James Corden Almost Ruined The Biggest Movie Franchise
James Corden auditioned for Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Samwise Gamgee is undoubtedly one of the most important characters in the Lord of the Rings franchise and Sean Astin played the role to perfection. However, in a parallel nightmare universe, there could have been a world where James Corden played Samwise in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Corden revealed he auditioned for the role, admitting that his attempt was “not good,”(via Variety).
It’s pretty safe to say that Peter Jackson and the casting team knew what they were doing, so it would have been unlikely that James Corden would have nabbed such an important Lord of the Rings role. The casting in the trilogy was pitch-perfect, with everyone from Aragorn to Gollum played by the right person for the role. Sean Astin’s venerable, and heart-of-gold performance made it easy to root for the hobbits on their journey to cast The One Ring into Mount Doom.
Although James Corden missed out on being in one of the biggest movie franchises of all time, he did manage to kick off a Hollywood career later. Notably, he has been in films like Into the Woods and the awful Cats movie (which still hasn’t released the butthole cut). Of course, Corden is best known for his hosting gig on The Late Late Show on CBS.
James Corden’s failed Lord of the Rings audition isn’t the only reason the talk-show host has been in the news lately. Corden had a public feud with the owner of the NYC restaurant Balthazar after he was banned for allegedly rude behavior. Corden apologized for the incident, retracted the apology, and then apologized again on The Late Late Show.
James Corden is also planning on hanging up his hosting hat in 2023, ending his tenure on The Late Late Show. Corden was best known for segments like Carpool Karaoke and Crosswalk the Musical. Although Corden hasn’t detailed his post-hosting plans, it seems likely that he would continue to pursue his career in acting.
If James Corden is really feeling like he missed out on the Lord of the Rings movies, he could always try to find himself a role in the latest entry to the franchise with Amazon’s Rings of Power. Rings of Power is a massive show that has drawn many viewers and cost Amazon a ton of money to make, with a second season confirmed to be on the way. The reception of the show has been pretty divisive amongst casual viewers and hardcore fans, so casting Corden might make that division a little worse.
Fans on social media definitely expressed their thanks that James Corden wasn’t cast in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It wouldn’t be the first time that fans wanted to keep Corden out of a beloved franchise, as there was even a Change.org petition that demanded Corden be left out of the upcoming Wicked movie adaptation. While Corden might be calling it quits on The Late Late Show, it definitely seems like fans are happier with him sticking to hosting and comedy instead of acting.
