You joined two weeks into shooting. How far in advance of arriving in New Zealand did you get the call, and how prepared were you physically for the demands of the role?
I got a call asking if I would be on the plane the next day. I wouldn't say I was ready physically, although I was willing. After arriving I had a couple of days to learn as much as I could; I was trying to read the book and the scripts, learn the sword and the dialect, and whatever the hell else I had to do, all at once in a few days.
How far into the shoot were you when you broke your tooth in a sword fight?
That was probably in the last third, I suppose.
Shouldn't you have been able to duck by then?
Yeah, I should have. I'm surprised that more things didn't happen to us, or to the stunt people playing our adversaries. Part of the reason was that we got to know each other so well that it was like a dance partner. Even beneath the masks, I'd know who it was just by their size and movement. We developed this physical shorthand with each other that helped us push it more and more. As you will see in the second and third movies, some of the fighting moves faster and is more risky. It's not "The Matrix" or "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"; we were really doing it. It's down and dirty, and rough and messy.
Finally, why did you and the other actors playing the fellowship get tattooed with a nine?
We didn't really need another scar to commemorate the real scars. But I suppose it was a way of saying thank you to each other, reaffirming the bond that we had developed, and probably always will have, as actors who played these roles.
