sylvester McCoy – Bilbo

Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy, known for playing the Doctor on Doctor Who in the late 80s, was reportedly a leading candidate to play Bilbo in The Lord of the Rings. It didn't work out, and the role went to Ian Holm. However, McCoy would end up playing a major role in a Middle-earth production, as he starred as Radagast in Jackson's Hobbit films.