When I reflect on my nearly 20 years at Plugged In, one of my most memorable experiences has been interviewing the Lord of the Rings cast. I asked, “While working on these films, did you learn a life lesson that would be valuable for teenagers today?” In honor of last week’s Blu-Ray release of the trilogy, I thought it might be fun to revisit some of those responses:
Elijah Wood (Frodo): “You don’t realize how important your friends are until you need them. … During tough times when you lose perspective or have mental or emotional fatigue, those are the people who pick you up and tell you, ‘It’s cool. We’re in this together.’ Embrace those friends that you have.”
Sean Astin (Sam): “Contentment—that you can’t do everything all at once, right away. Be patient and take things as they come. Learn to live each moment. It’s the age-old thing that any 25- to 35-year-old person tries to tell a 15- to 20-year-old, but that they’re destined not to learn until they’re 25. As a 31-year-old man, I’ve finally gotten to that place.”
John Rhys-Davies (Gimli): “Unity, courage and a willingness to sacrifice yourself. We need the spirituality of the Elf; the earthy, indestructible qualities of the Dwarf; and above all the good, simple hearts of the Hobbits. And we must aspire to be the king that has yet to come into his place. We all have a choice; we are either slaves or we are princes. We make slaves of ourselves so readily and so easily.”
Dominic Monaghan (Merry): “If you keep what’s pure—love of friends, your family, or defending something good and honest that you believe in—as opposed to greed, power, hunger and domination, then it seems to ring true that you’ll have the best kind of fate.”
Liv Tyler (Arwen): “I learned to be patient and trust Peter [Jackson] to use the best material and do what was right. It’s hard to trust somebody that much. That can be relevant in school with a teacher; you sort of think you have all the answers. I felt on this movie there were a couple times I made mistakes and I wish I had listened more to Peter.”
Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn): “The lesson, I guess, is that the union with others is more significant than your individual existence. It doesn’t deny the importance of your individuality. It just means you’re a better person the more you connect with others. You’re going to know more. You’re going to be stronger and you’re going to have a better life if you get over yourself. That’s part of growing up.”
Ian McKellen (Gandalf): “My parents brought me up to think that one had a ‘prime of life’ and that it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. … Then the Beatles came along and told us that the best time of your life was when you were young, and I thought I’d rather missed out. But here I am at 64 and this is my prime of life. That would be my message: Don’t worry. Don’t try and hit it too early because your time might be later on.”
Orlando Bloom (Legolas): “I think friendship and the fellowship of strangers, mixed races putting aside their differences to come together and make a difference. … There’s something about having the wisdom, courage and compassion to live life with integrity. All of the characters within Lord of the Rings act with integrity. So I think the message to the kids is courage, humility and integrity.”
Now I invite you to join the fellowship. Comment on their thoughts, or share a lesson learned during your own journey.
Recent Comments