Amazon wants “funky-looking people” to be in its Lord of the Rings show

Do you look “unusual”? Do you have “[an] overbite, face burns, long skinny limbs, deep cheekbones, lines on your face, acne scars, ears that stick out, bulbous or interesting noses, small eyes, big eyes, any deformities, Skinny faces, missing limbs?” If so, Hollywood wants you.

Or at least, Amazon wants you for its upcoming Lord of the Rings series, set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, back when elves were elves, men were Númenóreans, and Sauron was getting way into homemade jewelry. This comes from a Facebook post by BGT Actors Models & Talent, a talent agency that’s provided extras for The Lord of the Rings franchise since Peter Jackson was filming his movies in New Zealand back in the early 2000s:

URGENT CASTING – Auckland Based people only.Funky Looking people needed! (if you are with BGT do not apply as we have…

Posted by BGT Actors Models & Talent on Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Granted, the post doesn’t actually have the words “lord of the rings” in it, but according to The Guardian, an earlier version of the post described the recruiter as the “lead booker submitting talent for Amazon’s Lord of the Rings” and had the hashtag #lordoftheringsonprime. And if you watch the video attached to the post, the recruiter mentions they’re looking for very short people (hobbits and dwarves), “funky-looking” people with eyes or limbs missing (orcs or war refugees), and androgynous men and women who are ethereal and slender (elves). So there’s not a lot of ambiguity.

As for what role BGT is trying to fill, it’s almost definitely orcs, J.R.R. Tolkien’s all-purpose baddie. These guys move in giant packs, love the thrill of the kill, and are in permanent thrall to one Dark Lord or another. Anyone who nabs one of these roles is probably looking at being part of a huge group of extras. You likely won’t get famous, but at least it’s show business.

Men and women of any ethnicity aged 18-65 are encouraged to apply, so Amazon is casting a wide net. The catch is that BGT is only looking for people from New Zealand, where the show is filming.

The Lord of the Rings show was shooting earlier this year, but like pretty much every other show on the planet, went on hold thanks to the coronavirus. Hollywood is slowly getting back to work, with New Zealand being one the first country to reopen itself to filmmakers; James Cameron and his team are also back to work on Avatar 2, for example. The BGT casting call is labeled “URGENT,” so we’re guessing that shooting will begin again pretty soon.

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