Actor Rhys Darby says that despite being a New Zealand native, he wasn’t chosen to be in any of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies. But he did reveal that he auditioned for a major role.
Darby recently spoke with Winter is Coming and our sister site ShowSnob about his latest appearance in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, where he reprised his role as the cosmic being, Trelane. “Playing Trelane is a lot of fun because he’s so powerful,” the actor said, “and he can be either friend or foe, and that’s really interesting because characters like him aren’t just full of hate.”
During the conversation, Darby was asked what other sci-fi and fantasy franchises he’d love to be a part of. After naming Battlestar Galactica and Stargate as two of his favorites, he said, “Ironically, I was never in any of The Lord of the Rings, even though they’re shot in New Zealand.”
Rhys Darby auditioned for a starring role in The Hobbit
But the Kiwi actor did reveal that there was a major character in The Hobbit trilogy that he auditioned for. “I did audition for Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit,” Darby said, before cheekily adding with a laugh, “But Peter did not choose me.”
As fans will remember, the role ended up going to Martin Freeman, who portrayed Baggins in all three movies, and The Hobbit trilogy went on to gross over $2.9 billion at the box office. Despite not getting the part, Darby still made a great career for himself. On top of already being known for the comedy hit Flight of the Conchords, he went on to star in the cult classic What We Do in the Shadows, portray Nigel Billingsley in the new Jumanji franchise, and star in the Peabody-nominated series Our Flag Means Death.
While viewers might not be able to see Darby venture through Middle-earth, he’s been doing a banger job as Trelane in Strange New Worlds. Before appearing in season 4, the actor first reprised the role of Trelane in the season 3 episode “Wedding Bell Blues,” where he plays a wedding planner for a depressed Spock. Naturally, Darby does what he does best, and hilarious chaos ensues.
“It’s more fun to play something that's been around before that you can put your own spin on,” Darby said in his interview with ShowSnob about reprising a character from TOS. “Because you want to take pieces of the original character and hold onto them, but also add to it and make it your own.”
For fans who have loved seeing him play Trelane in Strange New Worlds, there’s some good news too. When asked if he’d say yes to reprising the character again, Darby said, “Oh, I’d definitely come back.”
New episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiere Thursdays on Paramount+.
Add us as a preferred source on Google