The Story Behind How Viggo Mortensen Taking A Surfboard To The Face Impacted Lord Of The Rings

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This year celebrates the 25th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first film in an incredibly ambitious trilogy. To mark the occasion, all three Lord of the Rings movies are returning to cinemas this month, and director Peter Jackson will be joining fans for special screenings. He’ll also be sharing stories from the making of the films, including how an accident involving Viggo Mortensen and a surfboard affected the production.

This weekend, when The Lord of the Rings films are re-released, they’ll feature new introductions from director Peter Jackson. Entertainment Weekly is sharing a preview of one introduction, where Jackson discusses the making of the films, explaining that it felt more like creating one huge movie rather than three individual ones. He goes on to say…

What was unique about making these movies is that we filmed all three simultaneously, but not in order. One day we’d shoot scenes for The Fellowship of the Ring, the next for The Two Towers, and then back to Fellowship again. We’d jump around like that, working on The Return of the King one day and so on. It really felt like we were making one long film, constantly switching between the different parts of the story.

It’s not surprising that a project of that size had its share of difficulties. One issue involved Viggo Mortensen getting injured by a surfboard, which required the director to find a fast solution. Jackson mentioned the team was filming an important scene for The Fellowship of the Ring when one of the main actors was hurt during a break.

During the Mines of Moria scene, I remember everyone arriving to film. Viggo had spent the weekend with the actors playing the Hobbits, and he’d gone surfing. Unfortunately, he injured himself – his surfboard flipped up and hit him in the face.

Filming The Lord of the Rings wasn’t without its accidents. Viggo Mortensen, the actor who played Aragorn, actually suffered several injuries. He famously broke two toes while kicking a helmet during a fight scene. But an injury he sustained from a surfboard proved a little harder to hide.

A little makeup could have hidden a small injury, but Jackson explained it was actually quite serious. On a smaller film, they might have been able to reschedule the scene, but with a production as large as The Lord of the Rings, that wasn’t possible. This left Jackson with only one option, as he described…

He rushed in with a badly swollen, shut eye – it looked like he’d been in a boxing match. He immediately apologized to Peter, and I just thought, ‘Oh no.’ Because of how he looked, I realized I could only film him from the side; a direct shot wasn’t possible.

Peter Jackson points out that the problematic shots occurred during the Mines of Moria scene, specifically when the Cave Troll enters the battle. Watch the scene below and try to find Viggo Mortensen with an injury.

With two more Lord of the Rings films planned, everyone involved is hoping to avoid injuries. It’s still uncertain if Viggo Mortensen will reprise his role.

You can revisit the original Star Wars trilogy this weekend either in movie theaters or by streaming it on HBO Max.

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2026-01-15 19:11