The Little-Known Surfing Mishap That Transformed a Legendary Lord of the Rings Scene

Okay, so if you thought you've heard every wild story from the making of 'The Lord of the Rings', here comes another one: Aragorn himself, Viggo Mortensen, almost ended up looking more like he belonged in 'Point Break' than Middle-earth. And yes, it actually changed the way Peter Jackson shot one of the most famous scenes in the whole trilogy. Only in New Zealand, right?

Surfs Up, Swords Down

Here’s the deal: The cast and crew were filming the first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring—specifically, the big mines of Moria sequence where things really go off the rails for our little band of heroes (you know, when the cave troll shows up and all hell breaks loose).

Over the weekend, Viggo Mortensen apparently decided to embrace the local culture... by going surfing. Not the safest hobby when you're the star of a blockbuster. The surfboard, let's just say, won the encounter and clocked him right in the face, leaving him with a gloriously bad black eye.

'The thing with these movies is, we shot all three at the same time, out of order—Fellowship one day, Two Towers the next, Return of the King after that,' Jackson explained. So, showing up with a black eye right before an important scene: not ideal.

Peter Jackson had to get creative. Instead of just scrapping the day's shoot or slapping some makeup on Viggo and hoping for the best, he decided to only film Viggo's 'good side'. If you look closely at the cave troll battle, Aragorn is mysteriously camera-shy from one angle—now you know why. That black eye is forever hidden from history (unless you freeze-frame and do some forensic-level analysis, in which case... let me know what you find).

Timelines, Re-Releases, and Jackson’s Deep Dive

• The accident: Right before shooting the mines of Moria fight scene for The Fellowship of the Ring
• The workaround: Peter Jackson shoots Viggo almost exclusively from one side to avoid showing the black eye
• The context: They weren't filming films in order—so a random surfing mishap really messed with continuity
• The new news: Jackson is bringing this and other gems to light via special new intros for each LOTR extended edition, which are getting a theatrical re-release
• When to catch it: Extended editions hit theaters January 16-18 and 23-25 (and yes, tickets are up for grabs already)

Watch for Surfboard Damage

So, when you head out for the newly remastered screenings—or just dig into your Blu-Ray collection—keep an eye on that cave troll scene. If you notice Aragorn looking a bit too mysterious from one side, you can thank the Kiwi waves and an ill-timed surfing trip. And honestly, it fits: if anyone could get injured surfing during the production of an epic fantasy and tough it out on camera, it’s Viggo Mortensen.

Lord of the Rings fans, you now have one more inside story to obsess over. And if you ever wanted proof that these were the wildest, most chaotic shoots in movie history, just remember: even a surfboard nearly changed fantasy cinema forever.