Trivia: Viggo Mortensen Turned Down 'The Hobbit' Appearance

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit unfolds decades before Frodo ever got his hands on the One Ring, but all the same, the three-part movie adaptation from Peter Jackson managed to rope in a bunch of familiar faces from the Lord of the Rings cinematic trilogy. Some, like Ian McKellan's Gandalf, were part of the story as originally conceived by Tolkien; others, like Cate Blanchett's Galadriel, were made to fit into the plot; and still others, like Elijah Wood's Frodo, were included as part of a framing device.

All of which is to say that Jackson probably could've found a way to work in another fan favorite, Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn, if he'd really wanted to. Turns out, though, that the actor wasn't having it. Hit the jump to read his comments.

Not that Mortensen isn't grateful to have been part of the first trilogy. He acknowledged that the films boosted his career in a big way. And while he hasn't gotten around to seeing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, he is looking forward to checking it out eventually.

I'm interested in seeing that world again, and seeing what Peter Jackson's done, how he's made use of the improvements in special effects and cameras and the different way of shooting, which will probably enhance the visual aspect of the experience, the sound also. And I'm interested in seeing how he's managed to make three movies out of a relatively slim volume ... Jackson is a clever person – I'm sure he'll have done something really interesting with it.

There are bound to be some Aragorn fans disappointed by Mortensen's response, but it makes a lot of sense. As he points out, Aragorn isn't in The Hobbit and has no real reason to be. Plus, Mortensen's moved on to some very interesting projects since then. It seems understandable if he doesn't have the time or the desire to don Aragorn's grubby cloak once again.