David Bowie, the legendary singer-songwriter who passed away almost a year ago, was once considered for the role of Gandalf the Grey in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings.
That’s according to casting director Amy Hubbard, who confirmed the long-standing rumor that, yes, Bowie also clinched a key part in Jackson’s fantasy trilogy. For years, it had been assumed that the iconic rocker auditioned for the part of Elrond but here, while chatting with The Huffington Post (via EW), Hubbard reveals that Bowie was actually considered to pick up the staff as Middle-earth’s most famous wizard.
“He was unavailable. It was a very quick conversation with the legendary Chris Andrews at CAA. I do believe that [Bowie] went over and played for everybody at the Millennium party. That would’ve been New Year’s Eve in the year 1999, which was when the films were being shot. He went over and entertained everybody, but he never auditioned. That’s for sure.”
Later in the piece, Hubbard touched on The Fellowship of the Ring reaching its 15th anniversary, to which she added:
“We approached him. I’m pretty sure it was Peter Jackson’s idea in the first few weeks that we got going. It was one that he’d always wondered about, and we rang Chris, and [Bowie] was far too busy.”
Casting the Thin White Duke as Gandalf the Grey would have certainly made for a different experience throughout The Lord of the Rings – and presumably Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy – but alas, that casting coup never come to pass. That being said, Bowie was no stranger to cinema, having appeared across The Man Who Fell to Earth, Zoolander and, perhaps most famous of all, Labyrinth.
