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Quotes
Elves are cool, man.
I
got to dress up in funny clothes and run around New Zealand with a bow
and arrow for 18 months, how bad could that be?
I
mean, I have a great job. I get to dress up and become somebody else,
especially when it's someone like Legolas, who's this super-cool kind of
otherworldly elf. It's, like, I'm lucky, man, so why would I not
appreciate that?
The
girls have got a bit excited. I spoke to my agent and she says she's
wading through the fan mail. We've got bags of it.
On his character Legolas and the way Legolas
moves: Legolas doesn't speak a lot - he prefers to let his actions speak
for him. Legolas' moves are smooth and elegant, like a cat. You know how
cats can jump and land steadily on their paws? That's what I'm trying to
do. There's a strength in that, but it's very balletic. It's also bloody
hard to do without falling over!
It's all very surreal. I've had two very
fantastic experiences. In Lord of the Rings and in Black Hawk Down. I
feel very lucky. I'm sort of doubly excited.
I'm rather accident-prone, I have to admit.
I've broken my back, my ribs, my nose, both my legs, my arm, my wrist, a
finger and a toe and cracked my skull three times.
On how he got the part in Black Hawk Down
(2001): My character breaks his back, and I had mentioned I had done
that when I was up for the part. Who knows why one actor gets a job and
another doesn't? I think it was just good timing that I happened to be
there and I had had the experience - I mean, I was lucky.
I broke my back. I fell out of a window...
some friends had a roof terrace on the landing before their apartment,
and I fell off the drain pipe. It gave way, actually, and I fell three
floors. I was told I might not walk again. So, for about four days,I was
contemplating that as a serious part of reality. Then they operated, and
I walked out of the hospital in about twelve days.
Vig used to call me 'elf boy,' and I'd call
him 'filthy human.' As an Elf, I never got a scratch on me, never got
dirty. And Vig would come out with blood and sweat all over him. And
he'd say to me, 'Oh, go manicure your nails.'
On his 2002 Empire Award: "I think my
mum will have [my award] in pride of place somewhere beside my
grandmother on the mantelpiece.
We have these digs at each other. Viggo will
go on about Elves and how they're always doing their nails and brushing
their long, blonde hair, and being all prissy. And I just say: Well, at
least I'm going to live forever! Got that? LIVE FOREVER!
You have to be quite serious about tattoos
[because] they're there forever.
For a young actor like me to have the
oportunity to work with the genre of actors and directors on 'Lord Of
The Rings' is unbelievable. There was no, should I should I not. It was
like, where do I sign up! It was just bonkers. It was like here, have a
life.
It's a bit strange to be included in those
sexiest people polls and all that sort of thing. I don't really even
know who I'm up against!
Elf Envy...they all had it.
Aged nine, I had this girlfriend, and we
used to have running races in the park to see who would be her boyfriend
for the day. I wanted to be like Superman and fly in and rescue her.
Once I realised Superman was an actor, I thought, 'That's for me.'
On being in love in general: I'm in love
with love. It's heavenly when you're falling for someone and you can't
stop thinking about her.
The girls have got a bit excited. I spoke to
my agent and she says she's wading through the fan mail. We've got bags
of it. I'm like, 'OK, well, what do we do with that, then?' And she
explains that we're sending them pictures and stuff, which is great.
It was like a drama school of its own, being
on set. Peter [Jackson] is a genius. Ian McKellen is the greatest
theatre actor in Britain. He's somebody I look at and say, 'That's what
I would like to do.' I had studied videos of his performances, so it was
bizarre to be thrown into an environment with him.
The thing with Ridley [Scott] is he's been
doing this forever, he knows what it is he wants and how to get it.
There's absolutely no messing around on set. Having said that, he's very
accessible to actors, very open to what you want to do and willing to
talk about it. He casts people who he feels are going to bring something
to the role and allows them to take care of the situation, to do what it
is that they do.
I'm quite sensitive to women. I saw how my
sister got treated by boyfriends. I read this thing that said when you
are in a relationship with a woman, imagine how you would feel if you
were her father. That's been my approach, for the most part.
Theatre is something that I feel very
important for an actor to keep doing. I think it keeps you sharp. But at
the moment I'm intrigued with movies and filmmaking. It hasn't lured me
away from theatre, but I'm just going to try to ride this wave and then
jump onto another and see how far it takes me.
I did send a girl a plane ticket, asking her
for a visit, I guess that's quite romantic.
I'd like to grow old gracefully or pain free
at least.
[Talking about his relationship with Kate
Bosworth]: There's been a lot of heat because we decided to take some
time out. But we're really close. It's unfortunate everything has to be
for public display. It's hard when you travel. It makes relationships a
challenge. I've always kept everything close to the vest, and that's how
I intend to play everything. We've both got a big year ahead, and we
thought, just for this year, we'd give each other some time to grow.
I know how lucky I am. I've no complaints
about the work.
Fame and celebrity were not something that I
contemplated because they were too far ahead to imagine.
When I'm not working, I prefer to sit and do
nothing. The simple things suddenly become more enjoyable.
If life isn't about humanity, then tell me
what it's about, because I'd love to know. |
