David Bowie Nearly Played Gandalf, Admits ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Casting Agent

Ian McKellen’s performances as Gandalf in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, as well as the subsequent three Hobbit films, have been roundly lauded as some of the most iconic in modern movie history. But it turns out that Ian McKellen was almost overlooked for the part in favor of one of the greatest musicians of all time, David Bowie.

Lord Of the Rings actor Dominic Monaghan previously made this revelation while chatting to The Huffington Post, admitting that David Bowie walked in the casting room just after he’d finished his own audition. Now Amy Hubbard, who worked as the casting director on Lord Of The Rings, has opened up about how close David Bowie actually came to starring in the franchise, revealing that the singer never actually had an audition because he just didn’t have time.

Amy Hubbard made this admission to the Huffington Post, explaining that Peter Jackson was originally very interested in the “Heroes” and “Changes” singer joining the Lord Of The Rings ensemble. But even though he couldn’t find the time to audition, David Bowie in turn decided to entertain them at a New Year’s Eve Millennium party instead.

Hubbard explained,

“He was unavailable. It was a very quick conversation with the legendary Chris Andrews at CAA. I do believe that [David 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.”

Amy Hubbard did make it clear that director Peter Jackson was considering David Bowie for a role in Middle-Earth, but failed to confirm whether it was actually for Gandalf or Elrond, roles that eventually went to Ian McKellen and Hugo Weaving.

“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.”

There have long been rumors that David Bowie was interested in a role in Lord Of The Rings and that Peter Jackson was just as intrigued in him joining the production. This was speculation that Dominic Monaghan, who went on to play Merry in Lord Of The Rings trilogy, confirmed to the Huffington Post earlier this year when he was promoting the latest series of Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan.

Dominic Monaghan recalled the following.

“I was at the Hubbard’s, which is a pretty notorious casting agency office in London, doing an audition for Lord of the Rings, and when it ended I went over and talked to John Hubbard, who was running the audition, and he said, ‘Hey, it went really well. You should wait around for 5 or 10 mins. We’ll give you some feedback.’ I thought, ‘Oh, OK, cool,’ and I sat in the reception office.

“As I was reading a magazine waiting, David Bowie came in and signed his little list and went in. And I’m assuming he read for Gandalf. I can’t think of anything else he would’ve read for. He may have read for something else, but I’m a huge David Bowie fan, and I was lucky enough to know his son now so just seeing him in person was pretty special to me.”

Dominic Monaghan made this revelation in the wake of David Bowie’s death, after the singer and actor, who previously appeared in The Man Who Feel To Earth, Labyrinth, and The Prestige, died suddenly following a battle with liver cancer on January 10, 2016, at the age of 69.

[Featured Image by Warner Bros.]